Queen Jeongsun of the Jeonju Kim clan (Korean: 정순왕후 김씨; Hanja: 靜順王后 金氏; 1220 – 29 July 1237) or known as Queen Gyeongsun (Korean: 경순왕후; Hanja: 敬順王后) and formally called as Queen Dowager Sungyeong (Korean: 순경태후; Hanja: 順敬太后), was the first and primary wife of Wonjong of Goryeo who became the mother of his successor, Chungnyeol of Goryeo.[citation needed]
The future Queen Jeongsun was born in 1220 into the Jeonju Kim clan[b] as the only daughter of Kim Yak-sŏn who was a descendant of Kim Al-ji. She was the granddaughter of Goryeo military dictator Ch'oe U, as her mother was Lady Ch'oe (최씨), the eldest daughter of Ch'oe U.
Through her paternal uncle, Lady Kim eventually became a first cousin twice removed to the future Queen Jeongan, wife of King Jeongjong of Joseon. Through her paternal grandmother, Lady Kim was also a fifth cousin twice removed of Queen Wongyeong, the wife of King Taejong and sister-in-law of King Jeongjong.
In 1235, she married Crown Prince Wang Chŏng, and was given the royal title of Worthy Consort Gyeongmok (경목현비; 敬穆賢妃) and became his consort (황자비; 太子妃) not long after his appointment as a Crown Prince.
A year later, she gave birth into their eldest son (the future King Chungnyeol) but eventually died only at 17 years old on 29 July 1237 after giving birth to a daughter who believed to have died young as there are no records since then. After her husband ascended the throne, she was given a posthumous name of Queen Jeongsun (정순왕후; 靜順王后) in 1262[1] and after their son ascended the throne, King Chungnyeol bestowed the name of Queen Dowager Sungyeong (순경태후; 順敬太后) towards his mother in 1274.[2]
In 1310, by the new order (제서; 制書) from Emperor Wuzong of Yuan, Kim was titled as Queen Consort of Goryeo (고려왕비; 高麗王妃) since she was the grandmother of the reign king and was said by Wuzong to be clean and prudent in her behavior, as well as gentle and beautiful in the Dharma, praising her diligence and modesty. Due to this, she became the last queen who received posthumous names like her predecessors in the early Goryeo period.
In 1244 (31st year reign of her father-in-law, King Gojong), she was buried in "Gareung tomb" (가릉; 嘉陵) located at Neungnae-ri, Yangdo-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon which became one of the few Goryeo Royal Tombs located in South Korea. In 1992, it was designated as "Incheon Historic Site no. 370".[3]