Empress Myeongseong PDF

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Essay The successful reign and tragedy of Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min); the last empress of Korea In order to maintain the sovereignty of the nation and pursue reform, there have been many misconceptions on the political power that Queen Myeongseong once possessed. She was deemed as an obstacle towards the Japanese colony who was an overly ambitious woman, leading up to her assassination (also known as the Eulmi incident). She is full of anonymity as most of the sources related to her were destroyed and the fact that she was never interested in taking photographs. However, as recent historians gradually find interest in her, they are able to uncover what a valuable asset she really was to the Korean nation as Joseon’s Dynasty 26th ruler’s wife, King Gojong. Although her aspirations aided to innovate Korea and is utmost commendable, it contributed as a factor to her tragic life. Hence, the Empress’s reign, which was filled with desire for innovation, unity in her nation and brilliance as a diplomat, will be closely interpreted in the essay. Queen Min’s competency in the politics were noticed when she was married at the mere age of sixteen. Prior to her marriage, her clan were well known bureaucrats who have housed two Queen Consorts in the past. There were many expectations of the young Empress such as being a filial, docile and a feminine figure as the nation’s leading lady. However, she neglected all these characteristics and instead found comfort in studies that were usually reserved by men. Also, she taught herself philosophy, history, science and politics so she could obtain a more vast understanding of the political world. Once the Empress has learnt all the necessary resources, her dominance within the court began. Reaching the start of adulthood, Queen Min frequently wandered outside her apartment and engaged herself in the interest of politics. The involvement of the Empress leads to her opposing high officials and speaking out loud her views. Thus, Queen’s Min disregard for the typical framed feminine figure and assertiveness within the court constitutes to the success of her reign in the near future. Due to her engagement in the political world, Officials found it meddlesome and the news eventually reached King Gojong’s father, Heungseon Daewongun who became agitated. Daewongun adamantly opposed her opinions and acceded into a political conflict between the two. Their distaste in perception became evident when Daewongun seized the chance to publicise to the nation in matters that the Empress has failed to produce a healthy male child as the heir to the throne. In culminating the royal battle, the King’s father arranged Gojong to have intercourse with Gwi In, a royal concubine who was successful in bearing a healthy male child (16th April 1868, given the title of Crown Prince Wanhwa). The Queen reacted irrationally at the matter and formed a powerful faction to strip Daewongun of his power in the royal court. She conspired with members of her clan and high official members, initiating a formal impeachment that was presented at the Royal council of Administration and implying that at the appropriate age of 22, King Gojong should rule at his own right. Upon accomplishing the success of the faction, the consort and the child (passed away soon after in 1880, Empress was accused of involvement) was sent into exile and stripped of their royal titles. Daewongun was forced to retreat into retirement, seizing complete power. Therefore, her ambitions formulated her capability in forming a dominating faction, proving that Queen Min indeed did adopt a successful reign.

Advancing in the totalisation of political power, the Empress ruled hand in hand with her husband although she was more socially active. Innovations became her next motive in elevating the nation to the next level. Introducing new technologies and modernising the society, Queen Min ingenious mind accelerated military reform by hiring American trainers to train the Korean soldiers and trade to other countries. She pursued in opening a school to educate woman and provide them with an opportunity for the first time to have a proper education in 1866. When contrasting with Daewongun’s reign, he prosecuted anyone associated to Christianity but the Empress was open to the new concepts of religion and changes in value, allowing missionaries into the kingdom. Empress understood and was tolerant as she believed that religion does not define who you are. Upon the arrival of the missionaries, she learned the nature of equality and imposed it on the government to treat the society fairly. In respect to the Empress, her leniency to being innovative has encouraged her nation to advance them in the world which declares that she directed a victorious reign. With growing ambitions to dominate as a nation, the Empress conceived Japan as a threat and vice versa. Queen Min tried to retain harmony between the two countries but Japan kept manoeuvring forward by limiting Korean trade, forcing the nation to open personal ports to Japan only. This results in the Empress feeling as if Japan was being a nuisance and a violating the independence towards Korea and the Queen kept armguard in case Japan tried to retaliate. In source B, there is an illustration of the Empress in a formal encounter with one of the Japanese Affair officers. The Japanese painter, who was said to be present at the time event on the 8th of December 1894, depicted the representative and Queen Min engaging in a rather intense conversation as the illustration shows the tensed Empress while King Gojong appeared aloof. The source was able to retell the relationship that the Empress shared with Japan and indeed they did discuss some personal matters, deeming that the source is useful. It is ironic that although Korea and Japan worked closely together as seen in Source B, Queen Min’s death was orchestrated by the neighbouring nation. However, the source has not been confirmed on the reliability as the Japanese Painter is unknown and there are no any applicable sources that can back up the source. Despite the fact that there is no certainty that the Source came from time of the event, Historians were able to place it into use and obtain an insight of how the Eulmi incident came to be and the start of the Empress’s tragic end. Moreover, King Gojong began to exchange treaties with Japan in secrecy without the Empress’s knowledge, unintentionally allowing Japan to savour Korean’s weak points and turn it into their own nation’s strength. In total, there were two known treaties- Treaty of Chemulpo (Source D, 1882, established when Japan stated there were apparent damages done to the Japanese property in the IMO incident) and the Treaty of Hanseong (1885). The king was pressured by the government to make reckless mistakes and eventually turned to his wife for aid. As she retaliated against the Japanese, they immediately identified her as a centric threat to their expansion of goals and were too involved in affairs that should be handled by the King himself. In general term, her engagement in the affairs was meddlesome. Goro Miura, a diplomat, began to orchestra a scheme to annihilate the Queen with 50 other different men including trained assassins. Consequently, the Empress’s retaliation after King Gojong signed the treaties with Japan, inevitably, led to her tragic fate.

[Treaty of Chemulpo, 1882] On the morning of October 8th 1895, Japanese agents began to raid through Gyeongbok Palace, demanding to know the whereabouts of the Empress. An eyewitness, Russian architect, Seredin Sabatin, stated that as many as 20 or 25 men dressed in peculiars rummaged through the palace yelling at him, “WHERE IS THE QUEEN?” Professor Kim Rekho came across the document in a written account. The source became useful to him as it specified in full detail of what happened on the fateful day. Since the source came from an eye witness, it was a primary source that was proven reliable. Queen Min had some kind of intuition that the Japanese Agents were raiding into the palace so she quickly disguised herself in a palace maid’s gown. Unfortunately, the Japanese was able to find her despite having no knowledge of her appearance but the detail of a woman in her late 40s. The palace maids were all young so it was not hard to differentiate. Tormenting initiated as soon as she was forced out of her chambers. It was said that she was sexually abused, stabbed multiple times, mutilated her body and burnt her body shamelessly in front of onlookers who were too afraid to do anything. Subsequently, the Japanese were successful in murdering the Empress which was later known to be the Eulmi incident. After her assassination, the Empress became a lost face and cause within the nation. There were little known about her appearance and there were no photos that depicting the Great Empress. It was said that, photographs of the Empress were destroyed after she was murdered to erase her from history. King Gojong and the Crown Prince seeked refuge to the Russian legation. He did not return to proclaim his throne until 1897, even so, the Japanese nation already had some degree of control over Korea. The King issued a Grand funeral to occur for his wife in 1987 as seen in Source A. a Russian photographer has captured an image of mourning citizens during the funeral procession. The eye-witness captured the source in his perspective and was useful to future historians to analyse. The reliability of the source is commendable as it came from time of the event. To sum up, the Empress was dearly beloved who unfortunately met a tragic ending. Through her assertiveness and ambitions, Empress Myeongseong was truly a remarkable woman who was selfless towards her nations and accepted the changing values by being innovative. Queen Min’s ideologies was peculiar to typical Queens but still resembled a courteous and inspiring leader. Her successful reign was a period filled with contrition which led to a tragic fate. Despite the barbaric end to her life, her interest in politics and maintenance of sovereignty is still treasured today as the core to Korea’s advancements.

Sources SOURCE A

Origin – The photograph, a primary source, was taken from time of the event (funeral of Empress Myeongseong) in November 22nd 1897 in Korea by Russian journalist, Sergey Syromyatnikov in courtesy of National Folk museum. Website: English Chosun Perspective- The photograph is in the perspective of the photographer, Sergey. He captures what he believes is memorable and how he feels about the event. Content- The source captures the state funeral of the Empress with thousands of mourning citizens dressed in white which is the traditional Korean funeral clothing colour. The funeral was held two years and two months after King Gojong regained his throne. It also shows Queen Min’s coffin being carried across the photograph. Useful- The source is to an extent, extremely useful for a historian or even the mere society to analyse. Since the image came from time of the event, there is no other justification of the fact that the photograph shows a depiction of how the event was carried out and is very reliable. Historians will find the source useful as it will act as a factor of how the Empress’s death affected the nation. Judging from the image, an historian would be able to pinpoint that the infinite number of mourners within the source is very sombre, proving that the Empress was indeed quite favourable among the Korean Nation. Reliability- The photograph is reliable as it was taken at the time of the event and is deemed a primary resource. There is a very slim chance of the photograph being tampered as the technological advances were not capable of tampering at the time. Furthermore, the Journalist was present at the event, proving that he is a witness of the event thus capturing the moment as he was roaming the area of the time. SOURCE B

Origin: An illustration by an unknown Japanese painter of presumably time of the event, December 8th 1894. The photo originated from an antique Japanese magazine, ‘Fuuzukugaboo’ which was discovered by a Seoul University Professor of History named Lee Tae Jin. Perspective: The illustration is in the perspective of the Unknown Japanese Painter, he can be subjective and sketch what he thinks is happening at the event. The Painter chose to illustrate the moment when the Empress and the Japanese representative is conversing to depict as it probably would have been an important event to document through an illustration. Content: Professor Tae Jin stated that the illustration seems to depict the Empress and King Gojong meeting with Japanese charge d'affaires Inoue Kaoru. The Empress is said to be discussing matters with the Japanese Representatives a year before her assassination. There exchange in eye contact and King Gojong’s detachment from the conversation that the meeting holds high importance. Usefulness: The illustration is extremely useful to Historians as it provides them with a scope on what led to the Queen’s assassination and ironically, she was slaughtered by the Japanese Nation a year after. This shows that there is a definite connection that the Japanese has had a meeting with the Empress and at some point felt she was threatened. The specified time of illustration justifies the usefulness and the fine detailing provides Historian with a more accurate study. Reliability: Due to the fact that there have not been official confirms or similar backup of the source, we cannot entirely trust the source and deem it reliable. Although there are many historians claiming that the lavish woman in the illustration is the empress, there is no certainty until there are other sources that are able to back up the source. Source C

Origin: The source came from Japanese diplomat Sadatsuchi Uchida’s memoirs written in 1939 (primary source). It was found on as a website article on YonHapNews (secondary source).

Perspective: The perspective is on the Sadatsuchi’s point of view and what he really believes happened to Empress Myeongseong. He records all his findings and knowledge into the memoir. Content: The memoir is written to record his knowledge of the assassination and accusing Diplomat Gora Miura involvement’s in both the assassination and trying to cover up the assassination in the 1985 murder of the Empress. Within the memoir, the memoir’s owner stated that he tried to report the incident to the foreign ministry but Miura banned any reporting possible. The Empress was apparently stabbed to death several times by Japanese hit men, dragged to the pine tree forest, burnt to ashes and then scattered. “Showing how shameless Japan was.” The memoir was disclosed by a Korean History Scholar on the 115th anniversary of the assassination. Usefulness: The source is an undeniably useful resource as it provides historians with intricate details of what exactly occurred on the day of the assassination. Since it was written in a Japanese point of view, it makes it more believable as he is a diplomat and has met the Empress herself in some sort of meeting. The memoir describes the event and accusations with accurate documented dates and never seen before details. Historians fill find this a valuable asset to their knowledge. Reliability: Since the memoir is a primary source, we can safely agree that this is indeed a reliable source on the account that it has accurate details and the diplomat is associated with the Japanese Embassy and the Empress. It states what happened, where it happened and when it happened. There are many historians who have closely studied it and found it a valuable source.

Discussion Against: There are few historians who choose to view her in a negative light. Their observations of the Empress were that she was overly ambitious and arrogant who was hungry for power. There is a

conspiracy arising around the assassination that the King’s father had a role in the murder. It was apparent that he knowingly allowed the Japanese to proceed in the scheme to assassinate the Queen, having previous conflicts with Queen Min. There has been no confirmed source to back up this statement but it is a useful piece of information towards Historian who did not look so fondly of the Empress but in terms of reliability, it is not reliable. For: In Source A, the photographs from the Russian photographer, depicts thousands of mourners dressed in white during the time of the funeral procession of the Empress. The image is able to tell the historian that the Nation must have been fond of her witty behaviour and assertiveness for there to be mass of people attending the Empress’s funeral. There are many historians who examined her as a dominant and at the same time a selfless leader towards her nation. The photograph is reliable as it is a primary source and is useful as any onlookers can extract information such as the large amount of supporters captured in the image. A controversy that arose was source C, the memoir of Japanese Diplomat Uchida. In his written memoir, he accused Miura of conducting and also trying to cover up the murder by not allowing him to report his knowledge to the foreign ministry. Although the diplomat wanted to justify his knowledge, he was unable, thus leading to the memoir written some time later. The memoir presented very detailed information on what happened on the Eulmi incident and even intricately stating the manner in which the Empress was handled. The source is extremely useful to historians because of the descriptive information. Historians were able to receive a more detailed scope of what really happened. Since the memoir is a primary source, it is indeed reliable to anyone’s use due to the confirmation of origin and the relationship between the memoir’s owner and the Japanese nation at the time.

Reflection statement The individual investigation was a wholly time consuming process but is none the less, the most worthwhile investigation. Empress Myeongseong, although extremely assertive and at times aggressiveness, was such an inspiration to contemporary feminists as we are able to refer and relate to her willingness and perseverance in her reign. She showed us the opposite side to how a stereotypical woman is portrayed and has influenced the society to speak up their thought. Throughout these weeks of research, I felt as if I was lacking knowledge because of the limited resources related to the Empress. However, as I slowly analysed the historical figure, I was able to unveil her highly regarded reign and her tragic life. I became so engrossed in her life that it felt as if I was reliving the historical event. Although it’s insatiable to serve her justice, the empress herself has already done the deed required to deem herself one of the most successful female leaders in history. What have I learnt? I’ve learnt that females are often taken for granted and often still have trouble speaking their own piece of mind regarding the equity or power between men. In the process of conducting the research, I somehow reached self-actualisation that this historical figure has indeed inspire to follow what I believe is satisfying despite the conflicts that may arise. My final product will be a pleasure to read and criticise if that is the case. It is still undeniably interesting. The essay is structured in a way that there is always relevant linkage to the essay. The only downfall is the resources which should be passable due to the rest of the content within the investigation.

Bibliography http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2006/07/25/2006072561012.html Unknown Author (2006), English Chosun, Presumed Portrait of the last Empress. (Date accessed 28/5/13) http://asianhistory.about.com/od/southkorea/ig/Korea-s-Imperial-Family/Empress-Myeongseong-sFuneral.htm Unknown Author (unknown year), Funeral Procession of Empress Myeongseong, Asian History (Date accessed 30/5/13) http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/12/03/2008120361014.html Unknown author (2008), Russian Picture show state of Funeral, English Chosun. (Date accessed 30/5/13) http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/10/08/37/0301000000AEN20101008004900315F.HT ML Jsang (2010), Japanese Memoir Shred light on assass...