Princess Jeongso

Princess Jeongso (貞昭公主, 1412 – 3 April 1424 (lunar calendar 25 February)) was a princess of Joseon, the eldest daughter and firstborn legitimate daughter of Sejong, the 4th king, and her mother was Queen Soheon. She was the eldest sister of Munjong and Sejo.

Life

In 1412 (12th year of Taejong), she was born as the first child of Taejong's third son, Grand Prince Chungnyeong, and his wife Lady Gyeongsuk Ongju Sim.

In 1418 (18th year of Taejong), when the crown prince at the time, Grand Prince Yangnyeong, was deposed and her father, Grand Prince Chungnyeong, was invested as crown prince, she was elevated to the status of royal daughter, Agissi.¹ In the same year, when her father Grand Prince Chungnyeong ascended the throne as Sejong, her status was raised to that of princess. However, before she underwent the coming-of-age ceremony, she contracted smallpox (wandu-chang) in 1424 (6th year of Sejong) and died at the age of 13.² Her original posthumous name was Jeonghye (貞惠), but because it was the same as that of Princess Jeonghye, the daughter of Taejong, it was changed to Jeongso (貞昭).³ Her tomb is located in Goyang-hyeon.⁴

Anecdotes

• Sejong was especially fond of his eldest daughter, Princess Jeongso, so even amid busy affairs of state, he would visit his daughter and personally teach her learning.
• After her death, Sejong fell into such deep grief that he could not attend to state affairs, and her funeral was treated with great honor, with three meritorious subjects (gongsin) and the of the Six Ministries escorting her funeral procession beyond the city gate.