Unearthing forgotten royal women

The book cover of “Biographical Dictionary of Royal Women in Korea” / Courtesy of AKS

By Kwon Mee-yoo

In Korean history, women in royal families are often described just as contributors of smoldering enmity with individual ability that goes unnoticed because the history was written from a male-oriented perspective. Even the term "history" has an androcentric notion in it, excluding "herstory."

However, women's history has been rediscovered around the globe in the 21st century and Korea is no exception. In accordance with the international society, the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) has published an encyclopedia of royal women in Korean history dating back to Korea's founding myth some 5,000 years ago.

The "Biographical Dictionary of Royal Women in Korea" features 588 women in royal families, from Korea's first kingdom, Gojoseon (2,333-108 B.C.), to the Korean Empire (1897-1910). The range of women included in the book varies from queens and princesses to royal concubines and dowager queen mothers who were honored posthumously.

Co-written by six historians, led by Kim Chang-kyum of AKS, the book illuminates public achievements as well as the private lives of the royal women. Half of history should be allotted to females, but there are few records left. The researchers of AKS went through historical materials thoroughly to shed new light on the forgotten half of history.

"These women had played an important role in the political history of Korea, but they were neglected in history due to a lack of material," the authors said in the preface.

The first woman in the book is Ungnyeo, the mother of Dangun, the legendary founder of Korea. According to the creation myth, Ungnyeo was a bear who was transformed into a woman after she endured 100 days without sunlight only eating garlic and mugwort. This can be interpreted as the metaphor to the marriage that bonded the immigrated group and the indigenous tribe.

In ancient Korea, females could succeed to the throne and there were a few queens in history. The most notable queen might be Queen Seondeok from the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D.), who was featured in the 2009 hit television drama named after her. She is described as a clever woman who strengthened military power amid foreign invasion.

Queen Heonae (964-1029) of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), also known as Queen Dowager Cheonchu, is famous for her political influence. She acted as queen regent when her son King Mokjong succeeded to the crown and exercised neutral diplomacy between the Khitan and the Song dynasty.

However, the Neo-Confucianism that dominated the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) drove women out of politics, giving them only supporting roles. Still, many queen consorts maneuvered behind the scenes. Queen Jeonghui, wife of Joseon's seventh King Sejo, encouraged her husband to take over the government in a coup, putting on his armor on the day of the revolt.

Chronologically, the last person in the biographical dictionary is Yi Bang-ja (1901-1989), also known as Crown Princess Euimin of Korea. Though she lived a tragic life crisscrossing Japan and Korea during Japanese colonial rule, she became naturalized as Korean in 1963 and spent her later years volunteering to serve the disabled.

This book is the first of its kind in Korea, highlighting women's lives and achievement. It could be a first step in rewriting the history of Korean women.