. He was a second cousin once removed to the heirless
. He ascended the throne at the age of 19.
Biography
Early life
He was born as the 3rd and youngest son of Yi Gwang, Prince Jeongye (who died on December 14, 1841), and his 1st concubine, Lady Yeom of the Yongdam Yeom clan, on Ganghwa Island. His name was originally Yi Won-beom (이원범), but upon ascending the throne his name was legally changed to Yi Byeon (이변) (or Yi Seong).
In 1841, during the reign of Heonjong, a conspiracy by members of the Noron faction (Min Jin-yong, Lee Won-deok, Park Sun-su and others) to enthrone Yi Won-gyeong, Cheoljong's oldest half-brother and Yi Gwang's only legitimate child, was exposed and led to Yi Won-gyeong's execution. The family, guilty by association, was again exiled to Ganghwa Island.
Background
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Andong Kim clan, who had provided the state with several Queens, had seized power almost everywhere in Joseon. The social stagnation that resulted was a breeding ground for unrest. Corruption and embezzlement from the treasury and its inevitable exploitation were taken to extreme levels and reached staggering proportions. One rebellion after another was accompanied by natural disasters.
The only aim of the Andong Kim clan was the preservation of their influence. Their fierce campaign to dominate the Royal House had led to a situation in which almost all the members of the Royal Family fled from the capital.
When the Royal Family produced intelligent and appropriate candidates for the accession, they were either accused of treason and executed or sent into exile, so when Heonjong died, leaving no son, no acceptable candidate could be found to succeed to the throne.
Reign
Cheoljong ascended to the throne in 1849 at the age of 19 after King Heonjong died without an heir. As a distant relative of the recently deceased King as well as a descendant of King Yeongjo, Cheoljong was selected for adoption by the Senior Grand Royal Queen Dowager Sunwon (King Sunjo's widow), to allow him to ascend to the throne. The future Cheoljong was found on Ganghwa Island where his family had been in exile since the Catholic Persecution of 1801.
When the envoys (dispatched in order to seek for the future King) arrived on Ganghwa Island, they found the exiled remnants of the Royal Clan barely surviving in wretched poverty, and in the midst of that degradation, 19-year old Yi Won-beom was proclaimed King.
Though from the start of the Joseon Dynasty the Kings had given top priority to the education of their sons, Cheoljong could not even read a single word on the notice delivering congratulations to him on his elevation to the throne.
For the Andong Kims, Cheoljong was an excellent choice. His illiteracy made him manipulable and vulnerable to their control. Proof of this was that even though Cheoljong ruled the country for 13 years, until his very last days he had not yet learned how to move with dignity or how to wear royal clothes, so that in even the most luxurious of robes he still looked like a fisherman.
As part of the Andong Kim's manipulation of Cheoljong, in 1851, the clan married Cheoljong to Kim Mun-geun's daughter, known posthumously as Queen Cheorin.
Death
Cheoljong died at the age of 32 on January 16, 1864, by suspected foul play of the Andong Kim clan, the same clan which made him King, without any surviving male heirs.
Once again, it became necessary to search far back in the Jeonju Yi clan lineage to find a candidate for the throne.
Family
• Great-Grandfather
• Crown Prince Sado (장조의황제; 莊祖懿皇帝) (13 February 1735 - 12 July 1762)
• Great-Grandmother
• Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Buan Im clan (숙빈 임씨; 肅嬪 林氏) (? - 1773)
• Grandfather
• Yi In, Prince Euneon (은언군 이인) (29 May 1754 - 30 June 1801)
• Grandmother
• Princess Consort Jeonsan of the Jeonju Yi clan (전산군부인 이씨, 全山郡夫人 李氏) (19 December 1764 - 4 June 1819)
• Father
• Biological: Yi Gwang, Grand Internal Prince Jeongye (전계대원군 이광) (29 April 1785 – 14 December 1841)
• Legal adoptive: King Sunjo (순조대왕) (29 July 1790 – 13 December 1834)
• Mother
• Biological: Grand Internal Princess Consort Yongseong of the Yongdam Yeom clan (용성부대부인 염씨) (20 July 1793 – March 1834)
• Maternal Grandfather: Yeom Seong-hwa (염성화, 廉成化)
• Maternal Grandmother: Lady Ji of the Sangju Ji clan (상주 지씨, 尙州 池氏)
• Legal adoptive: Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan (순원왕후 김씨) (8 June 1789 – 21 September 1857)
• Brothers
• Older half-brother: Yi Won-gyeong, Prince Hoepyeong (회평군) (11 September 1827 - 6 September 1844)
• Older half-brother: Yi Gyeong-eung, Prince Yeongpyeong (영평군) (20 July 1828 - 1 February 1902)
• Consorts and their respective Issue(s):
• Queen Cheorin of the Andong Kim clan (철인왕후 김씨) (27 April 1837 – 12 June 1878)
• #Yi Yung-jun (이융준), 2nd son (22 November 1858 – 25 May 1859)
• Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Miryang Park clan (귀인 박씨) (1827 – 9 May 1889)
• #Unnamed 1st son (3 August 1854 – 1854)
• Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Pungyang Jo clan (귀인 조씨) (1842 – 1865)
• #Unnamed 3rd son (7 November 1859 – 1859)
• #Unnamed 4th son (24 February 1861 – 1861)
• Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Onyang Bang clan (숙의 방씨) (? – 1878)
• #Unnamed 1st daughter (1851 – 1853)
• #Unnamed 2nd daughter (1853)
• Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Geumseong Beom clan (숙의 범씨) (1838 – 23 January 1884)
• #Princess Yeonghye (영혜옹주), 4th daughter (1858 – 7 August 1872)
• Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Gimhae Gim clan (숙의 김씨) (1833 – ?)
• #Unnamed 3rd daughter (5 August 1856 – ?)
• Court Lady Lee (궁인 이씨)
• #Unnamed 5th son (1 October 1862 – 1862)
• #Unnamed 6th daughter (dates unknown)
• Court Lady Park (궁인 박씨)
• #Unnamed 5th daughter (dates unknown)
Titles
• Nickname: Woodcutter Prince of Ganghwa Island (강화도령)
Royal titles
• 27–28 July 1849: Prince Deokwan (덕완군; 德完君)
• 28 July 1849 – 16 January 1864: King of Joseon (조선 국왕; 朝鮮國王)
Posthumous title
• Joseon Dynasty
• full formal title: King Cheoljong Huiryun Jeonggeuk Sudeok Sunseong Munhyeon Museong Heon'in Yeonghyo the Great of Joseon (철종희륜정극수덕순성문현무성헌인영효대왕; 哲宗熙倫正極粹德純聖文顯武成獻仁英孝大王)
• short informal title: King Cheoljong the Great (철종대왕; 哲宗大王)
• Qing Dynasty-conferred: King Zhōngjìng (忠敬王; 충경왕; King Chunggyeong)
• Korean Empire
• full formal title: Emperor Cheoljong Huiryun Jeonggeuk Sudeok Sunseong Heummyeong Gwangdo Don'won Changhwa Munhyeon Museong Heon'in Yeonghyo Jang of the Korean Empire (철종희륜정극수덕순성흠명광도돈원창화문현무성헌인영효장황제; 哲宗熙倫正極粹德純聖欽明光道敦元彰化文顯武成獻仁英孝章皇帝)
• short informal title: Emperor Cheoljong Jang (철종장황제; 哲宗章皇帝)
Ancestry
Cheoljong of Joseon (25 July 1831 – 16 January 1864) was the 25th king of the Joseon Dynasty. He was a second cousin once removed to the heirless Heonjong of Joseon, as well as a great-great-grandson of Yeongjo of Joseon. He ascended the throne at the age of 19.