American in the Korean Royal Family (1927–2017)
Julia Mullock (March 18, 1927 – November 26, 2017) was an American member of the former imperial family of Korea through her marriage to Yi Ku.
However, her status within the imperial family is disputed as the two were not married in accordance with Korean customs. Thus, Mullock was not included in the Yi household register.[2]
Biography
Early life and Encounter
Julia Mullock was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States to a Ukrainian American family. Her father was from Ukraine who worked as a coal mine worker. He later immigrated to the U.S prior to the birth of his daughter, but died in 1935. Mullock’s mother eventually remarried to man who was from Brooklyn, New York City, and moved there after.
After serving in the Navy in 1944, Julia entered Franklin College of Professional Art and Design where she studied art, architecture, and interior design.[3]
In 1955, she got a job under architect IM Pei, who had an architecture company, where Yi Gu joined the firm after graduating from MIT with an architecture degree. Tired of her work at IM Pei, she decided to study abroad in Spain to study art again.
Mullock taped an advertisement of the notice board of her office for her apartment. Prince Gu saw the notice, visited her apartment, and instead of purchasing it, he persuaded Mullock to stay in the United States. Mullock is said to have been “deeply moved” by Prince Gu when he spoke a few clumsy Ukrainian phrases he knew in an attempt to impress her.
With their encounter, she stated, “He didn’t propose. He declared it unilaterally. ‘We are going to get married.’ That was all, it wasn’t ‘Will you marry me.’ “It wasn’t like getting down on one knee and proposing in the American way or running to my parents to ask for permission to marry me.”
Marriage to Prince Gu
In December 1957, Prince Gu had asked her “There is someone I really need to see. Would you please meet them with me?”. He brought Julia to his parents, Crown Prince Yi Eun and Princess Yi Bangja, who at the time were visiting the United States.
In May 1958, Mullock and Prince Gu were engaged, and they married at the Ukrainian St George's Church in New York City on October 25, 1959. It was up to this time that Prince Hoieun did not reveal his identity as a member of the Korean royal family, but is said to have been living an ordinary newlywed life in Brooklyn.
The couple later moved to Hawai’i, but in 1963, Mullock moved to Korea with her husband where she gained Korean citizenship. Her Korean name was Yi Ju-ah.[3]
Mullock and Prince Gu moved into apartments at Changdeok Palace where she received the title of Grand Heir Consort Hoieun (회은황태손빈).
As a member of the Korean Imperial Household, Mullock devoted her time to helping her mother-in-law with imperial welfare work at Nakseonjae in Changdeok Palace, and doing charitable endeavors in her new homeland.
Mullock opened a clothing store whilst in Korea to help finance her charitable endeavors. This was a time which Mullock called "the happiest times of my life". A cousin-in-law of Mullock said “Mullock fulfilled her duty as a princess of Korea’s last royal family, helping the needy and poor, particularly the handicapped people." Mullock continued her charitable activities for many years after the end of her marriage.[4]
Though unable to have children with Prince Gu, Mullock did adopt a daughter, who was born in 1959 in Seoul, Yi Eun-suk, also known as Eugenia, in 1969 with her husband. Yi Eun-suk was never formally recognized by the Yi Family Council and therefore her being a member of the Korean Imperial Household is disputed.[citation needed]
In 1979, due to the failure of her business in Korea, she left for Japan. Her relationship with the Crown Prince deteriorated and she came into severe conflict with her relatives who complained that she had no heir.
Divorce and later life
So Prince Gu divorced Mullock in 1982 under pressure from the imperial family, as she had produced no heir. Mullock being an official member of the Korean Imperial Household is disputed, this is due to her discovery of her exclusion from the register of the Yi Family Council. Her exclusion became known to her when in the process of finalizing her divorce from Prince Gu in the United States.[5]
She took her adoptive daughter with her and ran her craft shop at the Plaza Hotel where she worked on her disability welfare projects until in 1995 when she left Korea for Hawai’i.
In April 2005, she visited Korea to produce a film based on her life, but it was at this time that he heard news of her ex-husband’s death. Prince Gu who divided his time between Japan, where he worked, and his homeland of Korea, died of a heart attack in 2005. She was not invited to the funeral due to the divorce 23 years ago.
But on May 1, 2005, she secretly saw off her ex-husband on his final journey from afar in a wheelchair in the streets of Jongro. She attended the religious ceremonies at the Royal Ancestors' Shrine (Jongmyo Jerye) with Gwon Hui-sun, her lady-in-waiting, and Princess Yi Hae-won, the daughter of Prince Yi Kang. This was covered a lot in articles as there are a few photos taken related to the funeral of the Grand Heir at the time.[3]
On November 26, 2017, Mullock died from old age on her deathbed at Hale Nani Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, but it took until December 5 for the news to reach.[6] Mullock is survived by her adoptive daughter, Yi Eugenia Eun-suk, who helped conduct the funeral and spread her mother’s ashes in the Pacific Ocean. She continues to live in Hawai’i to this day.
Family
- Wasyl Molock (14 January 1888 - 30 Sep 1935)
- Stepfather - name unknown
- Mother - name unknown
- Spouse
- Issue
- Adoptive daughter - Yi Eun-suk (이은숙, 李恩淑)/Yi Eugenia (1959)
- Adoptive son - Yi Won (이원, 李源) or Yi Sang-hyeob (이상협) (October 21, 1966)[7]
In popular culture
See also
References
External links
