The Nature of Royal Women’s Natal Families and the Political Role of Maternal Relatives in the Joseon Court, from King Sejong to King Sejo

This study examines the characteristics of royal women’s families and the political role of maternal relatives(oecheok) during the reign of King Sejong of Joseon. From the perspective of changes in political perceptions and criteria for marital selection, royal marriages in King Sejong’s reign are divided into an early period(1418~1434) and a middle-to-late period(1437~1450). In particular, the successive deposition of the Crown Princess and the wife of Prince Imyeong in 1429(the 11th year of King Sejong’s reign) marked a critical turning point, after which King Sejong adjusted his marriage policy toward repeatedly forming marital ties with a limited number of prestigious families whose political reliability had already been verified.<br/> Royal marriages during King Sejong’s reign functioned not merely as blood ties but as strategic mechanisms for political alliance and the stabilization of royal authority. Through marriage, maternal relatives cooperated in strengthening royal power and governing the state, while also establishing long-term political alliances within the royal family. Especially through patterns of overlapping marriages (jungcheophon) and interlinked marriages(yeonhon) with a small number of elite families, maternal relatives were reorganized into cooperative groups that shared enduring political interests with the royal house.<br/> However, these networks of maternal relatives revealed a dual political nature during the Gyeyu Coup of 1453 and King Sejo’s accession to the throne in 1455. While the Papyeong Yun clan(坡平尹氏) of Queen Jeonghui and the sons of Prince Imyeong and Royal Consort Kim supported Prince Suyang(later King Sejo) and emerged as the political core of the new regime, supporters of King Danjong—such as the Andong Gwon clan(安東權氏) and the family of Royal Consort Yang—were systematically eliminated and became victims of political purges. This demonstrates that royal marriages in King Sejong’s reign initially contributed to a stable governing structure based on political trust and cooperation, but later, during the crisis of royal succession, maternal relatives simultaneously functioned as political actors and as casualties of power struggles.<br/> Ultimately, this study shows that royal marriages and maternalrelative politics in King Sejong’s reign were not merely matters of kinship, but key mechanisms through which political alliances and power structures were formed in early Joseon. By highlighting the dual role of maternal relatives in both reinforcing royal authority and intensifying political conflict, this research provides important insights into the structure and operation of power in early Joseon political history.