Empress Myeongseong

Empress Myeongseong
Empress of Korea
Spouse	Gojong of Korea
Issue	Sunjong of Korea
Father	Min Chi-rok
Mother	Hanchang, Princess Consort to the Internal Prince, of the Lee clan

Korean name
Hangul	명성황후
Hanja	明成皇后
Revised Romanization	Myeongseong Hwang-hu
McCune–Reischauer	Myŏngsŏng Hwang-hu

Empress Myeongseong (October 19, 1851 – October 8, 1895), was the first official wife of King Gojong, the 26th king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. In 1902, she received the posthumous name, 孝慈元聖正化合天明成太皇后; 효자원성정화합천명성태황후; Hyoja Wonseong Jeonghwa Hapcheon Myeongseong Taehwanghu, often abbreviated as 明成皇后; 명성황후; Myeongseong Hwanghu, meaning Empress Myeongseong.

In South Korea, there is renewed interest in her life because of recent novels, TV drama and musical. In Korea she is viewed by many as a national heroine, for striving diplomatically and politically to keep Korea independent of foreign influence. She had planned to modernize Korea. The Japanese considered her as an obstacle against its overseas interests. Efforts to remove her from the political arena, orchestrated through failed rebellions prompted by her father-in-law Heungseon Daewongun (an influential regent working with the Japanese), compelled the Empress to take a harsher stand against Japanese influence.

After Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, Empress Min advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea; which was represented by Daewongun. Miura Goro, the Japanese Minister to Korea at the time (a retired army lieutenant-general), backed the faction headed by Daewongun, whom he considered to be more sympathetic to Japanese interests.

In early morning of October 8, 1895, sword-bearing assassins under the orders from Miura Goro entered Gyeongbok Palace. Upon entering the Queen's Quarters (옥호루, "Okhoru, Geonchung Palace"), the assassins "killed three court [women] suspected of being Queen Min. When they confirmed that one of them was Queen Min, they burned the corpse in the pine forest in front of the Okhulu complex of the immense palace, and then dispersed the ashes." . Queen Min was 43.

On October 10, King Gojong divested Queen Min of her peerage and busted to plebeian by his royal decree. On October 11, 1895 King Gojong confered a peerage of Court Lady on Min for the reason of dutiful Dauphin’s petition by his royal decree . On October 24, King Gojong ordered selection of his new wives among the age of 15 to 20 virgins. On December 28, Employee of Japanese Park Seon (朴銑), Korean Army Officer Lee Ju Hoe(李周會) and Korean Palace Guard Officer Yun Seok U (尹錫禹) were sentenced to death for treason in superior court, then they were executed.

On February 11, 1896, King Gojong refuged in the Russian Legation. Then King Gojong said the criminals were Military Minister of Korea Jo Hui Yeon (趙羲淵), Yu Kil-chun (兪吉濬) , Zhang Park (張博), Gwon Yeong Jin (權濚鎭), Lee Du Hwang (李斗璜), U Beom Seon (禹範善), Lee Beom Rae (李範來), Lee Jin Ho (李軫鎬) and others. And King Gojong ordered that cutting their heads off and bringing their heads to the Russian Legation.

The assassination of the Korean Empress ignited diplomatic protest abroad. To appease growing international criticism, the Japanese government "recalled Miura and tried him at the Hiroshima District Court, while the military personnel involved were tried at the military court. All were found not guilty.

After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Miura was honored and awarded a seat at the Privy Council (Sumitsuin), the advisory board to the Emperor.

The Empress's role has been widely debated by historians. Some Koreans who survived the Japanese occupation criticize her for failing to militarily resist the Japanese. The Japanese portrayal of Empress Myeongseong forms part of the recent controversy over allegations of revisionist history in Japanese school textbooks.

Background

End of an Era

In 1864, King Cheoljong was dying and there are no male heirs; the result of suspected foul play by a rival branch of the royal family, the Andong Kim clan. The Andong Kim clan had risen to power through intermarriage with the royal Yi family. Queen Cheolin, the queen consort of Cheoljong and a member of the Andong Kim clan, claimed the right to choose the next king, although traditionally, the eldest Dowager Queen is the one with the authority to select the new king. Cheoljong’s cousin, Grand Royal Dowager Queen Sinjeong (Heonjong's father (entitled Ikjong)'s widow), of the Pungyang Jo clan, which too had risen to prominence by intermarriage with the Yi family, currently held this title.

Sinjeong saw an opportunity to advance the cause of the Pungyang Jo clan, the only true rival of the Andong Kim clan in Korean politics. As Cheoljong fell deeper under his illness, the Grand Royal Dowager Queen was approached by Yi Ha-eung, an obscure descendant of King Yeongjo, thru his son Prince Successor Sado.

The branch that Yi Ha-eung's family belonged to was an obscure line of descent of the Yi clan, which survived the often deadly political intrigue that frequently embroiled the Joseon court by forming no affiliation with any factions. Yi Ha-eung himself was ineligible for the throne due to a law that dictated that any possible heir to the kingdom be part of the generation after the most recent incumbent of the throne, but Yi Myeong-bok, Yi Ha-eung's second son (the future King Gojong and Gwangmu Emperor), was a possible successor to the throne.

The Pungyang Jo clan saw that Yi Myeong-bok was only twelve years old, and would not be able to rule in his own name until he came of age, and that they could easily influence Yi Ha-eung, who would be acting as regent for the to-be boy king. As soon as news of Cheoljong's death reached Yi Ha-eung through his intricate network of spies in the palace, he and the Pungyang Jo clan took the hereditary royal seal (an object that was considered necessary for a legitimate reign to take place and aristocratic recognition to be received) - effectively giving her absolute power to select the successor to the throne. By the time Cheoljong's death had become a known fact, the Andong Kim clan was powerless according to law as the seal lay in the hands of the Grand Royal Dowager Queen Sinjeong.

In the autumn of 1864, Yi Myeong-bok was crowned the new King of the Kingdom of Joseon, with his father entitled as the Heungseon Daewongun (大院君; 대원군; Daewongun; Grand Internal Prince).

The strongly Confucian Heungseon Daewongun proved to be a wise and calculating leader in the early years of Gojong's reign. He abolished the old government institutions that had become corrupt under the rule of various clans, revised the law codes along with the household laws of the royal court and the rules of court ritual, and heavily reformed the military techniques of the royal armies. Within a few short years, he was able to secure complete control of the court and eventually receive the submission of the Pungyang Jos while successfully disposing the last of the Andong Kims, whose corruption, he believed, was responsible for ruining the country.

A New Queen

Empress Myeongseong

The future empress was born into the aristocratic Min family of Yeoheung (여흥민) on October 19 1851. in Yeoju-gun (여주군 驪州郡), in the province of Kyeonggi (경기도 京畿道) (where the clan originated).

Min belonged to a noble but impoverished clan. The clan had boasted of many highly positioned bureaucrats in its illustrious past, even two queens. The first (Queen Wongyeong (원경왕후)) was the wife of the third king of the Joseon Dynasty, Taejong, and the second (Min In-hyeon (인현왕후)) was the wife of the 19th king, Sukjong; but by the time Myeongseong was born, the clan found itself battling poverty, and was completely without influence. In less eventful eras such an impotent clan would never have bred a queen, but the political situation in which Korea found itself at the time provided the very catalyst for the Min clan’s return to power and the chance of rise to royal stature once more.

That child was the daughter of Min Chi-rok (閔致祿 민치록), which is how she was known before her marriage. Some fictional accounts name her Min Ja-young (민자영) but this tradition has not been confirmed by historical sources. At the age of eight she had lost both of her parents. Little is known of her mother, her childhood, or the causes of her parents’ early deaths.

When Gojong reached the age of fifteen, his father decided it was time for him to be married. He was diligent in finding a queen without close relatives, who would harbour political ambitions and yet with noble lineage, in order to justify his choice to the court and the people. Candidates were rejected one by one, until the wife of Daewongun (Min, the Princess Consosrt to the Prince of the Great Court 민부대부인)'s proposed a bride from her own clan (the Yeoheung Mins). His wife's description of the girl was quite persuasive: orphaned, beautiful features, healthy body, ordinary level of education (no less than of the most noble in the country). The first meeting of the proposed bride with the Daewongun was easily arranged as she lived in the nearby Anguk-dong neighborhood.

Their meeting was a success, and on March 20 1866), the future Queen (and later Empress Myeongseong) married the boy king. Their wedding took place at the Injeongjeon Hall at Changdeok Palace.

It is known that the wig (which was usually worn by royal brides at weddings) was so heavy that a tall court lady was specially assigned to support it from the back. The wedding ceremony was barely finished when another three-day ceremony for the reverencing of the ancestors started.

In the coronation ceremony the girl, barely sixteen, was invested as the Queen of Joseon, and ascended the throne with her husband. She was styled as Her Royal Highness, Queen Min (閔大妃 민대비 Min Daebi Queen Min). After she became the queen, she was called "Her Palace Majesty" (중전마마).

She was an assertive and ambitious woman, unlike other queens that came before her. She did not participate in lavish parties, rarely commissioned extravagant fashions from the royal ateliers, and almost never hosted afternoon tea parties with the powerful aristocratic ladies and princesses of the royal family, unless politics beckoned her to. As Queen, she was expected to act as icon to the high society of Korea, but Min rejected this belief. She, instead, read books reserved for men (examples of which were Springs and Autumns (春秋) and Notes of a Jwa on Springs and Autumns (춘추좌씨전)), and taught herself philosophy, history, science, politics and religion. This tradition of pursue for scholarly advancement is a characteristic of the Min women to this day.

While delving in knowledge and personal matters, Queen Min rarely accompanied her husband Gojong, who found entertainment with appointed concubines and kisaengs at his private quarters, and at the tea houses of Hanseong.

The Beginnings

Court Domination

Even without parents, Min was able to secretly form a powerful faction against Heungseon Daewongun as soon as she reached adulthood. At the age of 20, she began to wander outside her apartments at Changgyeonggung and play an active part in politics. At the same time, the to-be (although not yet titled that) Queen defended her views against high officials who viewed her as becoming meddlesome. Heungseon Daewongun was also upset by the Queen's aggressiveness.

The political struggle between Min and Heungseon Daewongun became public when the son she bore for Gojong died prematurely. Heungseon Daewongun publicly stated that Min was unable to bear a healthy male child and directed Gojong to have intercourse with a royal concubine, Yeongbodang Yi. In 1880, the concubine gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Prince Wanhwagun, whom Heungseon Daewongun titled Prince Successor.

Min responded with a powerful faction of high officials, scholars, and members of her clan to bring down Heungseon Daewongun from power. The to-be (again, she was not referred to this at the time) Queen’s relative, Min Sung-ho, with court scholar Choi Ik-hyun, wrote a formal impeachment of Heungseon Daewongun to be presented to the Royal Council of Administration, arguing that Gojong, now 22, should rule in his own right. With the approval of Gojong and the Royal Council, Heungseon Daewongun was forced to retire to his estate at Yangju in 1872, the smaller Unhyeongung. The to-be Empress then banished the royal concubine and her child to a village outside the capital, stripped of royal titles. The child soon died afterwards, with some accusing Min of involvement.

With the retirement of Heungseon Daewongun and the expelled concubine and her son, the to-be Queen gained complete control over her court, placing her family in high court positions. This action proved that Min was the Queen of Korea, who ruled with her husband, King Gojong, but was distinctly more politically active than he was.

The Hermit Kingdom Emerges

After the Korean refusal to receive Japanese envoys announcing the Meiji Restoration, some Japanese aristocrats favored an immediate invasion of Korea, but the idea was quickly dropped upon the return of the Iwakura Mission on the grounds that the new Japanese government was neither politically nor fiscally stable enough to start a war. When Heungseon Daewongun was ousted from politics, Japan renewed efforts to establish ties with Korea, but the Imperial envoy arriving at Tongrae in 1873 was turned away.

The Japanese government, which sought to emulate the empires of Europe in their tradition of enforcing so-called Unequal Treaties, responded by sending the Japanese battleship Unyo towards Busan and another battleship to the Bay of Yonghung on the pretext of surveying sea routes; meaning to pressuring Korea into opening its doors. The Unyo ventured into restricted waters of Ganhwa Island, provoking an attack from Korean shore batteries. The Unyo fled but the Japanese used the incident as a pretext to force a treaty on the Korean government. In 1876 six naval vessels and an Imperial Japanese Envoy were sent to Ganghwa Island to enforce this command.

A majority of the royal court favored absolute isolationism, but Japan had demonstrated its willingness to use force. After numerous meetings, officials were sent to sign the Ganghwa Treaty, a treaty been modeled after treaties imposed on Japan by the United States. On February 15, 1876, opening Korea to Japan.

Various ports were forced open to Japanese trade, and Japanese now had to rights to buy land in designated areas. The treaty also permitted the opening of Incheon and Wonsan to Japanese merchants. For the first few years, Japan enjoyed a near total monopoly of trade, while Korean merchants suffered serious losses.

A Social Revolution

In 1877, a mission headed by Kim Gwang-jip was commissioned by Gojong and Min to study Japanese westernization and intentions for Korea.

Kim and his team were shocked at how large the Japanese cities had become. Kim Gi-su noted that only fifty years ago, Seoul and Busan of Korea were metropolitan centers of East Asia, towering over underdeveloped Japanese cities; but now, with Tokyo and Osaka completely westernized, Seoul and Busan looked like vestiges of the ancient past.

When they were in Japan, Kim Gwang-jip met with the Chinese Ambassador to Tokyo, Ho Ju-chang and the councilor Huang Tsun-hsien. They discussed the international situation of Qing China and Joseon's place in the rapidly changing world. Huang Tsu-hsien presented to Kim a book he had written called Korean Strategy.

China was no longer the hegemonic power of East Asia, and Korea no longer enjoyed military superiority over Japan. In addition, the Russian Empire began expansion into Asia. Huang advised that Korea should adopt a pro-Chinese policy, while retaining close ties with Japan for the time being. He also advised an alliance with the United States for protection against Russia. He advised opening trade relations with Western nations and adopting Western technology. He noted that China had tried but failed due to its size, but Korea was smaller than Japan. He viewed Korea as a barrier to Japanese expansion into mainland Asia. He suggested Korean youths be sent to China and Japan to study, and Western teachers of technical and scientific subjects be invited to Korea.

When Kim Gwang-jip returned to Seoul, Min took special interest in Huang's book and commissioned copies be sent out to all the ministers. Min hoped to win yangban approval to invite Western nations into Korea.

She wanted to first allow Japan to help in the modernization process but towards completion of certain projects, be driven out by Western powers. She intended for Western powers to begin trade and investment in Korea to keep Japan in check.

However, the yangban still opposed opening the country to the West. Choi Ik-hyeon, who had helped with the impeachment of Heungseon Daewongun, sided with the isolationists, saying that the Japanese were just like the “Western barbarians” who would spread subversive notions like Catholicism (which had been a major issue during Heungseon Daewongun's reign that ended in massive persecution).

To the scholars and the yangban, Min's plan meant the destruction of social order. The response to the distribution of “Korean Strategy” was a joint memorandum to the throne from scholars in every province of the kingdom. They stated that the ideas in the book were mere abstract theories, unrealizable in practice, and that the adoption of Western technology was not the only way to enrich the country. They demanded that the number of envoys exchanged, ships engaged in trade and articles of trade be strictly limited, and that all foreign books in Korea should be destroyed.

Despite these objections, in 1881, a large fact-finding mission was sent to Japan to stay for seventy days observing Japanese government offices, factories, military and police organizations, and business practices. They also obtained information about innovations in the Japanese government copied from the West, especially the proposed constitution.

On the basis of these reports, Min began the reorganization of the government. Twelve new bureaus were established that dealt with foreign relations with the West, China, and Japan. Other bureaus were established to effectively deal with commerce. A bureau of the military was created to modernize weapons and techniques. Civilian departments were also established to import Western technology.

In the same year, Min signed documents for top military students to be sent to Qing China. The Japanese quickly volunteered to supply military students with rifles and train a unit of the Korean army to use them. Queen Min agreed but reminded the Japanese that the students would still be sent to China for further education on Western military technologies.

The modernization of the military was met with opposition. The special treatment of the new training unit caused resentment among the other troops. In September 1881, a plot was uncovered to overthrow Min’s faction, depose Gojong, and place Heungseon Daewongun's illegitimate (third) son, Yi Jae-son on the throne. The plot was frustrated by Min but Heungseon Daewongun was kept safe from persecution because he was the father of the King.

The Insurrection of 1882

In 1882, members of the old military became so resentful of the special treatment of the new units that they attacked and destroyed the house of Min Kyeom-ho, a relative of the Queen who was the administrative head of the training units. These soldiers then fled to Heungseon Daewongun, who publicly rebuked but privately encouraged them. Heungseon Daewongun then took control of the old units.

He ordered an attack on the administrative district of Seoul that housed the Gyeongbokgung, the diplomatic quarter, military centers, and science institutions. The soldiers attacked police stations to free comrades who had been arrested and then began the ransacking of private estates and mansions of the relatives of the Queen. These units then stole rifles and began to kill Japanese training officers, narrowly missed killing the Japanese ambassador to Seoul, who quickly escaped to Incheon. The military rebellion then headed towards the palace but Queen Min and the King escaped in disguise and fled to her relative’s villa in Cheongju, where they remained in hiding.

Numerous supporters of Queen Min were put to death as soon as Heungseon Daewongun arrived and took administrative control of Gyeongbokgung. He immediately dismantled the reform measures implemented by Min and relieved the new units of their duty. Foreign policy quickly turned isolationist, and Chinese and Japanese envoys were forced out of the capital.

Li Hung-chang, with the consent of Korean envoys in Beijing, sent 4,500 Chinese troops to restore order, as well as to secure Chinese interest in Korean politics. The troops arrested Heungseon Daewongun, who was taken to China to be tried for treason. Min and her husband returned and overturned all of Heungseon Daewongun's actions.

The Japanese forced King Gojong privately, without Min's knowledge, to sign a treaty on August 10, 1882, to pay 550,000 yen for lives and property that the Japanese had lost during the insurrection, and permit Japanese troops to guard the Japanese embassy in Seoul. When Min learned of the treaty, she proposed to China a new trade agreement, granting the Chinese special privileges and rights to ports inaccessible to the Japanese. Min also requested that a Chinese commander take control of the new military units and a German adviser named Paul George von Moellendorff to head the Maritime Customs Service.

The American Expedition

In September 1883, Min established English language schools with American instructors. Min sent a special mission to the United States headed by Min Young-ik, a relative of the Queen, in July 1883. The mission arrived at San Francisco carrying the newly created Korean national flag, visited many American historical sites, heard lectures on American history, and attended a gala event in their honor given by the mayor of San Francisco and other U.S. officials. The mission dined with President Chester A. Arthur and discussed the growing threat of Japan and American investment in Korea. At the end of September, Min Young-ik returned to Seoul and reported to the Queen, "I was born in the dark. I went out into the light, and your Majesty, it is my displeasure to inform you that I have returned to the dark. I envision a Seoul of towering buildings filled with Western establishments that will place herself back above the Japanese barbarians. Great things lay ahead for the Kingdom, great things. We must take action, your Majesty, without hesitation, to further modernize this still ancient kingdom."

The Progressives vs. The Sadaedang

The Progressives were founded during the late 1870s by a group of yangban who fully supported Westernization of Joseon. However, they wanted immediate Westernization, including a complete cut-off of ties with Qing China. Unaware of their anti-Chinese sentiments, the Queen granted frequent audiences and meetings with them to discuss progressivism and nationalism. They advocated for educational and social reforms, including the equality of the sexes by granting women full rights, issues that were not even acknowledged in their already Westernized neighbor of Japan. Min was completely enamored by the Progressives in the beginning, but when she learned that they were deeply anti-Chinese, Min quickly turned her back on them. Cutting ties with China immediately was not in Min's gradual plan of Westernization. She saw the consequences Joseon would have to face if she did not play China and Japan off by the West gradually, especially since she was a strong advocate of the Sadae faction who were pro-China and pro-gradual Westernization.

However, in 1884, the conflict between the Progressives and the Sadaes intensified. When American legation officials, particularly Naval Attaché George C. Foulk, heard about the growing problem, they were outraged and reported directly to the Queen. The Americans attempted to bring the two groups to peace with each other in order to aid the Queen in a peaceful transformation of Joseon into a modern nation. After all, she liked the ideas and plans of both parties. As a matter of fact, she was in support of many of the Progressive's ideas, except for severing relations with China.

However, the Progressives, fed up with the Sadaes and the growing influence of the Chinese, sought the aid of the Japanese legation guards and staged a bloody palace coup on December 4, 1884. The Progressives killed numerous high Sadaes and secured key government positions vacated by the Sadaes who had fled the capital or had been killed.

The refreshed administration began to issue various edicts in the King and Queen's names and they were eager to implement political, economic, social, and cultural reforms. Queen Min, however, was horrified by the bellicosity of the Progressives and refused to support their actions and declared any documents signed in her name to be null and void. After only two days of new influence over the administration, they were crushed by Chinese troops under Yuan Shih-kai's command. A handful of Progressive leaders were killed. Once again, the Japanese government saw the opportunity to extort money out of the Joseon government by forcing King Gojong, again without the knowledge of the Queen, to sign a treaty. The Hanseong Treaty forced Joseon to pay a large sum of indemnity for damages inflicted on Japanese lives and property during the coup.

On April 18, 1885 the Li-Ito Agreement was made in Tianjin, China between the Japanese and the Chinese. In it, they agreed to both pull troops out of Joseon and that either party would send troops only under condition of their property being endangered and that each would inform the other before doing so. Both nations also agreed to pull out their military instructors to allow the newly arrived Americans to take full control of that duty. The Japanese withdrew troops from Korea, leaving a small number of legation guards, but Queen Min was ahead of the Japanese in their game. She summoned Chinese envoys and through persuasion, convinced them to keep 2,000 soldiers disguised as Joseon police or merchants to guard the borders from any suspicious Japanese actions and to continue to train Korean troops.

The Innovator

Education

Peace finally settled upon the once-renowned "Land of the Morning Calm." With the majority of Japanese troops out of Joseon and Chinese protection readily available, the plans for further, drastic modernization were continued. Plans to establish a palace school to educate children of the elite had been in the making since 1880 but were finally executed in May 1885 with the approval of Queen Min. A palace school named Yugyoung Kung-won was established, with an American missionary, Dr. Homer B. Hulbert, and three other missionaries to lead the development of the curriculum. The school had two departments, liberal education and military education. Courses were taught exclusively in English using English textbooks.

In May 1885, Queen Min also gave her patronage to the first all girls' academy, Ewha Academy, now known under the name of one of Asia's finest elite universities for women, Ewha University. This was the first time in history that any Korean girl, commoner or aristocratic, had the right to an education. This was a significant social change. In 1887, Queen Min, with the help of an American nurse named Annie Ellers established another school for girls named Yeondong Academy. The courses at these schools were rigorous and exclusively taught in English. Queen Min also introduced the concept of a second Western language and hired teachers for French, German, and Spanish to be taught at all the schools established. Chinese was also emphasized and traditional Korean along with the classical Korean script of Hanmun (also known as Hanja, or classical Chinese characters used in Korean, used in Korean much as English uses Greek and Latin) were made part of the compulsory education through high school.

The Protestant missionaries contributed much to the development of Western education in Joseon. Queen Min, unlike Heungseon Daewongun who had oppressed Christians, invited different missionaries to enter Joseon. She knew and valued their knowledge of Western history, science, and mathematics and was aware of the advantage of having them within the nation. Unlike the Isolationists, she saw no threat to the Confucian morals of Korean society by the advent of Christianity. Religious tolerance was another one of Queen Min's goals and in June 1885, she approved the establishment of Baeje Academy, the first Christian school purposely established to educate commoners. In the same year, under the patronage of King Gojong, Dr. Horace G. Underwood of the Northern Presbyterian Church of the U.S. founded a school for boys called Kyeongshin Academy.

Knowing that schools also had to be established outside of Seoul, Queen Min extended her patronage to a secondary school for boys named Kwangseon in Pyongyang and a secondary school for girls called Sungdok in Yongbyon. These two became the first modern schools in northern Korea.

The Press

The first newspaper to be published in Joseon was the Hanseong Sunbo, an all-Hanja newspaper that was approved by the King and Queen. It was published as a thrice monthly official government gazette by the Pangmun-guk, an agency of the Foreign Ministry. It included contemporary news of the day, essays and articles about Westernization, and news of further modernization of Joseon.

In January 1886, under the commission of Queen Min, the Pangmun-guk published a new newspaper named the Hanseong Jubo (The Seoul Weekly). She ordered it to be strictly written in Hangul with a mixture of Hanja, a format that has become the standard for many modern Korean newspapers. The publication of a Korean-language newspaper was a significant development, and the paper itself played an important role as a communication media to the masses until it was abolished in 1888 under pressure from the Chinese government. Queen Min and King Gojong had ensured the freedom of the press, an idea transported from the West that even Japan and Qing China did not adopt, and the Chinese grew uncomfortable with the constant criticism of their presence.

A newspaper in entirely Hangul, disregarding the Korean Hanja script, was not published until 1894. Ganjo Shimpo (The Seoul News) was published as a weekly newspaper under the patronage of Queen Min and King Gojong, it was written half in Korean and half in Japanese.

Medicine, Religion, and Music

The arrival of Dr. Horace N. Allen under invitation of Queen Min in September 1884 marked the official beginning of Christianity rapidly spreading in Joseon. He was able, with the Queen's permission and official sanction, to arrange for the appointment of other missionaries as government employees. He also introduced modern medicine in Korea by establishing the first western Royal Medical Clinic of Gwanghyewon in February 1885.

In April 1885, a horde of Christian missionaries began to flood into Joseon. The Isolationists were horrified and realized they had finally been defeated by Queen Min. The doors to Joseon were not only open to ideas, technology, and culture, but even to other religions. Having lost immense power with Heungseon Daewongun still in China as captive, the Isolationists could do nothing but simply watch. Dr. and Mrs. Horace G. Underwood, Dr. and Mrs. William B. Scranton, and Dr. Scranton's mother, Mary Scranton, made Joseon their new home in May 1885. They established churches within Seoul and began to establish centers in the countrysides. Catholic missionaries arrived soon afterwards, reviving Catholicism which had witnessed massive persecution in 1866 under Heungseon Daewongun's rule.

While winning many converts, Christianity made significant contributions towards the modernization of the country. Concepts of equality, human rights and freedom, and the participation of both men and women in religious activities, were all new to Joseon. Queen Min was ecstatic at the prospect of integrating these values within the government. After all, they were not just Christian values but Western values in general. The Protestant missions introduced also Christian hymns and other Western songs which created a strong impetus to modernize Korean ideas about music. Queen Min had wanted the literacy rate to rise, and with the aid of Christian educational programs, it did so significantly within a matter of a few years.

Drastic changes were made to music as well. Western music theory partly displaced the traditional Eastern concepts. The organ and other Western musical instruments were introduced in 1890, and a Christian hymnal, Changsongga, was published in Korean in 1893 under the commission of Queen Min. She herself, however, never became a Christian, but remained a devout Buddhist with influences from shamanism and Confucianism; her religious beliefs would become the model, indirectly, for those of many modern Koreans, who share her belief in pluralism and religious tolerance.

Military

Modern weapons were imported from Japan and the United States in 1883. The first military factories were established and new military uniforms were created in 1884. Under joint patronage of Queen Min and King Gojong, a request was made to the U.S. for more American military instructors to speed up the military modernization of Korea. Out of all the projects that were going on simultaneously, the military project took the longest. To manage these simultaneous projects was in itself was a major accomplishment for any nation. Not even Japan had modernized at the rate of Joseon, and not with as many projects going on at once, a precursor to modern Korea as one of East Asia's Tigers in rapid development into a first class nation during the 1960s-1980s.

In October 1883, American minister Lucius Foote arrived to take command of the modernization of Joseon's older army units that had not started Westernizing. In April 1888, General William McEntyre Dye and two other military instructors arrived from the U.S., followed in May by a fourth instructor. They brought about rapid military development.

A new military school was created called Yeonmu Gongweon, and an officers training program began. However, despite armies becoming more and more on par with the Chinese and the Japanese, the idea of a navy was neglected. As a result, it became one of the few failures of the modernization project. Due to the neglect of developing naval defence, Joseon's sea borders were open to invasion. It was an ironic mistake since only a hundred years earlier, Joseon's navy was the strongest in all of East Asia, having been the first nation in the world to develop massive iron-clad warships equipped with cannons. Now, Joseon's navy was nothing but ancient ships that could barely defend themselves from the advanced ships of modern navies.

However, for a short while, hope for the military of Joseon could be seen. With rapidly growing armies, Japan herself was becoming fearful of the impact of Joseon troops if her government did not interfere soon to stall the process.

Economy

Following the opening of all Korean ports to the Japanese and Western merchants in 1888, contact and involvement with outsiders and increased foreign trade rapidly. In 1883, the Maritime Customs Service was established under the patronage of Queen Min and the supervision of Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet of the United Kingdom. The Maritime Customs Service administered the business of foreign trade and the collection of tariff.

By 1883, the economy was now no longer in a state of monopoly conducted by the Japanese as it had been only a few years ago. The majority was in control by the Koreans while portions were distributed between Western nations, Japan, and China. In 1884, the first Korean commercial firms, such as the Daedong and the Changdong companies, emerged. The Bureau of Mint also produced a new coin called tangojeon in 1884, securing a stable Korean currency at the time. Western investment began to take hold as well in 1886.

The German A.H. Maeterns, with the aid of the Department of Agriculture of the U.S., created a new project called "American Farm" on a large plot of land donated by Queen Min to promote modern agriculture. Farm implements, seeds, and milk cows were imported from the United States. In June 1883, the Bureau of Machines was established and steam engines were imported. However, despite the fact that Queen Min and King Gojong brought the Korean economy to an acceptable level to the West, modern manufacturing facilities did not emerge due to a political interruption: the assassination of Queen Min. Be that as it may, telegraph lines between Joseon, China, and Japan were laid between 1883 and 1885, facilitating communication.

Personal life

Early Years

File:Empress Myeong-Seong of Korea.JPG

A full-body imperial portrait of Empress Myeongseong made after her death by Korean palace painters

Both the The National Assembly Library of Korea and records kept by Lilias Underwood, an American missionary who came to Korea in 1888 and was appointed the Queen’s doctor (she enjoyed the Empress' full trust and inti­mate friendship), left very sincere and vivid descriptions of the Queen.

Both of described how the Empress looked like, how her voice sounded like, and her public manner. She was said to have had a soft face with strong features, a classic pretty but far from the sultry taste Gojong enjoyed. Her speaking voice was soft and warm, but when conducting affairs of the state, she would immediately assert her points with strength. Her public manner was also formal and heavily adhered to court etiquette and traditional law. Underwood described the Empress in the following:

I wish I could give the public a true picture of the queen as she appeared at her best, but this would be impossible, even had she permitted a photograph to be taken, for her charming play of expression while in conversation, the character and intellect which were then revealed, were only half seen when the face was in repose. She wore her hair like all Korean ladies, parted in the cen­ter, drawn tightly and very smoothly away from the face and knotted rather low at the back of the head. A small ornament...was worn on the top of the head fastened by a narrow black band. Her majesty seemed to care little for orna­ments, and wore very few. No Korean women wear earrings, and the queen was no exception, nor have I ever seen her wear a necklace, a brooch, or a bracelet. She must have had many rings, but I never saw her wear more than one or two of European manufacture... According to Korean custom, she carried a number of filigree gold ornaments decorated with long silk tassels fas­tened at her side. So simple, so perfectly refined were all her tastes in dress, it is difficult to think of her as belonging to a nation called half civilized...Slightly pale and quite thin, with somewhat sharp features and brilliant piercing eyes, she did not strike me at first sight as being beautiful, but no one could help reading force, intellect and strength of character in that face...

To put it simply, Gojong and the young Min did not get along at first. Both found each other's ways repulsive, Min preferring to stay within her chambers studying, Gojong enjoying his days and nights drinking and attending banquets and royal parties. The two, in the beginning, were incompatible. Min was genuinely concerned with the affairs of the state, immersing herself within philosophy, history, and science books that were normally reserved for yangban men. She once remarked to a close friend, "He disgusts me."

Court officials remarked that when Min ascended the throne, she was extremely exclusive in choosing who she associated with and confided with. In this remark, her relationship with the royal court from the very beginning strongly resembles the relationship of Marie Antoinette with her court. Both women found court etiquette restricting but both women strictly adhered themselves to traditional laws to impress and to gain respect of the aristocracy. Both women also did not consummate their marriage on their wedding night, as court tradition dictated them to. Adding onto their frustrations, both women found immense difficulty in conceiving a healthy heir. Min's first attempt ended in despair and humilitation; she conceived a male heir but he shortly died after his birth due to poor health. Her second attempt found success, but Sunjong was never a healthy child, often catching illnesses and lying in bed for weeks. Both Marie Antoinette and Min also never were able to truly connect and fall in love with their husbands until their times of troubles brought them together. In the end, both women were destined for tragic endings; one being guillitioned by her people, misunderstood and her name wrongly distorted; the other brutally assassinated by the Japanese.

Later Years

The national funeral march for Empress Myeongseong two years after her assassination by Japanese criminals in 1895

Min and Gojong began to grow affections for each other during their later years. Gojong was pressured by his advisors to take control of the government and administer his nation. However, one has to remember that Gojong was not chosen to become King because of his acumen (which he lacked because he was never formally educated) or because of his bloodline (which was mixed with courtesan and common blood), but because the Jo clan had falsely assumed they could control the boy through his father. When it was actually time for Gojong to assume his responsibilities of the state, he often needed the aid of his wife, Min, to conduct international and domestic affairs. In this, Gojong grew an admiration for his wife's wit, intelligence, and ability to learn quickly. As the problems of the kingdom grew bigger and bigger, Gojong relied even more on his wife, she becoming his rock during times of frustration.

During the years of modernization of Joseon, it is safe to assume that Gojong was finally in love with his wife. They both began to spend an immense amount of time with each other, privately and officially. They shared each other's problems, celebrated each other's joys, and felt each other's pains. They finally became husband and wife.

His affection for her was undying and it has been noted that after the death of Min, Gojong locked himself up in his chambers for weeks and weeks, refusing to assume his duties. When he finally did, he lost the will to even try and signed away treaty after treaty that was proposed by the Japanese, giving the Japanese immense power. When Heungseon Daewongun was able to take back some political power after the death of Min, he presented a proposal with the aid of certain Japanese officials to lower Min's status as Empress all the way to commoner in her death. Gojong, a man who had always been used by others and never used his own voice for his own causes, was noted by scholars as having said, "I would rather slit my wrists and let them bleed than disgrace the woman who saved this kingdom." In an act of defiance, he refused to sign Heungseon Daewongun's and the Japanese proposal, and turned them away.

The Eulmi Incident

Okhoru Pavilion in Geoncheongjeon, Gyeongbokgung where the Empress was killed

The Eulmi Incident (을미사변, 乙未事變) is the term used for the assassination of Empress Myeongseong which occurred in the early hours of October 8, 1895 at Okho-ru Pavillion (옥호루, 玉壺樓) Geoncheong-gung building (건청궁, 乾淸宮) in Kyongbok Palace.

Involved parties

In Japan, fifty-six men were charged, but all were acquitted by a Hiroshima court due to a lack of evidence.

They included:

• Miura Gorō
• Kunitomo Shigeaki (國友 重章)
• Ieiri Kakitsu (家入 嘉吉)
• Kikuchi Kenjō (菊池 謙讓)

In May 2005, 84 year old Tatsumi Kawano (川野 龍巳), the grandson of Kunitomo Shigeaki, paid his respects to Empress Myeongseong at her tomb in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea. He apologized to Empress Myeongseong's tomb on behalf of his grandfather.

An eye-witness account

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Murderers of the Empress took a pose in front of Hanseong sinbo building in Seoul, Korea. (1895)

Sunjong, the first son of Gojong and Empress Myeongseong, reported he saw Korean troops and General U Beomseon (우범선; 禹範善), father of Woo Jang-choon (우장춘, 禹長春), an agricultural scientist, at the assassination spot, and accused Korean General U as "Foe of Mother". In addition to accusation, Sunjong sent two Korean men to kill General U later, and General U was assassinated by them in Hiroshima, Japan on 1903.

In 2005, professor Kim Rekho (김려춘; 金麗春) of the Russian Academy of Sciences came across a written account of the incident by a Russian civilian named Aleksey Seredin-Sabatin (Алексей Середин-Cабатин) in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (Архив внешней политики Российской империи; AVPRI). Seredin-Sabatin was in the service of the Korean government, working under the American general William McEntyre Dye who was also under contract to the Korean government. In April, Kim made a request to the Myongji University (명지대학교; 明知大學校) Library LG Collection to make the document public. On May 11, 2005 the document was made public.

Almost five years prior to the document's release in South Korea, a translated copy was already in circulation in the United States, having been released by the Center for Korean Research of Columbia University on October 6, 1995 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Eulmi Incident.

In the account, Seredin-Sabatin recorded: "The courtyard where the queen's wing was located was filled with Japanese, perhaps as many as 20 or 25 men. They were dressed in peculiar gowns and were armed with sabres, some of which were openly visible. ... While some Japanese troops were rummaging around in every corner of the palace and in the various annexes, others burst into the queen's wing and threw themselves upon the women they found there. ... I ... continued to observe the Japanese turning things inside out in the queen's wing. Two Japanese grabbed one of the court ladies, pulled her out of the house, and ran down the stairs dragging her along behind them. ... Moreover one of the Japanese repeatedly asked me in English, "Where is the queen? Point the queen out to us!" ... While passing by the main Throne Hall, I noticed that it was surrounded shoulder to shoulder by a wall of Japanese soldiers and officers, and Korean mandarins, but what was happening there was unknown to me."

Photographs and illustrations

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Screen capture of KBS News showing the purported genuine photograph of Queen Min

Japanese illustration of King Gojong and Queen Min receiving Inoue Kaoru

Documents note that she was in an official royal family photograph. A royal family photograph does exist, but it was taken after her death, consisting of Gojong, Sunjong, and the Sunjong's wife Crown Princess Sunmyeong. It is believed that the Japanese destroyed all photographs of her after her death. There is a rumor that a photograph of the Empress exists in the Japanese archives but the Japanese government has denied its existence .

Another photograph surfaces

There was a report by KBS News in 2003 that a photograph allegedly of the Empress had been disclosed to the public. The photograph was supposedly purchased for a large sum by the grandfather of Min Su-gyeong which was to be passed down as a family treasure. In the photo, the woman is accompanied by a retinue at her rear. Some experts have stated that the woman was clearly of high-rank and her clothing appears to be that which is only worn by the royal family. However, her outfit lacked the embroideries that decorates the apparel of the empress.

Japanese Illustration

On January 13, 2005, history professor Lee Tae-jin (이태진; 李泰鎭) of Seoul National University unveiled an illustration from an old Japanese magazine he had found at an antique bookstore in Tokyo. The 84th edition of the Japanese magazine Fūzokugahō (風俗畫報) published on January 25, 1895 has a Japanese illustration of King Gojong and Queen Min receiving Inoue Kaoru, the Japanese charge d'affaires. The illustration is marked December 24, 1894 and signed by the artist Ishizuka (石塚 ) with a legend "The [Korean] King and Queen, moved by our honest advice, realize the need for resolute reform for the first time." Lee said that the depiction of the clothes and background are very detailed and suggests that it was drawn at the scene as it happened. Both the King and Inoue are looking at the Queen as though the conversation is taking place between the Queen and Inoue with the King listening.

In popular culture

According to "the TV drama" and musical, her name was Min Ja-yeong (민자영; 閔紫英), but there is no evidence based on written documents of that name.

Further reading

• Frederick Arthur Mackenzie, The Tragedy of Korea, (1st 1908, Reprinted 2006) ISBN 1-901903-09-5
• Frederick Arthur Mackenzie, Korea's Fight for Freedom, (Revised 2006) ISBN 1-4280-1207-9 (See also Project Gutenberg.)
• Isabella Bird, Korea and her Neighbours (1898, Reprinted 1987 ) ISBN 0-8048-1489-9
• Martina Dechler, Culture and the State in Late Choson Korea (1999) ISBN 0-674-00774-3
• Woo-Keun Han, The History of Korea (1996) ISBN 0824803345
• James Bryant Lewis, Frontier Contact between Choson Korea and Tokugawa Japan (2003) ISBN 0-7007-1301-8
• Andrew C. Nahm, Introduction to Korean History and Culture (1997) ISBN 0-930878-08-6
• Andrew C. Nahm, A History of the Korean People: Tradition & Transformation (1996) ISBN 0930878566
• Hongjong Yu, The Last Empress of the Lost Empire: A Comprehensive Study of Empress Myeongseong Hwanghu (2003)

See also

• Empress Myeongseong (TV drama)
• The Last Empress (Musical)
• List of Korea-related topics
• History of Korea
• Joseon Dynasty
• Heungseon Daewongun
• Gojong of the Korean Empire
• Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation
• Queen Inhyeon - Myeongseong's ascendant through his father (Min Chi-rok).

External links

• Making of an Asian hit: A Korean royal tragedy in the Broadway style by Ricardo Saludo, Asia Week (December 18, 1998)
• Characteristics of Queen of Corea, The New York Times, November 10, 1895.