Imperial Noble Consort Sunheon

During the Imo Incident of 1882, when Queen Min (posthumously known as Empress Myeongseong) was forced to flee the palace, Lady Eom demonstrated extreme loyalty to Gojong.

In 1885, Queen Min expelled Lady Eom from the palace after discovering that she had been favored by Gojong; however, a high-ranking official, Yun Yong-seon, interceded on her behalf and she kept her position.

After Queen Min was assassinated in October 1895, Lady Eom returned to the palace and became the King's favored concubine.

At the time, the word “gyebi” (계비), or the title held for the second Queen Consort of a King, was used and referred to the second officially revised palace.

When Gojong established the Korean Empire in 1897, she was later given the royal title of “Sunheon, Imperial Noble Consort of the Highest Rank” (Hwang Gwi-bi) in 1903 after giving birth to Yi Un, Crown Prince Uimin.

As a result of discussions with Yu Gil-jun, Kwon Dong-jin, Jo Jung-eung Cho, and two or three others, he resolved to oppose Eom's position to the Empress.

Yi stated that it would jeopardize the country to make Eom an Empress and decided to send a letter of advice to Lee Jae-soon, the Minister of the Palace.

Eom eventually succeeded in making her son the successor of Emperor Sunjong, but Crown Prince Uimin was taken by Ito Hirobumi to Japan under the pretense to raise him instead.

At the time, her son, Crown Prince Uimin, was staying in Japan and wasn't told about her death until later.