Crown Princess Gonghoe
Crown Princess Gonghoe (Korean: Gonghoe-bin Yunssi; 11 July 1553 – 14 April 1592) was a Joseon crown princess, the wife of Crown Prince Sunhoe, who was the only son of King Myeongjong and Queen Insun. She was born into the Musong Yun clan, the daughter of Yun Ok and Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan.
In 1561, she became Crown Princess Deok after marrying the Crown Prince. Her husband died in 1563, so she became a widow at about age 10 and never had children. She lived in the royal court and was known for her education and piety, practicing Buddhism at a time when Neo-Confucianism was dominant.
Her father Yun Ok was dismissed from office for corruption in 1580 and died in 1584. Crown Princess Gonghoe herself died on 14 April 1592 at Tongmyeong Hall, Changgyeonggung, at age 38. She received the posthumous name Gonghoe.
Her burial place is Sunchangwon in the Seooneung cluster, Goyang, South Korea. Her remains were not found after the Japanese invasion of 1592, and the funeral was initially disrupted by the turmoil in Seoul. Since 1594, annual rites for Crown Prince Sunhoe and Crown Princess Gonghoe have been held at Sunhoemyo. A temple was built for their rites in 1601, and their spirit tablets were created in 1603 (later replaced). In 1871, Sunhoemyo was renamed Sunchangwon, the name still used today for the royal tombs.
Today, the annual rites are carried out by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration and the Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association on April 14 and October 6. A 16th-century Amitābha statue at Bongam temple in Mungyeong may have once belonged to Crown Princess Gonghoe, highlighting her Buddhist devotion in contrast to the era’s dominant Neo-Confucianism.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:06 (CET).