Jeongye Daewongun

Jeongye Daewongun was a member of the Korean Joseon dynasty as the biological father of King Cheoljong of Joseon. His personal name was Yi Gwang, but he was also known as Kwae-deuk or Hae-dong. He was one of several illegitimate sons of Prince Euneon and the second of two sons of Lady Yi of the Jeonsan Yi clan. His father, Prince Euneon, was an illegitimate son of Crown Prince Sado by his concubine, Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Buan Im clan; Sado himself was an illegitimate son of King Yeongjo of Joseon. This made Jeongye the half-nephew of King Jeongjo, but during his life, he did not receive the treatment of a member of the Royal Family. In 1801, Prince Euneon was executed after his legitimate wife, Princess Consort Sangsan of the Jincheon Song clan and his daughter-in-law, Princess Consort Shin of the Pyeongsan Shin clan (the wife of Prince Sanggye), had been baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. The Joseon Dynasty's state religion was Neo-Confucianism, so Princess Sangsan, Prince Euneon and Princess Shin were executed for treason. Some of Prince Euneon's sons, including Yi Gwang, were exiled on Ganghwa Island where they lived as poor farmers, but in 1822 the family received a special pardon from King Sunjo. On November 2, 1841, Grand Internal Prince Jeongye died at his home in Gyeonghaeng, Hanseong, at the age of 56. The cause of death is unknown. In August 1841, the Noron faction plotted a coup d'état in order to crown Yi Won-gyeong, Yi Gwang's eldest child and only legitimate son as the new King. However, the plot was detected, which led to the execution of Yi Won-gyeong.