Book Review on the Harrowing Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong (1735 –1816) are a fascinating glimpse into the life of someone with first hand experience of an infamous historical event in Korean history.
But first, some background.
After a traumatic marriage, Lady Hyegyeong watched her husband, Prince Sado (1735 –1762), slowly die locked in a rice chest. And this was all on the orders of his father, King Yeongjo (r.1724 –1776). The film The Throne (2015) and the non-fiction book Yeongjo and the Confucian Kingship of Korea both explore this topic.
After Prince Sado’s death, his son was adopted by his uncle. This ‘separated’ him from his father’s ‘crime.’ But it meant that when he became King (King Jeongjo r. 1776-1800) , Lady Hyegyeong was never treated as the Queen Mother. And this is one of the issues that she covers in these private memoirs.
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong is a collection of 4 memoirs translated with notes and introduction by Jahyun Kim Haboush, a Korean-American scholar of Korean history and literature who wrote many books on aspects of Korean history including The Confucian Kingship in Korea (2001).
Overview
In the introduction we learn that it was unusual for women to write diaries. But Lady Hyegyeong decided to reveal her personal story to clear up misunderstandings about her husband’s death. She also feels the need to defend her decision not to commit suicide after Prince Sado’s death. It feels like she desperately wants to set the record straight before she comes to the end of her own life – by the 4th memoir she is vomiting blood in her old age.
But the memoirs aren’t really meant for us. They were directed at members of her family and the royal household, so she writes as though the reader knows the backstory about who or what she’s talking about. This gets confusing at times but there’s a helpful list of ‘principle persons’ added to the introduction!
And she barely mentions her own relationship with Sado except that she feared for her life and was relieved when he went away on a trip to the hot springs of onyang. Accounts of his violence are quite shocking: He kills a eunuch – and cuts off his head.
And yet his parents seem to be in the dark about this for a long time. And there is no mention of anything being done to stop or control him. That is what is startling about reading this memoir: Despite knowledge of his violent behaviour, the courtiers simply work on covering it all up. Sado beats his favourite concubine Pingae to death in one of his fits. And Lady Hyegyeong simply has the body removed and buried…
Dramas and Films involving the death of Prince Sado
see more from dramasrok about life in Korea on Facebook Pinterest and Instagram
The Throne (2015)
A film focusing on the death of Prince Sado in the rice chest. The film stars Song Kang Ho as the strict King Yeongjo and Yoo Ah In (above pic) as the Crown Prince whose fate was to die on his father’s command. The film was one of the top films in Korea in 2015 and was the country’s submission for best foreign film at the Oscars.
Yi San (MBC 2007)
A marathon of 77 episodes of drama about the reign of King Jeongjo who witnessed the death of his father when he was a child. The king struggles to modernise and reform his government and country while constantly under the threat of assassination from enemies in his own government. But there’s romance too between Yi San and Song Yeon, his childhood friend, who eventually becomes his concubine Ui Bin.
The Painter of the Wind (SBS 2008)
The drama is about famous painter Sin Yun Bok but the plot stems from the troubles of new king, King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800) and his quest for legitimacy as King as the ‘son of a criminal’ (Prince Sado).
related posts:
What information can we find in the Annals of King Taejo, first king of Joseon?
Where is the tomb of King Sejong the Great?
4 Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong
The 4 memoirs of Lady Hyegyoung were written in hangul over a 10 year period between 1795 and 1805.
First of all, she writes about her upbringing and entry into court life, her emotional appeals over her family’s innocence (they were persecuted due to the political fighting between the Noron and Soron factions), and then the gradual development of her husband’s illness leading to the rice chest tragedy. His illness is mentioned briefly – he seems to have had symptoms of illness from an early age. But she gives no details of what they were. Here is a breakdown of the 4 memoirs.
Memoir 1 (1795)
She writes this when she turns 60 years old, her son Jeongjo is on the throne. Keen to restore his father’s name, he’s moved his father’s tomb to Suwon. He then takes his mother to see the tomb and she recalls the emotional visit. She also writes about her first experiences at court.
Memoir 2 (1801)
King Jeongjo died in 1800 and her grandson King Sunjo takes the throne. She blames jealousy of her family’s power and wealth on their persecution and demise. (Two uncles and 3 brothers entered government and her father became Prime Minister). It’s like reading a script from a Korean drama!
Memoir 3 (1802)
Here, her attention turns to her enemies, members of the Kim clan – Queen Jeongsun’s family. She writes how her father as the prime minister and trusted subject of the king was targeted by them.
Memoir 4 (1805)
She reveals the lead up to her husband’s Sado’s death. And she is sympathetic towards him despite the fact that she admits he didn’t speak to her for years until before his death when he tells her how much his father King Yeongjo hates him. Sad really.
Was anyone to blame for Sado’s illness?
In The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong, she suggests that the lack of love from his father – King Yeongjo – led him to start killing. King Yeongjo certainly doesn’t come across as a bundle of laughs. In her eyes he shows open favouritism at court and is hard on his son.
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong cover a lot of what her family went through after the death of her husband. But this is her subjective account. And translator Haboush points out that parts of the memoirs are not the same as the official historical annals of Joseon (sillok). So did the official writers interpret events to suit their own views or did Lady Hyegyeong want to protect her family? Who knows. She admits that she didn’t begin writing her memoirs until she was 60 and can’t remember everything.
But one thing is sure. She writes with conviction.
see more from dramasrok about life in Korea on Facebook Pinterest and Instagram