Princess Deokhye

Princess Deokhye of Korea (Korean: 덕혜옹주; Japanese: 徳恵姫, Tokue-hime; 25 May 1912 – 21 April 1989) was the last princess of the Korean royal family.

She was born on 25 May 1912, at Changdeok Palace, in Seoul, as the youngest daughter of Emperor Gojong from his concubine, then known as Yang Gwi-in. After her birth, Gojong bestowed the royal title Boknyeong on Lady Yang.

Deokhye was not formally recognized as a princess by Japan because she was not the daughter of a Queen. In 1917, she was officially recognized as a princess by the Japanese government and her name was also formally entered into the imperial family's registry. Her father loved her greatly and established the Deoksugung Kindergarten for her in Junmyungdang (준명당), Hamnyeong Hall. Girls her age from noble families attended the kindergarten.

In South Korea, she is called Deokhye Ongju, not Gongju. Gongju refers to the daughters of the Queen, and Ongju refers to the daughters of concubines.

Yi Deokhye was born as the daughter of Yang Gwiin (later Lady Boknyeong) and the then-60-year-old Emperor Emeritus Gojong on 25 May 1912, nearly two years after the Japanese annexation of Korea. Immediately after birth, she was called Agi (아기, 阿只, meaning "baby") and then named Deokhye. Her mother was a low-ranking court lady working in the kitchen of Deoksugung.

Gojong had 16 children with his 10 wives, but Deokhye was his first daughter; his four other daughters were not counted as they all died under the age of one. Gojong was delighted with the birth of his first daughter and raised her with meticulous love. In 1916, he established the Deoksugung Kindergarten dedicated to her, where Deokhye would attend. However, apart from her father, because she didn't have an official title, she was ignored and treated like she did not exist. Later, she was nicknamed "Boknyeong-dang".

In 1917, her father persuaded Terauchi Masatake, the then-ruling Governor-General of Korea, to enter her name into the registry of the imperial family, offering her legitimacy and granting her the title of princess.

In 1919, Emperor Gojong planned a secret engagement between Princess Deokhye and Kim Jang-han, the nephew of Kim Hwang-jin, a court chamberlain. He had sought to protect his daughter through it, but the engagement failed due to Japan's intervention and Kim Hwang-jin was not permitted to enter Deoksu Palace again. Emperor Gojong died suddenly on 21 January 1919.