1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised. 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: One quick note before I begin the episode. My novel 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: Anatomy a Love Story is finally out in the world, 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: and I just want to thank everyone so so much, 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 1: every podcast listener who's picked up a copy or read it, 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: or recommended it to their friends or picked up a 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: copy at the library. Truly, the response has been just 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: beyond anything I could have imagined, and it's so gratifying 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: to see something you work on be out in the world. 11 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: So thank you all so much. If you want to 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: support the show, we are on Patreon at Patreon dot com, 13 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: slash Noble Blood Tales, where I released episode scripts, and 14 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: also we're just starting back up on the miniseries Rain 15 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: on Me where we discussed the c W show Rain, 16 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: which is very exciting. We also have merch available at 17 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: d F t b A dot com. All of that 18 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: info is in the episode description. One summer day in 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty two, the Prince of Korea's father called the 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: boy into his private rooms. The King Young Joe, had 21 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: always hated his son, his only heir, since he had 22 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: been a child. There was nothing specific about the prince, 23 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: no one single trait that the king could point to 24 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: in order to explain his distaste for the child that 25 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: had lingered in his mouth for decades. Maybe it was 26 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: the prince's seeming frailty, the way he had gravitated as 27 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: a child towards art and drawing instead of athletics. Maybe 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: it was the fainting spells and the strange mood that 29 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: he had sometimes fell into. The King had wanted a strong, charismatic, 30 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: dynamic air for the Jun dynasty. Instead he had this 31 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: prince who had been a strange child, and then the 32 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: strange child had turned into a monstrous adult because the 33 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: prince was monstrous. Even though the prince's wife tried to 34 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: conceal the extent of her beatings, the court knew that 35 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: she missed public events because of the bruises on her face. 36 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: Her ladies in waiting were brutalized and sexually assaulted. Servants 37 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: had gone missing. No one dared to make public accusations, 38 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: but everyone knew that they had been murdered by the prince. 39 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: The Crown Prince of Korea, a man known most frequently 40 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: by the name Prince Sado, whether it was due to 41 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: mental illness or sadism or both, had turned his father's 42 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: court into a place of terror. Putting him up for 43 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: criminal trial would be a scandal, and because of Korean 44 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 1: law at the time, it would mean that his own 45 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: wife and child and would be forced to bear punishment 46 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: as well. But still Sado needed to be dealt with. 47 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: No one wanted him to become the next king of Korea, 48 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: and so what could his father do if he couldn't 49 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: technically forced the prince to stand trial for his many crimes? 50 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: And it was illegal to desecrate the body of a 51 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: member of the royal family, and so it's not like 52 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: Sado could have been quickly and conveniently killed himself. So 53 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: what could the king do to kill a prince who 54 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: wasn't allowed to be executed. Walking into his father's chambers 55 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: that day, Sado knew something was coming. In a moment 56 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: of whimsy or panic. Earlier that day, he had asked 57 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: his wife to bring him their son's cap for him 58 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: to wear. His wife didn't want the prince anywhere near 59 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: their son, didn't want their son involved in whatever was 60 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: going to happen. She gave shaddo her own cap. The 61 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: prince's wife, a woman named Lady Hia Yung, was there 62 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: in the room to watch what happened. Next, the king 63 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: called for a wooden chest, the type normally used to 64 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: store rice. The chest was brought forth, a small box 65 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: with only about four square feet of space inside. It 66 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,119 Speaker 1: was a sweltering day in early July, and the court 67 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: watched the proceedings breathlessly, trying to fan themselves as quietly 68 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: as they could. King Young Joe told his son to 69 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: get inside the crate. With no choice but to obey 70 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: his father, Prince Sado did as he was told. The 71 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: lid was closed and locked shut. Not long after, the 72 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:58,599 Speaker 1: screams began. The story of Prince Sado of Korea is 73 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: a tragic, gruesome one. It's the story of a young man, 74 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: a mentally ill young man, who faced cruelty and responded 75 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: with violence and sadism. But the story is also interesting 76 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: for who tells it. We know the details of Prince 77 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: Sado's life because his wife, Lady Ya, a woman who 78 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: otherwise might have existed entirely on the periphery of history, 79 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: wrote her memoirs later in life, several decades after the 80 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: brutal death of her husband. In the eighteenth century, from 81 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: Asia to Western Europe, autobiography was a realm that was 82 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: almost exclusively dominated by men, and yet Lady Young spent 83 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: ten years of her life writing about her life in 84 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: four parts. It's a series that's been widely translated and 85 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: which is considered one of the most important texts in 86 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: Korean literature. Perhaps she knew even during her life that 87 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: the story of her husband and his father would be exaggerated, 88 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: that it would become legend, twisted for political purposes and 89 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: ripe for conspiracy theories. Lady Hug Young was there, and 90 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: she did us the favor of setting the record straight, 91 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: or at least telling the story the way that she 92 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,919 Speaker 1: believed it should be remembered for posterity, with nuance and sympathy, 93 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: but also with an unflinching eye to the violence and 94 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: terror in court. I'm Danis Schwartz and this is Noble Blood. 95 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: A warning before we begin. This story contains almost every 96 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: sort of violence imaginable, so if you're listening with young 97 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: children or you're sensitive to that sort of content, please 98 00:06:53,960 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: proceed with caution. The name Sado translates to thinking of 99 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: with great sorrow, and even though it's the name by 100 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: which the prince is most commonly known today, it was 101 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: actually given posthumously. The prince was born Prince Yon on 102 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: February seventeen thirty five. For clarity's sake, I'll continue to 103 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: refer to him as Sado. Prince Otto was his father's 104 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: second son, the replacement for the former Crown Prince Hyogung, 105 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: who died as a child seven years before Soto was born. 106 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: The King Young Joe was heartbroken after his eldest son's death, 107 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: and he immediately saw Sodo as a middling replacement for 108 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: his golden boy. His golden boy, the dead son, the 109 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: prince who would have been perfect if only he had lived. 110 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: Soto was a sickly boy who became a sickly young 111 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: man at ten years old. He suffered from an unidentified 112 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: illness that was so severe that he sometimes would pass 113 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: out in the middle of rooms. His father, the King, 114 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: resented his frailty. Sado was also artistic. We have records 115 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: of small doodles that he made, drawings of dogs and 116 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: other animals. Whatever kind of son the King Young Joe 117 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: wanted Sado, wasn't it. The relationship between father and son 118 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: did not improve as the years went on. In fact, 119 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: King Young Joe only increased in his bitterness and cruelty 120 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: towards his only living son. There was nothing that Sato 121 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: could do correctly, nothing he could do that didn't need 122 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: to be picked apart endlessly with criticism. Some of the 123 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: King's behavior seems unnaturally cruel. He would call his son 124 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: into the throne rooms in the middle of the bustling court, 125 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: in front of vassals, ladies in waiting unus, and guests, 126 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: and beate the prince there where everyone could see. Where 127 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: the king could he borrowed Satto from important court events 128 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:15,479 Speaker 1: and forbade him from visiting the ancestral tombs. Sado, perhaps understandably, 129 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: became extremely anxious and visibly distressed whenever he was in 130 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: the same room as his father. His only comfort was 131 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: his older sister, Princess Huajio. Their father didn't seem to 132 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: hate her as much as he hated Sato. The princess 133 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: was mostly just ignored and overlooked, but at least she 134 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: understood what came first with Sado, the mental illness or 135 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: his father's hatred. Did the king only hate his son 136 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: because he saw signs of insanity or cruelty bubbling below 137 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: the surface, it's impossible to know. Regardless, Soto was the 138 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: king's only son and only heir, and so Sado could 139 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: hinued along on the path that was expected for a 140 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: young prince, which meant that when he was nine years old, 141 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: he was married. We know the story of his arranged 142 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: marriage from the memoirs of the woman who would become 143 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: his wife, Lady Hiayung. She was nine years old too, 144 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: one of the hundreds of girls who were brought before 145 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: court officials to be examined to see if they would 146 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: make a good wife for the prince. Initially, Lady Hia 147 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: Young wasn't optimistic about her chances. Her family was noble 148 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: and well connected politically, but not especially wealthy or important. Still, 149 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: she was brought to the palace one of the finalists, apparently, 150 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: and she was brought before the king the selection was made. 151 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: Lady Hia Young and Prince Otto, both pre preteen, were 152 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,560 Speaker 1: officially married, even though the marriage wouldn't be consummated until 153 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: years later. It was around the time that they did consummate, 154 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: round fourteen or fifteen years old, that Soto was given 155 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: a more formal royal position. He was made a regent 156 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,839 Speaker 1: of the kingdom. In theory, it was more responsibility, an 157 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: opportunity for him to learn how to rule and prepare 158 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:21,439 Speaker 1: for him to one day be king. In effect, it 159 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: was just more opportunity for his father to mock and 160 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: belittle and undermine him. But for the time being, at 161 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: least it seemed like Sodo was able to bear it. 162 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 1: He liked his wife and he could confide in his 163 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: older sister. He was anxious and panicked around their father, 164 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: but it was nothing he couldn't handle, at least until 165 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: tragedy struck. In seventeen fifty two, there was a measles 166 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,599 Speaker 1: outbreak in Korea, and those Sado managed to evade the virus, 167 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: his beloved sister died. It was the moosest relationship he 168 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,439 Speaker 1: ever had. She was only nineteen years old. Sado wrote 169 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:12,199 Speaker 1: a eulogy for her, quote, My elder sister was virtuous 170 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: and chaste. She was born into the royal family and 171 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: had grown up with me in the palace. She lived 172 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: to see twenty springs till one frosty snow took her 173 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 1: to join the immortals. Who would have expected this? Now, 174 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: I have rarely seen the wild geese flying across the sky. 175 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: I could not believe that what had started as a 176 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:38,559 Speaker 1: minor illness would end up incurable. Mother, and I had 177 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: been anxious over your deteriorating health day and night. You 178 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,599 Speaker 1: were sincere and filial till the end of your journey. 179 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: Upon hearing that His Majesty was about to visit you, you 180 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: you rose from your sick bed, but your words drifted 181 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: like flowing water and faded away with time. My grief 182 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: is merely expressed through these humble offerings. Your virtue will 183 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: be remembered as lingering fragrance. The next year, another massive 184 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: life event would hit Sado. In addition to his wife, 185 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: he took a royal consort, a woman named Young Ben, 186 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: and in seventy three she became pregnant. Sado was terrified 187 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: that she would have a boy, knowing that a son 188 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: would incite his father's rage. Though the king had continued 189 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 1: to have daughters, the king had only been able to 190 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: have one son Sado. In his panic, Sado tried to 191 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: force his consort into taking a board of faisons while 192 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: she was pregnant in order to allay his father's jealousy. Still, 193 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: despite the attempts. The child was born healthy and it 194 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 1: was a son. Sado refused to deal with his mistress 195 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: or his child at all, and so it was his wife, 196 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: Lady Young Young, who provided or the woman and helped 197 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 1: her find a safe place to give birth and a 198 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: safe place to stay with the newborn. From that point on, 199 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: Sado's mental wellness began to fully deteriorate. His anxiety began 200 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: to bleed into paranoia and hallucinations and phobias. One evening, 201 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: while reading a Taoist book about the thunder Daddy, he 202 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: had a full hallucination seeing the thunder God in front 203 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: of him. In his vision, that God told him what 204 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: he would need to do in order to avoid disaster. 205 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: Sato became terrified of thunder, and he refused to touch 206 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: any object that was engraved with the character for thunder 207 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: from the book. He also developed a complicated compulsion around 208 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: dressing and a fear of clothing called vesta phobia. It 209 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: would take him hours to get dressed, and he would 210 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: rip off items of clothing and reject outfits in a frenzy, 211 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: sometimes even lighting offending items of clothing on fire. His wife, 212 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: he had Young, wrote quote for him to get dressed. 213 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: I had to have ten, twenty, or even thirty sets 214 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: of clothes laid out. He would then burn, some supposedly 215 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: on behalf of some ghost or other. Even after this, 216 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: if he managed to get into a suit of clothes 217 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: without incident, one had to count it as a great 218 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: good luck. If, however, those serving him were to make 219 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: the slightest error, he would not be able to put 220 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 1: his clothes on, no matter how hard he tried. In 221 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: the process, people were hurt, even killed. It was truly 222 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: dreadful end quote. The prince was violent. People got hurt 223 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: in the fires that he set, and sometimes he killed 224 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: people outright. It seems that a major factor that provoked 225 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: the prince's violence was fear of his father. There After 226 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: his father berated or mocked him, Prince Sado would go 227 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: into something that some described as a manic state and 228 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: turned that anger and humiliation onto someone else, someone beneath 229 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: him in status or power, sometimes even going so far 230 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: as to kill them. Once so distraught after an interaction 231 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: with his father, the prince fled down a hallway and 232 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: began to give chase to a random official that he 233 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: in turn wanted to break. As the prince ran, he 234 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: knocked over a candlestick and burned down the entire building 235 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: and the one next to it. Sado could be downright 236 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: horrific in his violence. There's one story where he killed 237 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: a eunuch that displeased him for some reason or another, 238 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: and he beheaded him, and then the prince brought the severed, 239 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: bloody head into his wife's chambers to shock her and 240 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: her ladies in waiting. When Sado didn't kill the eunuchs outright, 241 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: he would beat them. Taking out his rage and grief 242 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: and frustration. He began to violently sexually assault palace staff 243 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: as well, and beat his wife to the point where 244 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: she was missing formal events because of the bruises. On 245 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: one occasion, in a violent rage or manic state, he 246 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: threw a go board at his wife's face, and the 247 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: injury was so bad that she didn't attend a royal 248 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: ceremony for the king moving palaces. Lady Hia Young had 249 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: been with her husband since they were nine years old. 250 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: Even if she couldn't love him, she still had tenderness 251 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: for him and knew that someone needed to intervene when 252 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: it came to his behavior. Lady hiug Young tried to 253 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: report Sadow's behavior to his mother, the royal noble consort Young, 254 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: but the consort begged Lady Hug Young to keep it quiet. 255 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: The consort knew how terrible her son's behavior was, yes, 256 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: but she didn't want it to turn into malicious palace gossip. 257 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: He was the prince and heir to the throne, after all, 258 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: what would become of them, of all of them if 259 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: people knew that he was unfit to rule. In seventeen 260 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,439 Speaker 1: fifty seven, Prince Sado took another second royal consort, a 261 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: woman named Pingey. He claimed that they were in love, 262 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,479 Speaker 1: but there was a problem. Pingey had been a lady 263 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: in waiting to his grandmother, which was culturally taboo considered incest. 264 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: The king was incensed, and depending on the story, the 265 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: king either tried to force his son to jump down 266 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: a well or he berated Sado so incessantly that Sado 267 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: himself chose to jump down a well as a suicide attempt, 268 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: only to be rescued by guards. Lady Hugyung knew that 269 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: disaster was imminent, and she tried to protect Pingey from 270 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: the outrage of the court and of Sado by bringing 271 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: her to a hidden spot in the home of one 272 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,640 Speaker 1: of Sado's says stairs, but her restpite was only temporary. 273 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: A few years later, in a fit of random rage, 274 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: Sado would assault his mistress Pingay and leave her alone 275 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 1: on the floor, helpless and bleeding until she died. We 276 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: don't know how long Pingaey laid on the floor alone. 277 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: It was Lady Hya Young who prepared Pingay's body for 278 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: the funeral. Rites When the lady returned from the burial, 279 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 1: Sado never mentioned Pingay or her death. She was never 280 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: spoken of again by Sado, completely forgotten. Two more horrible 281 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: events occurred that finally sealed the King's decision to do 282 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: away with Prince Sado altogether. At Sado's twenty fifth birthday party, 283 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: he began screaming at his family, at his mother, his father, 284 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: his sister, and his children. By this point he had 285 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: a son and two daughters by his wife. Sado demanded 286 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: that his younger sister, there father's favorite, use her influence 287 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: to force their father to let him visit the springs 288 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: at Onyon. If you don't, Sado said, glaring at his sister, 289 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 1: I will kill you in front of our mother and 290 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: my wife. Fortunately, in this one case, he was soothed 291 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: and didn't resort to violence. Two years later, Sado made 292 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: another death threat. An official angered him for some reason 293 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: or another, and Sado claimed that he was going to 294 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: kill his son, and so, in an effort to either 295 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 1: follow through or to appear as though he was following through, 296 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: Sado snuck into the upper chambers of the palace through 297 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: a water passage where the official's son lived. Fortunately, the 298 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 1: son didn't happen to be there at the time, and 299 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: so Sado just stole some of the boy's clothing and 300 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: personal effects as a way to send a message. But 301 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: here was the real problem. The King Young Joe also 302 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: lived on the upper floors of the palace, and his 303 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: rumors of Sado's trip upstairs began to circulate. The story 304 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: became that Sado had actually gone up there to try 305 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: to kill King Young Joe. Enough was enough. It seemed 306 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: Young Joe could tolerate erratic behavior, violent assaults, and multiple murders, 307 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: but he would not tolerate even the rumor of a 308 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: threat against his own life. But there were a few 309 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: complications when it came to Young Joe's decision to do 310 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: away with his son. Prince Sado could not be tried 311 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: in court because there was a practice of communal punishment 312 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: at the time, which would have meant that his wife, 313 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: Lady Hyagyung, and more importantly, their children would be punished 314 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: as well. At this point, the couple had three surviving children, 315 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 1: one son and two daughters. Sado was still the king's 316 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: only heir, and Sado's son was directly in line for 317 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: the throne. And even more complicated, there was a rule 318 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: at court that dictated that the body of a royal 319 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: person could not be defiled. So where did that leave 320 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: the king when it came to ways of getting rid 321 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: of his son. On a hot day July four, seventeen 322 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: sixty two, King Young Joe told his son to come 323 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,399 Speaker 1: into his rooms. While members of the court stood silently 324 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: waiting to see what would happen next, the king ordered 325 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: his servants to bring out a rice chest. It was 326 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: a wooden rice chest just over two ft long, empty, 327 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: the lid was taken off. King Young Joe told his son, 328 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: Prince Sotto, to get into the box. Maybe the prince 329 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: thought of disobeying, Perhaps for a fleeting moment he thought 330 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: of running, of fighting, But in the end, Prince Sotto 331 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: obeyed his father and low word himself into the small 332 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: wooden crate, tucking his legs beneath him. The king nodded 333 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: to his servants, who closed the lid and locked it shut. 334 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,919 Speaker 1: The court listened to the scratching, to the screaming, to 335 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,159 Speaker 1: the pleads from the prince, already sweltering inside his small 336 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: wooden prison. The prince's wife, Lady Hiagyang, stood there watching 337 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: with horror. She had already written a letter to the 338 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: king begging for clemency for her and for her son. 339 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: With another nod, the King had the box tied with 340 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: rope and covered in grass and moved to the upper palace. 341 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 1: Lady Hiagyang's brother came that day and took his sister 342 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: and her children back to their parents house for safety 343 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: in a palanquin. From the rice box. The shouts and 344 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: cries continued for another seven days. On the eighth day, 345 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: the prince was finally silent. No one had touched the prince, 346 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: not technically, and so the royal body had not been defiled. 347 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: On July twelfth, seventeen sixty two, they removed the lid 348 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: and saw that Prince Sado was dead. He was twenty 349 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:22,400 Speaker 1: seven years old, The prince was buried on Mount Baibung 350 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,919 Speaker 1: Sang in yang Ju, and when the burial procession returned, 351 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: the king forbade anyone in court from ever mentioning his 352 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: son for the rest of his reign, at least in 353 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 1: order to continue the line of succession without technically including Sado. 354 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 1: King Young Joe had Sado's son posthumously adopted by Sado's 355 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: older brother, the deceased Prince, who had died long before 356 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: Sado was even born, and though there were some challenges 357 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,720 Speaker 1: from the court and the country about the legitimacy of 358 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 1: the boy, when the king died in seventeen seventy six, 359 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: Sado's son Jong Joe became the next king. As soon 360 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:08,399 Speaker 1: as he was crowned, Jong Joe undid the messy fake 361 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:13,239 Speaker 1: adoption nonsense of his grandfather. He proudly declared that he 362 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: was the son of Prince Sado, whom he posthumously renamed 363 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: King Shein Moon Huan MoU jong hun Gwanga the Great. 364 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: The new king also moved his father's body to a 365 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:32,160 Speaker 1: royal tomb some miles outside of Seoul, and when his mother, 366 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: Lady Young Young, died four decades later, she was buried 367 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: next to her husband. That's the story of the short 368 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,440 Speaker 1: and incredibly tragic life of Prince Sado of Korea. But 369 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a 370 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: little bit more about theories surrounding his death. Our primary 371 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: source for a detailed account of Prince Sado's madness and 372 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: his eventual execution murder are from the memoirs of his wife, 373 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 1: Lady hiang Yung, who wrote her reflections several decades after 374 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 1: her husband's death. Some historians and political theorists point out 375 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,640 Speaker 1: the possibility that her account might have been politically motivated, 376 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: not that the actual events that she described didn't happen, 377 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,920 Speaker 1: but that the way that she framed them was meant 378 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: to protect and defend her family. Some point out that 379 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: by emphasizing Sato's brutality and insanity, Lady Hiagyung is tacitly 380 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,359 Speaker 1: giving us a defense of her own inaction of having, 381 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: in theory, stood by while her husband was killed. Some 382 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: even go so far as to argue that Sado's death 383 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: was entirely politically motivated, that Lady Hyayung exaggerated the Prince's 384 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: insanity in her memoirs in order to in part cover 385 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: up what had been a political conspiracy to kill him. 386 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: The idea is that the prince was an outspoken opponent 387 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 1: of the Norn political party, which his wife's family just 388 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: happened to be. Prominent members of the Norn Party had 389 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: been essential in helping King Young John establish his claim 390 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: to the throne, and so some argue that they called 391 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 1: in a political debt in order to get the king 392 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: to eliminate his troublesome son. I think it goes without 393 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: saying that to some degree, of course, anyone writing their 394 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: own memoir is going to frame the events in a 395 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:50,680 Speaker 1: way that focuses on their own experiences and defends their 396 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: own actions and thinking. But I also think the strangeness 397 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: and cruelty of Prince Sado's death sometimes gives modern audiences 398 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: more sympathy for him than they otherwise might have. The 399 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: fact of the matter is cruel and unusual, as his 400 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:13,120 Speaker 1: death was. Prince Otto did murder people. We have multiple 401 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: historical records of the servants who were killed in the 402 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:22,439 Speaker 1: princess fits of passion. Even still, in Soto and his 403 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: wife were posthumously elevated to the status of Emperor and Empress. 404 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: They were given fancy new tombs for people to visit, 405 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: the type of tombs that people might visit and stand 406 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: at for a while and wonder what type of person 407 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: could be buried there. Noble Blood is a production of 408 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. 409 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: The show was written and hosted by Dana Schwartz. Executive 410 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: producers include Aaron Minky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. The 411 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: show is produced by rema Ill Kali and Trevor Young. 412 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, 413 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:10,479 Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at 414 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I 415 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 416 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M M.