John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Korean Princess Deokon

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

Korean Princess Deokon

South Korean Flag Image by HeungSoon from Pixabay

Korean Princess Deokon is named for Princess Deokon, the last Princess of Korea’s Joseon monarchy.

Princess Deokon was born in 1822. Her name means virtuous and gentle mannered. Deokon’s parents, Sunjo of Joseon and Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan, were the king and queen of Korea. Deokon had an older brother and two older sisters, but they died when she was young.

The young princess loved to read and write. She loved reading so much that when she got married at the age of 16, she brought more than 4,000 books with her to her new palace. The books were written in Korean and Chinese.

Princess Deokon was also known for her calligraphy—her beautiful handwriting. She wrote many letters to her mom and liked to translate books from Chinese to Korean so more people could read them. Many of Deokon’s writings are now in the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul, South Korea.  

Gyeongbok Palace Image by csk from Pixabay

Other Princess Bios

Works Cited

“Princess Deokon.” Wikipedia; Nov. 7, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Deokon

“Princess Deokon, the Last Princess of the Joseon Dynasty.” Dec. 22, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRCqGjadgMc

Lee, Hongjoo. “The History of the Greatest Korean Princesses.” Creatrip.  https://creatrip.com/en/blog/11769

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