Queen Jeonghyeon (Korean: 정현왕후; Hanja: 貞顯王后; 30 July 1462 – 23 September 1530), of the Papyeong Yun clan, personal name Yun Chang-nyeon, was the third wife of King Seongjong, the ninth monarch of Joseon, and the mother of King Jungjong. She was queen of Joseon from 1480 until her husband's death in 1495. She was then styled as Queen Dowager Jasun during the reign of her adoptive son, the tyrannical Yeonsangun, and that of her son, King Jungjong. Originally a royal consort, she came to wield considerable influence in politics and the continued rise of her natal family laid the groundwork for the Fourth Literati Purge.
The future Queen Jeonghyeon was born during the reign of King Sejo, as the only daughter and second child among two sons and one daughter. Her father was Yun Ho, a high-ranking official who would later become right state councilor, and her mother was a lady from the Damyang Jeon clan.
Born into a prestigious yangban family, Lady Yun is considered to have had a good upbringing, receiving education in both the Korean vernacular script and Chinese characters, and learning calligraphy. She was generally regarded as intelligent, courteous, and kind.
On her paternal side, she was a second cousin once removed of Queen Jangsun and Queen Gonghye; a second cousin twice removed of Queen Jeonghui; a fourth cousin once removed of Queen Janggyeong and Yun Im; and a fourth cousin twice removed of Queen Munjeong and Yun Won-hyeong.
Lady Yun's natal Papyeong Yun clan, like the Haman Yun clan (함안 윤씨) that produced her predecessor, the Deposed Queen Yun, traces its ancestry to the Goryeo general Yun Gwan.
Her maternal aunt married Hong I-yong (홍이용), the maternal uncle of Queen Insu.
One of her second cousins was Chief State Councilor Yun Pil-sang (윤필상).
Another second cousin, Yun Sa-ro (윤사로), married Princess Jeonghyeon (정현옹주), King Sejong's third daughter. Their elder son married the second daughter of Han Myeong-hoe, while one of their granddaughters married Park Won-jong.
Her great-great-great-great-grandfater, Yun An-suk (윤안숙), was the uncle of Consort Hui, making Lady Yun a second cousin four times removed of King Chungjeong of Goryeo.
When it became clear that Queen Han (posthumously Queen Gonghye), the first wife of King Seongjong, was unable to become pregnant due to her weak constitution, it was decided to bring concubines into the palace.
In 1473, at the age of 11, Lady Yun was appointed as a royal consort of the junior second rank (숙의; sugui) under the patronage of Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong.
Queen Han died the following year, and Sugui Yun, who had been selected as a royal consort alongside Lady Yun, was invested as queen and gave birth to the heir to the throne (Yi Yung, later known as Yeonsangun) in 1476. However, the new queen soon proved to be jealous and temperamental, and Seongjong became determined to depose her; despite the officials' objections, the deposition edict was issued in 1479, and three years later, the former queen was ordered to commit suicide by poisoning.
In 1480, the 18-year-old Lady Yun became King Seongjong's third and final wife. Her prestigious background and close familial connections with Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong, Queen Dowager Insu, and the kingmaker Han Myeong-hoe — and therefore with the Papyeong Yun clan and the Cheongju Han clan that formed the backbone of the Hungu faction and had dominated the royal court since King Sejo's accession — as well as perhaps her lack of a son, were the major reasons behind her selection.
Lady Yun had given birth to Princess Sunsuk in 1478, followed by two daughters who would die in infancy in 1485 and 1490, respectively, and her only son, Yi Yeok, in 1488.
The young crown prince, who had been put under her care prior to his fourth birthday, most likely grew up believing Lady Yun to be his biological mother.
In 1495, King Seongjong died of illness after being bedridden for several months. Lady Yun became queen dowager at the age of 32 and received the honorific name Jasun (자순; lit. ''benevolent and yielding''), while the crown prince (Yeonsangun) took the throne.
According to the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, Yeonsangun only discovered the identity of his biological mother after reading King Seongjong's epitaph. He then restored her title and position, and unleashed the Second Literati Purge of 1504, torturing and executing anyone remotely involved in her death.
During this time, Yeonsangun famously stood outside Lady Yun's chambers with a long sword in hand, demanding that she come out; Queen Shin had to intervene to dissuade him and calm the situation.