The Red Sleeve is a drama based on the love story between King Jeongjo and a court lady named Seong Deok-im.
I introduced this drama in my previous post about Korean historical dramas. But at that time, I didn’t have a chance to tell you much about the real story between Jeongjo and Deok-im.
So today, I want to share more about their love story as it is known in Korean history.
But first, let me tell you a little about King Jeongjo.
Who Was King Jeongjo?
King Jeongjo is remembered as one of the great kings of the Joseon Dynasty. Like King Sejong, Koreans often call him King Jeongjo the Great (정조대왕).
During his reign, he worked to make the country stronger politically, economically, and militarily. Because of this, his reign is remembered as one of the strong periods of the late Joseon Dynasty.
There is also a Korean movie about King Jeongjo called The Fatal Encounter (역린), starring Hyun Bin.
After Jeongjo became king, he faced threats against his life. The movie is based on a historical assassination attempt and shows Jeongjo as a strong king who was trying to strengthen his power.
If you are interested in King Jeongjo, I recommend watching this movie too.
The Painful Story of Jeongjo’s Father
To understand Jeongjo, we also need to know about his father.
Jeongjo’s father, Crown Prince Sado, died in a terrible way because of his own father, King Yeongjo—Jeongjo’s grandfather.
At that time, there were serious political conflicts between different groups in the royal court. Crown Prince Sado was caught in the middle of some of these conflicts.
At the same time, historical records tell us that Sado himself suffered from serious mental difficulties and showed many troubling behaviors.
Eventually, King Yeongjo learned about his son’s actions and ordered Crown Prince Sado to take his own life.
When Sado could not do it, King Yeongjo ordered him to be locked inside a wooden rice chest.
It was during the hot summer.
After eight days inside the chest, Crown Prince Sado died.
There is also a Korean movie about this story called The Throne (사도). If you are interested in the history of the Joseon royal family, I recommend this movie too.
As Jeongjo grew older, he learned how his father had died because of his grandfather.
How scared must young Jeongjo have been whenever he saw his grandfather?
At the same time, he had to learn from his grandfather and prepare himself to become the future king.
I think one of the few places where young Jeongjo could truly rest was with his mother.
Maybe the time he spent with her was one of the only times when he could feel safe and comfortable.
And this is where the story of Jeongjo and Seong Deok-im begins.
How Jeongjo Met Seong Deok-im
Jeongjo’s mother brought Deok-im from her own family home to serve as one of her court ladies.
So whenever young Jeongjo visited his mother, he would see Deok-im serving her.
Over time, Jeongjo began to have feelings for her.
How many years passed?
When Jeongjo was around 15 and Deok-im was around 14, Jeongjo called her to him and told her how he felt.
At that time, Jeongjo was already married.
But he did not have a close relationship with his wife.
Still, Deok-im refused the crown prince’s request.
Why?
She felt sorry for his wife.
Later, King Jeongjo wrote about this moment in Eoje Uibin Myojimyeong (어제의빈묘지명, 御製宜嬪墓誌銘), the epitaph he personally wrote for Deok-im after her death.
He wrote that he was moved by her response and did not press her any further.
Think about Deok-im’s situation for a moment.
Court ladies belonged to the royal palace. If they never received the king’s love, they could spend their whole lives serving in the palace.
So having the crown prince show interest in you could seem like a dream.
And this wasn’t an old king asking for her. It was the young crown prince who would one day become king.
But Deok-im still said no.
I think this tells us something important about her character.
She was thoughtful.
Before thinking about herself, she thought about the crown prince’s wife.
Jeongjo Became King
Time passed.
King Yeongjo died, and Jeongjo became king in 1776, the year he turned 24 by international age.
Not long after Jeongjo became king, the royal family began to worry because he still had no child.
He had married when he was young, and by that time, having no heir was becoming a serious concern for the royal family.
If Jeongjo did not have a close relationship with the queen, the royal family hoped that he would choose a royal concubine and have a child.
But Jeongjo didn’t seem interested.
He did not give his heart to the queen or to the other women around him. Instead, he focused on his work as king.
Looking at what happened later, I sometimes wonder if his first love, Seong Deok-im, had remained in his heart all those years.
Then, 15 years after he first told Deok-im how he felt, Jeongjo expressed his feelings to her again.
Fifteen years.
He had kept Deok-im in his heart all those years.
By then, he was the king. He could have chosen among many women in the palace, but his heart was still with Deok-im.
Deok-im Refused Him Again
So, what did Deok-im say when Jeongjo expressed his feelings to her for the second time?
Surprisingly, she refused him again.
Jeongjo was already king, and he still had no child to continue the royal family.
You might think Deok-im would finally accept him.
But she didn’t.
Why did she say no again?
Personally, I think her feelings toward the queen may have been one important reason.
The royal family was very worried because Jeongjo still had no heir. So another woman was chosen to become his royal concubine.
Later, it was announced that this concubine was pregnant.
After that, Deok-im finally accepted Jeongjo, and she also became pregnant.
I wonder if hearing about the other concubine’s pregnancy made a difference for Deok-im. Maybe she felt that the pressure on the queen to produce an heir was no longer entirely on her.
Of course, we cannot know exactly what Deok-im was thinking. But considering how much she had cared about the queen from the beginning, I can’t help wondering if this was part of the reason she finally accepted Jeongjo.
Jeongjo Finally Became a Father
Jeongjo was already in his thirties when he became a father for the first time.
Can you imagine how happy he must have been?
And this was a child he had with the woman he had loved for so many years.
Jeongjo recorded his joy.
In the historical record, he expressed how happy he was that he could finally be called a father.
Deok-im was no longer simply a court lady.
She became an official royal concubine and was later given the title Royal Noble Consort Uibin (의빈).
Deok-im and the Queen
I think a person’s true heart becomes clearer over time.
Even after Deok-im gave birth to Jeongjo’s son, she remained humble before the queen.
It is said that she would say that although she had given birth to the child, the child belonged to the queen.
Think about it.
She had the king’s love.
She had given birth to his son.
It would have been easy for her to become proud or want more power.
But she continued to treat the queen with respect.
And it is said that Deok-im and the queen had a very good relationship, almost like sisters.
Usually, it isn’t easy for a wife and her husband’s concubine to have a close relationship. That’s understandable.
But these two women were said to have been very close.
This is another reason why I think Deok-im truly felt sorry toward the queen.
And I also think about the queen.
How lonely must she have felt?
How did she feel when she saw Jeongjo spending time with Deok-im and their son?
Maybe Deok-im understood some of that sadness.
It is said that she was always respectful and careful around the queen.
Jeongjo must have been happy during this time.
The woman he had loved for so long was finally beside him.
They had a son together.
And Deok-im was also able to have a peaceful relationship with the queen in a way that perhaps Jeongjo himself could not.
I think he must have been very thankful to her.
Their Happiness Did Not Last Long
Then another blessing came to Jeongjo and Deok-im.
Deok-im became pregnant with their second child.
But only a few months into her pregnancy, their young son, Crown Prince Munhyo, became sick with measles and died.
Because Deok-im was pregnant, palace rules did not allow her to stay beside her sick son.
She could only watch from a distance.
How painful must that have been?
She couldn’t even stay beside her first child as he was dying.
But Deok-im could not allow herself to completely fall into her sadness.
She still had another child growing inside her.
Her words about this were also recorded.
She said that her body was no longer only her own. If she let herself become lost in grief and failed to take care of herself, she would be failing in her duty to the country.
Protecting the king’s unborn child had become a responsibility she had to carry.
But four months after her first son died, when she was about nine months pregnant with her second child, Deok-im became ill.
She eventually passed away.
The pain of losing both the woman you love and your child in such a short time is almost impossible to imagine.
I don’t even want to imagine it.
Jeongjo’s Last Gift to Deok-im
After Deok-im died, Jeongjo made an unusual decision.
He ordered that her grave be placed close to the grave of their first son, Crown Prince Munhyo.
It is said that this had been Deok-im’s wish.
Maybe because she could not stay beside her son when he was sick, she wanted to be close to him after her death.
At that time, royal customs did not normally allow the grave of a crown prince and the grave of a royal concubine to be placed together.
But Jeongjo went against the usual royal custom and honored Deok-im’s wish.
There is a park in Seoul today called Hyochang Park (효창공원).
The graves of Crown Prince Munhyo and Deok-im were originally located in this area.
Sadly, during the Japanese colonial period, their graves were moved when the area was changed and a golf course was built there.
Because of this, their graves were no longer as close to each other as they had originally been.
I find that very sad.
How Do We Know So Much About Their Story?
By this point, you may be wondering:
How do we know so many details about Jeongjo and Deok-im?
I wondered the same thing.
The answer is very special.
After Deok-im died, Jeongjo personally wrote about her in Eoje Uibin Myojimyeong (어제의빈묘지명, 御製宜嬪墓誌銘).
It is an epitaph written by King Jeongjo for Royal Noble Consort Uibin.
Deok-im lived a short life, but Jeongjo wanted her to be remembered.
So he wrote about her life, her character, and the moments they had shared together.
Because he left those words behind, we can still know Seong Deok-im today.
And just as Jeongjo hoped, we can still remember their love story more than 200 years later.
Who Became King After Jeongjo?
You may be wondering one more thing.
If Jeongjo and Deok-im’s son died when he was young, who became king after Jeongjo?
Later, Jeongjo had another son with Royal Noble Consort Subin of the Park clan (수빈 박씨).
That son later became King Sunjo (순조).
He became king at the very young age of 10 by international age (11 by traditional Korean age).
And so the Joseon royal line continued.
Jin’s Reflection
When I first watched The Red Sleeve, I knew that it was based on the real story of King Jeongjo and Seong Deok-im.
But after learning more about their real history, the drama felt different to me.
What stayed with me most was how long Jeongjo kept Deok-im in his heart.
She didn’t simply accept the love of a future king because it could give her a better life.
She thought about the queen. Even after becoming the woman Jeongjo loved and giving birth to his son, she continued to show respect to the queen.
Maybe that is one reason Jeongjo loved her for so long.
Their happy time together was much too short.
They lost their young son, and only a few months later, Jeongjo also lost Deok-im and their unborn child.
But Jeongjo wrote her story down.
Maybe he knew that writing was one way he could keep her with him.
And because he did, we still know her name today.
Seong Deok-im.
*If you want to dive deeper into their history, I highly recommend watching this lecture by a Korean historian. (Note: It’s in Korean, but you can turn on YouTube’s auto-translated subtitles to watch it in English!)