There have been several reports of lunacy in European royal lineages. Some have even earned the moniker “the Mad,” whether justifiably or not. However, the European aristocracy did not have a monopoly on mad relatives. This example comes from Korea’s Cho’son dynasty, which ruled the country since 1392.
The crown prince, Prince Sado, was born on February 13, 1735, as the second son of King Yeongjo and his favorite concubine. Sado was King Yeongjo’s second son and the only surviving male heir after his older brother died tragically at nine. There was much joy at the birth of a healthy son. Sado’s existence, however, was not without challenges. Sado was afraid of his father from a young age since he was said to have a nasty temper. The small youngster was said to be quite nervous around his father, which irritated Yeongjo even more. Sado idolized his father, as in many abusive situations, yet he never appeared to obtain Yeongjo’s approval. Yeongjo was always critical of Sado’s mistakes and never exhibited joy when Sado succeeded. His mother’s connection was not much better. To keep Yeongjo’s favor, she was more concerned with following the king’s regulations on rearing the crown prince to the letter and ignoring any motherly love attachment. Sado adored and respected his mother, as he did his father, but their relationship was not exceptionally nurturing.
Sado, as crown prince, married Lady Hyegyong, the daughter of a poor scholar with a great lineage and grasp of education, while he was pretty young. Both the bride and groom were about eight years old. Hyegyong eventually penned memoirs about her experiences at the royal court and with Sado. She claims she felt nervous about being chosen as the crown prince’s wife, “as if there was a forewarning of the countless difficulties and afflictions [she] would face in the palace.” Because the bride and groom were so young, their connection began as that of childhood playmates. They resided in separate houses, and despite the kindness of the women of the court, Hyegyong was still an eight-year-old child thrust into a completely different circumstance. She was utterly taken aback. So, although the two kids seemed to get along fine, she couldn’t help Sado. Hyegyong’s father, on the other hand, was able to step in and offer the fatherly care for Sado that he desperately lacked.
Sado became gravely ill a year after their marriage in 1746. When he healed, he and Hyegyong were relocated. The palace was near his mother, presumably, so she could assist him in his care. Sado’s condition appears to be a watershed moment. Nobody knows what he was sick with, but Sado’s behavior remained erratic throughout and after his recovery. There are few details about this, but stories indicate that despite this, Sado became serious about his studies and sports endeavors. However, ties with his father did not improve. Shortly after his recuperation, Sado and Hyegyong were relocated away from the court so that Yeongjo would not have to deal with him. Sado got even more estranged from his family as a result of this.
Sado and Hyegyong began living as a more traditional man and wife after Sado’s coming-of-age ceremony at 14. They soon had a kid who died unhappily at age two. As one might anticipate, the couple was devastated by the loss of their child. A year later, in 1752, a second boy was born. Things appeared to be improving for the young couple. Sado’s strange behavior then deteriorated. Historians believe that a measles outbreak aggravated Sato’s already anxious state, and he began having hallucinations and nightmares. He had an unreasonable fear of the sky and imagined he could see the god of thunder. Sado was convinced that if a thunderstorm hit the country, his father would blame him. He was obsessed with Taoist magic, namely the Jade Spine Scriptures book. He would spend hours getting dressed and selecting outfits. As a spirit offering, entire costumes were burned. His garments became identified with the weather, pleasing or displeasing the sky gods based on criteria only he understood. Despite this, Yeongjo began to delegate more and more official duties to Sado, particularly those that Yeongjo despised. Sado’s mental state was not improved by supervising the torturing of imperial prisoners.
Now court politics enters the picture. Sado and Yeongjo both had affairs with court ladies. Different ones, thankfully. However, this exacerbated their already strained relationship because Sado had two sons with his concubines, and Yeongjo had two daughters. Yeongjo was obsessed with his two boys.
To make matters worse, Sado’s unusual behavior was being reported to Yeongjo daily by the brother of one of Yeongjo’s concubines, embellished or not. All of this came to pass when Sado arrived at the queen’s deathbed and was greeted by his father. Yeongjo yelled and screamed at Sado till he ran home through a window. Sado acquired a noticeable stammer about this time, which enraged his father, who was convinced he was intoxicated. At one point, Yeongjo was berating Sado, who then started chasing and assaulting the servants. The palace was set on fire then, and a heavily pregnant Hyegyong barely escaped with her life and their small kid.
Sado’s behavior became violent and unstable from this point forward. He responded to most conflicts or upsets by inflicting violence on his servants. To cope with his grief after his mother died, he beat several eunuchs. He beheaded another eunuch before mounting the corpse’s head on a stick and carrying it with him. According to Hyegyong’s memoirs, that was the first severed head she ever saw. He was accused of being a serial rapist who would force himself on any woman, maid, or court lady who did not immediately comply with his demands. Hyegyong also claims to have left the palace and walked among the people, but no one knows what he did or did not do. Hyegyong also claims Sado smacked her head with a chessboard, nearly blinding her. She was fortunate since one of Sado’s concubines was murdered. Sado was required to respond to every type of stressful event or catastrophe by murdering a string of servants. Sado, according to Hyegyong, “killing humans or animals releases my pent-up rage when I’m upset or on edge.” Whoa.
Yeongjo is said to have asked Sado why he was committing the crimes he was, to which Sado replied, “Because I’m in pain!” “You’re my father, yet you don’t love me.” Sado focused his deadly attention on his younger sister, regularly attempting to seduce and rape her. He also started drinking heavily, which violated Korean culture significantly. By 1762, everyone in the palace was in danger, including family or servants. The body count is unknown, but according to stories, many bodies had to be hauled away from the castle where he was staying every day. Sado didn’t seem to realize he was killing people because he was in a semi-lucid condition most of the time. There had to be a solution.
Sado was summoned before Yeongjo on July 4, 1762. The crown prince was deprived of his title and sent to enter a rice box, a massive heavy wooden chest. Sado was left to swelter in the sweltering July heat once the lid was closed. Sado screamed for mercy for eight days in the chest, without food or water. His servants and attendants were also executed. On the eighth day, Hyegyong notices a severe thunderstorm, which coincides with his fixation with the thunder god. Surprisingly, his death was the idea of his mother. “Since the prince’s illness has become exceedingly severe and his case is hopeless,” she is described in Hyegyong’s memoirs as saying to Yeongjo, “it is only appropriate you should safeguard yourself and the royal grandchild to maintain the kingdom at peace.” I request that you kill the prince, although such a request is obscene and a transgression against humanity. It would be dreadful for a father to do this, given the tie between father and son, but his disease, not the prince, is to blame for this calamity. Even if you kill him, please use your goodwill to spare the royal grandchild and let him and his mother live in peace.” Your mother delivered a severe sentence. This was a contentious decision in court because Sado’s death would have meant the execution of the entire family at the time. Because Sado was slain in this manner, it was deemed a breach of the rule. Sado died of famine because the monarch did not kill him. Great.
Hyegyong did not commit suicide, as was customary for the wife of an executed man at the time. Instead, she chose to live to raise her son and children with Sado. It has been speculated that she was either keeping alive to demonstrate her husband’s innocence or to protest the king’s treatment of the situation. There was talk in the nineteenth century that Sado’s illness was a fake to cover up his murder. In reaction to this suspicion, Hyegyong published her memoirs to put the topic to rest once and for all. Despite Sado’s lousy behavior, Hyegyong treats him with sympathy since she recognizes he is mentally sick. Jeongjo, Sado and Hyegyong’s kid, was adopted posthumously by Sato’s long-dead older brother. Despite this, Jeongjo rose to become one of Korea’s most fabulous kings. One of his first acts was to rebury his father in a king’s grave. In 1997, his grave was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.