Princess Uisun

Princess Uisun (1635¹–1662; birth name Yi Ae-suk) was a Joseon Royal Family member who became the adopted daughter of Hyojong of Joseon and Queen Inseon, so she could marry the Aisin Gioro prince Dorgon and later, prince Bolo.

Biography

Background

Yi Ae-suk was born one of the four daughters and seven sons of Yi Gye-yun, himself a 4th great-grandson of Seongjong of Joseon, and a fourth cousin twice removed of Hyojong.

Political marriage

In 1650, Dorgon sent the minister of Ministry of Revenue, Gioro Bahana, as an emissary to the Joseon court, to forge an alliance with Hyojong of Joseon, asking the king to choose a suitable bride for him. The bride could be a daughter of either a royal family member or a subject.² Bahana delivered the order from the prince regent and was told that as the king's daughter was only two years old,³ so he suggested that a female from the royal clan was a viable alternative; on the other hand, the king's ministers greatly opposed offering any of their daughters.⁴

Twenty days later, Ae-suk was given the title Princess Uisun and her biological father, Yi Gye-yun, was gifted cloth and rice as reward.⁵ Nearly one month after her adoption as Hyojong's daughter, Princess Uisun left the palace at Hanseong, accompanied by 16 maids, a female physician, and her nursemaid. After her arrival in , Dorgon complained about the appearance of his new wife and her court maids, saying that he even doubted the loyalty of Joseon. Merely seven months later, Dorgon died in the same year. Princess Uisun was asked to remarry one of Dorgon's nephews, his general Prince of the Second Rank, but he died in 1652.