Sunjong
Crown Prince of Joseon
Sunjong (25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), personal name Yi Cheok, also known as the Yunghui Emperor, was the last Korean monarch. He ruled from 1907 to 1910 as the second and last emperor of the Korean Empire. Sunjong was elevated to the throne after his predecessor and father, Gojong, was forced to abdicate by the Empire of Japan. Hence, Sunjong has been characterized by historians as being a powerless puppet ruler of the Japanese, reigning for just three years before Korea was officially annexed in 1910. Sunjong was the second son of Emperor Gojong and Empress Myeongseong. When he turned two years old in 1876, Sunjong was proclaimed the Crown Prince of Joseon. In 1882, he married a woman of the Yeoheung Min clan (later Empress Sunmyeonghyo). She died at the age of 31 on 5 November 1904 due to a severe depression, after trying to protect her mother-in-law (Empress Myeongseong, also a member of the Yeoheung Min clan) from her assassination on 8 October 1895 by the Japanese military. When his father proclaimed Korea as an Empire in 1897, Sunjong was appointed as the Crown Prince of Imperial Korea on 12 October 1897. On 29 June 1898, he was appointed as the Field Marshal of the Imperial Korean Army. Sunjong remarried again 3 years later to the daughter of Yoon Taek-young, Yun Jeung-sun of the Haepyeong Yun clan, who was 20
years younger than him, on 11 December 1906, and she became Crown Princess Consort Yun (later Empress Sunjeong). On 19 July 1907, Gojong was deposed as a result of Japanese coercion, and Sunjong was made the Emperor of Korea. His coronation was proceeded in Don-doek-jeon. He was proclaimed heir to the throne of Prince Imperial Yeong, the younger half-brother of Sunjong, and moved from Deoksugung Palace to the imperial residence at Changdeokgung Palace.
Naegeumwi was a military unit during the Joseon Dynasty period of Korean history between 1392 and 1910, responsible for protecting the king and the royal family. The number of royal guards varied between 60 and 200, at times may have reached 300. The monarch held random inspections of the royal guards, with the tolling of the Cheobjong bell, which notified the guards that the king was approaching Gwanghwamun Gate. The bell could be heard in central Seoul, as well. The guards had to line up in formation and display their combat skills and tactical skills, according to the Owijinbeob, which was a contemporary document recording various movements and strategies, considered to be the most modern at the time. The royal guards had to defend the east side of the field (the king's left side), during a mock battle with the Gyeomsabok cavalry units, who would attack from the right (west) side. At the end of the inspection the king would display his displeasure or satisfaction with the skills and performance of the Naegeumwi. The royal guard system was dissolved in 1910.
The Jeonju Yi clan is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the House of Yi that led Joseon and the Korean Empire. Their founder was Yi Han. He was Minister of Works during the Silla Dynasty and became the ancestor of a prestigious and powerful clan that held influence from the Unified Silla period to the Goryeo period. On the other hand, there were records that he was an immigrant from China. This is because the Jeonju Yi clan's record named Wansan Sillok said that Yi Han originally lived in China, but he later came to Silla. Moreover, another record named Origin of Yi Clan said that Yi Han was originally a descendant of the Tang dynasty's imperial family and lived in Jeonju after he came to Silla. Yi Han's descendant, Yi Seong-gye, seized power in a military coup and founded Joseon in 14th century. The House of Yi, also called the Yi dynasty (also transcribed as the Lee dynasty), was the royal family of the Joseon
dynasty and later the imperial family of the Korean Empire, descended from the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye. All of his descendants are members of the Jeonju Yi clan. After the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, in which the Empire of Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula, some members of the Jeonju Yi clan were incorporated into the Imperial House of Japan and the Japanese peerage by the Japanese government.
Awards: Sash and star of the Order of the Golden Ruler, Insignia and star of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Stars of the Order of the Auspicious Stars , Order of the Plum Blossom, the Order of the Taegeuk, the Order of the Palgwae and the Order of the Purple Hawk.
