Royal Consort Deok of the Jo clan (Korean덕비 조씨; Hanja德妃 趙氏), personal name Bonggayi (봉가이; 鳳加伊) was a Korean Royal Consort as the 7th wife of King U of Goryeo. She was also known as Princess Suknyeong or Consort Heon.

Royal Consort Deok-Bi Jo
덕비 조씨
Royal consort of Goryeo
Tenurec.1385–1388
Coronationc.1385
PredecessorRoyal Consort Jeong
SuccessorRoyal Consort Seon
BornBonggayi
Goryeo
SpouseU of Goryeo
HouseJo clan (by birth)
House of Wang (by marriage)
FatherJo Yeong-gil (조영길)
Motherservant of Yi In-im
ReligionBuddhism

She firstly met King U at Yi In-im (이인임)'s house in 1384 and, gaining his favour, soon became his consort.[1][2] Following this, her father was given a horse while the king and Bonggayi went to the suburbs every day together. Due to old laws called "Cheonjasumobeop" (천자수모법), which decreed that if parents were enslaved, then children would have the same status, Bonggayi was regarded as Yi's slave.[3] However, her family status was changed after she became a royal consort.

In the same year, Consort Suk became jealous that Bonggayi was the king's favourite concubine at this time. Then, in 1385, Bonggayi was made Princess Suknyeong (숙녕옹주; 肅寧翁主) and promoted to Consort Heon (헌비; 憲妃) a year later while living in Suknyeong Mansion (숙녕부; 肅寧府) which was specially made for her. The king became very angry after discovering that there weren't any gem decorations to give to her. She formally became Consort Deok (덕비; 德妃) in 1387 after accused Consort Suk for wearing such impolite accessories[citation needed] and advised the king to not kill innocent people recklessly.

In 1388, alongside the king and his other consorts, they were all exiled to Saga while Bonggayi's father was exiled and died after he caught of sneaking into Gaegyeong.

References

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  1. ^ 이덕일 (2019-03-31). 부자의 길, 이성계와 이방원 (in Korean). 옥당북스. ISBN 979-11-89936-11-2.
  2. ^ 한국인물사연구원 (2009-09-27). 읽기 쉬운 고려왕 이야기 (in Korean). 타오름. ISBN 978-89-962008-8-8.
  3. ^ 이, 상각 (2014-05-28). 고려사 - 열정과 자존의 오백년 (in Korean). 들녘. ISBN 979-11-5925-024-8.