A Troubled Prince
Korea’s Crown Prince Sado (1735 – 1762) was the son of King Yeongjo, and heir to the throne. He never got to inherit, and is best remembered today as a monstrous serial killer and stalker who terrorized the royal palace. Sado was the king’s second son, but the first one had died in 1728. For years, the king’s wives and concubines had given him only daughters, and he despaired of ever getting another male heir. When Sado was born in 1735, his arrival was met with widespread joy. The infant was set up in his own palace with an army of maids, governesses, and servants. However, his father took little part in how his son was raised, or how he was brought up. So Sado was spoiled rotten, did whatever he liked as he grew up.
On the few occasions when the king visited, he was highly irritable, and grew angry at even trivial missteps by his son. As Sado grew up, he oscillated between a great fear of his father, and a desperate need to please him. The latter was difficult, because the king was not into displays of affection. Whenever the two met, Sado’s father was more critical than affectionate. As a result, Sado felt unloved and resentful as he grew up. He had daddy issues, perceived lack of affection, lack of fatherly supervision, and was indulged and flattered by courtiers. Between those and other deep seated neuroses, something broke inside Sado. As seen below, he became a deadly stalker, murderer, and outright monster.