Things I Have Learned Today

The Lesbian Crown Princess

Crown Prince Yi Hyang (later King Munjong) did not have the best luck with women. His first wife, Kim Hwi, was convicted of witchcraft (She stole and burned her rival's shoes slipping the concoction she made with the ashes into his drinks as well as draining the all of the fluids from mating snakes and secretly wearing a cloth soaked in its essence when she was near him in the hopes of making him love her. It was a whole thing...).

A new wife was selected for him and this is where we meet Bong Sun. However, soon after getting married, it was discovered that she was overly fond of alcohol. While inebriated, she would make her court maids carry her around her palace. When she deemed the alcohol at the royal palace insufficient, she would make 'beer runs' back to her parents' home to get more to drink.

In addition, she was known to have secretly sent surplus food back to her natal home which was not allowed. She also received visits from her family without informing her husband, breaking proper court etiquette. Bizarrely, she would sometimes spy on people outside of her palace through a gap in the wall of the servants' toilet.

Seeing the couple's relationship deteriorate and with no heir in sight, King Sejong chose three ladies to serve as his son's concubine. This only served to ratchet up Bong Sun's jealousy. When one of the concubines revealed that she was pregnant, Bong Sun quickly announced that she too was expecting a child. Overjoyed, her father-in-law moved her into the main palace to get the best possible care. A month later, she claimed that she had mysteriously suffered a miscarriage and had secretly buried the child. When servants dug up the grave to get the baby a proper funeral, they found an empty grave with empty infant clothing inside.

All of these things might have been enough to get her deposed. What happened next eclipsed it all with its sordid details.

People noticed that the Crown Princess was overly fond of her court maid, So-ssang. It was reported that Bong Sun would regularly have the court maid stay in her room while the other court maids slept outside. Concerned about these rumors, in addition to the litany of other transgressions, Bong Sun was summoned before the court.

Shockingly, when questioned, she did not deny any of it. In fact, she doubled down. She told the Crown Prince that, while she loved him, it was clear that he did not love her, so she had decided to find affection elsewhere. Crown Princess Bong then defiantly told the court that she was intimate with So-ssang night and day.

So-ssang was brought in to get her side of the story. The young woman corroborated the Crown Princess's story, telling the court that she had initially tried to deny her mistress. Bong Sun had then ordered So-ssang to undress before forcing her to lie next to Bong Sun 'as if with a man'. During this, it was revealed that Bong Sun had also been intimate with another court maid, Dan-ji, who grew jealous of Bong Sun's new paramour. Suddenly, Yi Hyang was the odd man out of a sapphic love triangle.

With the salacious details spreading like wildfire through the palace, it was clear that Bong Sun might not be the best fit for the court. When the official decree for her dismissal was issued, it excluded any mention of her sleeping with her maid. Instead, it said that she showed a lack of regard for the general good by sending palace supplies to her natal home and receiving visitors without her husband's knowledge.

After this, the three women would disappear from the annals of history while Yi Hyang would marry one final time.