뉴스레터

Princess Deokhye around 1932

This year is the centennial of Japan's forced annexation of Korea. Korean media has been relatively low-key on the occasion. However, one historical figure has received a lot of attention: Princess Deokhye. The Japanese female historian Honma Yasuko published a critical biography of Princess Deokhye in 1998, and the translation was released in Korea in 2008. The novel Princess Deokhye [덕혜옹주], based on Honma's work, was published in 2009 and became a bestseller. Honma's recently claimed that the novelist plagiarized her critical biography and caused quite a stir.

Princess Deohkyeo was the only daughter between King Gojong and his concubine Lady Bongnyeong. She was born on May 25, 1912 in Deoksu Palace and died in Nakseonjae, Changdeok Palace on April 21, 1989 at the age of 78. While she lived a relatively long life, it is difficult to ascertain her feelings and thoughts and the kind of life she led. She started suffering from schizophrenia (dementia praecox) at the age of 19. Moreover, her husband, the only person who could shed light on her life from age 20 to 45, never spoke about her; there might have been a confidentiality clause in their prenuptial agreement.

There had not been any work on Princess Deokhye as it was very difficult to reconstruct her life based on tidbits from Joseon Wangjo Sillok [Annals of the Joseon Dynasty], articles in Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo, Crown Princess Masako's memoir, and interviews of court ladies. However, Honma managed the feat by undertaking a very detailed analysis of these small fragments of information and through materials she discovered concerning So Takeyuki, Princess Deokhye's husband. It must be noted that this essay, too, draws heavily on Honma's book Princess Deokhye: The Last Imperial Princess of Daehan Jeguk.

Exceptional interest in Princess Deokhye

While Princess Deokhye was royalty, the royal family into which she was born was "royal" only in the nominal sense. King Gojong had been dethroned after the Hague incident in 1907, and Japan had forcibly annexed Korea and established the Office of the Governor-General of Joseon in August 1910. Japan had given the title "Yi Wang" to Sunjong and "Yi Taewang" to Gojong, downgrading their positions and making them a part of the Imperial House of Japan.

King Gojong was 60 years old when Princess Deokhye was born, and she became the apple of his eye. He even established a kindergarten in Deoksu Palace in 1916 to educate the 5-year-old princess. When the engagement of Crown Prince Yi Eun and Crown Princess Masako was announced in the same year, King Gojong started looking for suitable suitors for Princess Deokhye among his consorts.

However, King Gojong passed away on January 21, 1919 when Deokhye was 8 years old. There were rumors that King Gojong had been poisoned, and the March 1st Independence Movement occurred right before King Gojong's state funeral on March 3. In the spring of 1920, Princess Deokhye moved to Changdeok Palace with her mother Lady Bongnyeong. Aware of Princess Deokhye's symbolic value, the Japanese Governor-General of Joseon decided to give her a Japanese education. She was taught by two Japanese tutors in 1920 and entered Hinode Elementary School for Japanese students in April 1921. A picture of her wearing Japanese clothes and studying among Japanese students was published in the newspaper.

Nakseonjae, Changdeok Palace;
Princess Deokhye's residence from 1968 to 1989.

The Empire of Japan planned Princess Deokhye's future, using Crown Prince Yi Eun's case as a precedent. Crown Prince Yi Eun, Princess Deokhye's brother, had been sent to Japan to study at the age of 8 and was later wed to a Japanese woman. In April 1925, at the age of 14, a photo of Princess Deokhye leaving Gyeongseong (Seoul) Station in Japanese attire was featured in the newspaper. Princess Deokhye lived with her brother and attended an academy for the daughters of Japanese royalty. She had a lonely school life, not mingling with her Japanese classmates.

In April 1926, Princess Deokhye returned to Seoul with her brother Count Yi Eun and his wife. King Sunjong passed away on April 25 and the state funeral was held on June 10, but Princess Deokhye did not get permission to attend the funeral. Although Count Yi Eun succeeded Sunjong and became the next "King Yi," there was no coronation ceremony.

Self-imposed imprisonment of loneliness

Even on the first and second anniversaries of King Sunjong's death in 1927 and 1928, respectively, Princess Deokhye was not allowed to visit her mother who was now living in a private residence in Gye-dong. She was also kept from wearing a mourning dress or taking part in the funerary procession at her mother's funeral on June 5, 1929. Furthermore, she was made to leave for Japan just two days after the funeral. Princess Deokhye's emotional suffering deepened. Starting in the fall of 1930, she suffered from insomnia and refused to go to school. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia (dementia praecox).
In the meantime, the Japanese government arranged for her to get married to Count So Takeyuki, the lord of Tsushima. In March 1931, Princess Deokhye graduated from the girls' academy for Japanese royalty and So Takeyuki graduated with an English literature degree from the University of Tokyo. They wed in May of the same year, and in August 1932, their first and only daughter Masae (Jeonghye) was born.

In Korea, there have long been rumors that Princess Deokhye suffered from a mental illness due to her husband's maltreatment and abuse. Honma reconstructed Princess Deokhye and Count So Takeyuki's marital life from the notes left behind by So's maternal grandfather and guardian, interviews with her sister, photos of Masae's portrait painted by So Takeyuki, and poems written by So Takeyuki. Honma undertook an especially in-depth analysis of So Takeyuki's poetry and highlighted his feelings of compassion, resentment, resignation, and lament toward his wife. Because of the special relationship between Honma's family and that of So Takeyuki, one may suspect that her analysis is biased for So Takeyuki. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that Honma managed to shed light on a period of Princess Deokhye's life that would have otherwise remained completely unknown.

Princess Deokhye's illness grew worse, and So Takeyuki checked her into Matsuzawa Hospital in the fall of 1946. Their 25-year marriage ended in June 1955. In the fall of the same year, So Takeyuki remarried after their daughter Masae's wedding. Then in the following year in August, So Masae, Princess Doekhye's only blood and kin, went missing. It is thought that Masae committed suicide. In January 1, 1962, Park Chung-hee, who was then the Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, arranged for Princess Deokhye's return to Korea. After 7 years of treatment and care at a medical facility, Princess Deokhye moved into Nakseonjae, Changdeok Palace, where she spent the rest of her life. She passed away in 1989.

This is what has so far been uncovered of Princess Deokhye's life, but this is just the beginning. Princess Deokhye will continue to be resurrected in the Korean people's collective "place of remembrance."