The last Korean princess: Half a life in a mental institution, not being able to return to her homeland

Her fate is bitter, more tearful than anything one can imagine when thinking about the fate of a Princess.

Throughout the history of the world, there have been many female queens, born into a noble family, but only because they were caught up in troubled times, political intrigues, arranged marriages. predetermined... but has a life full of storms. And the life of the last princess of the Korean empire (at this time, Korea and Korea today have not yet separated into two countries) is such a life. Even her fate in life was more bitter and tearful than anything one could imagine when thinking about the fate of a Princess.

The princess was born in the wrong time

Deokhye - the last princess of Joseon is a typical victim of the times. She was born in 1912, the youngest daughter of King Gwangmu and Lady Bongnyeong. Although she was a concubine, she was loved and spoiled by her father. The proof is that he once ordered to build a separate kindergarten for the princess to go to school, which is Hamnyeong Palace, also known as Deoksu Palace.

Portrait of the last princess of Korea as a child

When Deokhye was born, the Joseon Dynasty fell, but the royal family still lived in the palace, velvet because of the agreement with the Japanese empire. The first years of the princess's life passed happily, but everything changed quickly because of the fluctuations of the times.

Princess Deokhye (far right) took a photo with her family

In 1919, King Gwangmu's father passed away. In 1925, 13-year-old Princess Deokhye was brought to Japan. In name, she went to Japan to study, but in fact the princess was chosen by the Japanese as a hostage to threaten the royal family. The young princess had to leave her homeland, living alone in a foreign country, without relatives and always in danger.

4 years later, Deokhye lost her mother again. The 18-year-old princess was so shocked that she lost her memory temporarily for a while. When the condition was just recovered, she continued to be pushed into a new tragedy. The last princess of Korea was forced to marry a Japanese aristocrat named So Takeyuki, who was also a poet. This marriage was seen as a great humiliation to the Korean Royal Family as they were one step relegated to the level of the local Japanese nobility. At the wedding, the princess was also not allowed to wear the traditional hanbok of her homeland, but had to wear Japanese and Western clothes. Of course, this was the Japanese plan to bring down the royal family.

Image of a teenage princess

Because it was a forced marriage meant to humiliate, Princess Deokhye and her husband could not develop feelings. Despite this, the couple still got along, respected each other and had an only daughter named Masae in 1932. But after only 1 year of marriage, Deokhye's mental health deteriorated. She lived in a state of depression, going crazy every day because of so many tragedies: an unhappy marriage, not being able to return to her homeland, being used as a political pawn.

Princess Deokhye on Takeyuki's wedding day

Crazy princess

In 1945, Japan lost the war, and noble families like Takeyuki were also destroyed. Unable to continue to support his wife, a mentally ill foreign princess, that same year Takeyuki divorced Deokhye. In 1945, Korea also went to independence. However, Princess Deokhye was also unable to return to her homeland because her fate was destined to be imprisoned forever in Japan. Deokhye's return to the country will remind people of the royal family, while this is an era that has passed and should be forgotten.

Despite spending most of her life in Japan, Princess Deokhye has always been nostalgic for her homeland. In 1953, after two decades of living in an abnormal state, Deokhye finally became insane when she heard that the civil war at home had divided the Republic of Korea into two regions, namely South Korea and North Korea today. now.

But the woman's tragedy did not stop there. In 1955, she continued to face the most terrible pain, which was the loss of her only daughter. Masae committed suicide because he was discriminated against due to his Korean blood and grieving over his mother's illness.

Those thoughts would be the end of the unhappy princess's life, but at the end of her life, a miracle once came to her. In 1962, after a miserable life in Japan, she was finally allowed to return to her beloved motherland. That is Deokhye's biggest wish - someone who is not only a princess but first of all a Korean child.

On January 26, 1962, former Princess Deokhye set foot in her homeland in the welcome of the people. After that, she lived the rest of her peaceful days in Korea. The government allowed her to live in the Nakseonjae building of Changdeok Palace. On April 21, 1989, Deokhye died at the age of 77. Although she did not have any relatives left, she was satisfied that she could leave her hometown. In the last words of her life, she said: "I always miss my homeland even when I am living in my own country".

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