Joseon Myeongseong
The Empress Myeongseong (명성황후, 明成皇后, November 17, 1851 - October 8, 1895), more commonly known as Queen Min (閔妃), was the last empress of Korea. For the Korean people, she is a heroine, equivalent to France's Joan of Arc, whose popularity is related to recent television, film and musical productions in this country.
Empress Myeongseong was one of the wives of Emperor Gojong (高宗皇帝), of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), before the Korean Empire began (1897-1910). During her life as empress she strove to keep Korea politically and diplomatically independent of foreign influence.
He is credited with introducing new Western technologies, such as trains, telephones, trams, and electric lights, to Korea. He also showed great skill in managing foreign affairs, when he solicited the help of Russia and China's Qing dynasty to prevent the Japanese from taking over Korea, which was feasible within Japan's imperialist ambitions. He also entrusted the customs service to the German adviser Paul Georg von Möllendorff.
The Japanese government (明治政府) saw her as an obstacle. However, efforts to neutralize her or separate her from the Korean government continually failed due to Emperor Gojong's devotion to her, despite various Japanese diplomatic missions sent to the Korean royal court. As a result, in 1895 the Japanese ambassador to Korea, Miura Gorō, reportedly hired a group of assassins to storm Gyeongbokgung Palace (the imperial residence) and kill the empress. Two of the alleged assassins were identified as the Japanese Shigeaki Kunitomo and Kakitsu Ieiri. Over the years, the names of other people who allegedly also took part in the events were revealed.
There is some doubt about the date of the empress's assassination. Most researchers hold that she was murdered on October 8, 1895; however, other sources state that she was on August 20, 1895.
The assassination was witnessed by one of the imperial guards and a Russian architect named Sabatin, who left an account of the events.
Emperor Gojong, enraged by this event, posthumously bestowed his wife the title of Myeongseong (shine or shining star / 明成) and buried her in Jongmyo, the national temple of Korea. Of all the women buried there, Myeongseong is the only one with the rank of "empress"; the other women only have the rank of queen consorts.
The assassination of the empress caused great shock in Korea and protests from other foreign ambassadors in Korea. To quell these protests, and worldwide criticism, the Japanese government finally brought Ambassador Miura Goro and the other alleged assassins, including Shigeaki Kunitomo and Kakitsu Ieiri, to trial. All were acquitted of the murder charge for lack of evidence.
On May 11, 2005, the descendants of Kunitomo and Ieiri traveled to Jongmyo Temple to pay homage to the empress and apologize for the alleged murder of their ancestors.
In 2014, the North Korean History Association said that Japan would have to formally apologize.
Biography
Empress Myeongseong was born on October 19, 1851, into one of Korea's noble families, the Min family, which attained great positions as well as two king consorts, Queen Wongyeong, wife of Taejong of Joseon, and Queen Inhyeon, wife of Sukjong of Joseon. The death of her father when she was 8 years old leaves her in the hands of her mother and attracts, thanks to her intellect, the attention of her aunt Yeoheung Budaebuin, wife of Prince Regent Heungseon and mother of the king. Gojong.
On the other hand, the future Emperor Gojong, assumes his power at the age of 12 supported by his father Heungseon Daewongun, named above. He decides to marry his 14-year-old son to a noblewoman from the Min family, from the same family as his queen's wife. The future queen consort Myeongseong turns out to be her perfect candidate since the Gojong family would not have to worry that the future queen would have support from her family to create connections with her political power, very common at the time.
The union between the future Queen Myeongseong and Emperor Gojong took place in March 1866. Later, in 1871, Queen Myeongseong gave birth to her first child, although she died a few days after birth. There were suspicions that Daewongun, father of Emperor Gojong, killed the boy in retaliation for losing the position of regent with the rise to power of Queen Myeongseong.
Queen Myeongseong turned out to be a strong and ambitious woman totally contrary to all the queens that preceded her so far. She was not a queen who participated in many parties and activities at court, as a queen had to do to becoming the icon of the country, she dedicated herself to reading and studying, an activity reserved for men, thus becoming an important figure in the country, surpassing her husband and intervening so that Korea maintained its balance and negotiating with its neighboring countries, the Russian Empire, the Qing Dynasty Chinese Empire, and Japan.
Throughout her reign, her power and presence in court and political affairs grows stronger until the Sino-Japanese War breaks out and colonialism spreads to East Asia, subsequently causing the empress's death.
Min Clan
Empress Myeongseong was born in 1851 in Yeoju-gun, Korea, the daughter of the Min clan, a once powerful clan that held high command within the Joseon court and had lost power at the time of Myeongseong's birth, staying away from royalty. With the death of both of her parents, when she was barely 8 years old, the power of the clan was further weakened, thus motivating the regent king Daewongun to choose her son as his wife. She was of noble lineage but at the same time the clan did not have enough close relatives who would harbor future political ambitions to control the royal court, thus Myeongseong became the wife of the 15-year-old King Gojong at the young age of 16. in the year 1866.
Role as queen
Empress Min, did not meet the expectations of those who expected her to be a lady of high society, attending social events, maintaining friendships with other high-born ladies and setting trends, as she turned out to have no interest in that role, and dedicated himself to self-training in all possible areas; history, science, culture, religion, etc. Over the years her father-in-law, Daewongun, already saw her as a meddler in political affairs. He even went so far as to accuse her of having health problems and being unable to give birth to a healthy heir, so he asked a concubine to give birth to the heir instead of the queen, in order to take the rightful place of she. Myeongseong obtained the support of officials and illustrious thinkers over the years to confront her mother-in-law and finally managed to make Daewongun abdicate as regent king and all power reverted to Gojong, her husband.
Thought and ideology
During the period of Myeongseong's reign, there was a great flow of thought, technology and especially new cultures and religions. Christianity was introduced in 1884, with the arrival of Horace Newton Allen, and together with the support of the queen consort, more Christian missionaries arrive, with the purpose of expanding their beliefs. It should be said that Christianity was severely persecuted in 1866, under the government of Heungseon Daewongsun. Despite how deep-rooted this religion was during the Joseon dynasty, Myeongseong never declared herself as such, but was a fervent Buddhist devotee with influences from shamanism and Confucianism. All of her represented a model of tolerance towards other cultures and religions.
Historical context
In 1894, the Sino-Japanese war broke out for control of the Korean peninsula, and the defeat of China surrendered the country to colonialism and trade with the West, just like Korea. In 1895, the Japanese decided to annex the Liaodong peninsula (belonging to China) according to the Shimonoseki Treaty, which was not in the interest of France, Germany, or Russia, as it represented a barrier to their plan for commercial expansion and colonial rule.. Empress Myeongseong, and therefore Korea, supported Russia against the Japanese Empire. It should be said that the intentions of the Japanese conquest of the Korean peninsula were involved, the rejection of the empress and her support for Russia impeded the Japanese plans and confronted them even more.
Murder
On October 8, 1895, ten assassins together with Miura Gorō, a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, and under his orders, entered the Gyeongbokgung Imperial Palace and went to the Okho-ru pavilion, that is, the quarters of the empress. After killing three ladies-in-waiting, they rape and stab her to death, then take her body to the woods and burn it. Miura Goro had been appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary envoy to Korea that year, which helped him get closer to the court and Empress Min. The project could be carried out thanks to the help of the Hullyeondae, the Korean army regiment trained by the Japanese army, which opened the gates of the palace to the gang of assassins.
Although the date of the murder given in this document is October 8, 1895, some experts believe that it could also have occurred on August 20 of that same year. In any case, the Korean peninsula began at that moment its 40 years of Japanese domination, with all that this implied.
The main motive for the assassination is believed to have been the empress's negative view of the relationship between Korea and Japan. The Japanese appeared before the emperor asking him to become his tributary state, but Korea believed that it was on the same level as Japan and refused it. Soon after, the Japanese sent warships to Korea with the intention that they would accept their tributary status. They succeeded on the second attempt but the empress did not agree and began to become more and more related to the Russian Empire and make deals with them, making the Japanese want to end her and the power she wielded in Korean relations. Empress Min, unlike other court women, was known for her fondness for studies, and that made her have more power in foreign relations. [4]
After the murder
The Japanese government denied involvement in the assassination, and although it had extraterritorial rights in Choson it was forced into a trial due to international pressure. Miura Goro and his accomplices were summoned to trial, but despite the testimonies of witnesses who witnessed the murder, they were not convicted due to “lack of evidence”.
In 1896, Gojong and the crown prince took refuge in the Russian Embassy in Seoul, returning a year later to declare himself Emperor of Korea, with Russian backing. He then ordered to search for the remains of Queen Min and give them a proper funeral, the remains were buried in the Jongmyo temple in Seoul and where they still rest today, he also received the posthumous title of Empress Myeongseong.
The queen's assassination caused a rise in anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea, also increasing tension between Russia and Japan. Japan's victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) forced Russia, according to the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth, to recognize Japan's interests in Korea. In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan, ending the Joseon dynasty, and starting from then until the end of World War II, its 40 years of Japanese domination.
News and media
The emblem of the empress, has now become a popular icon of South Korean society, represented in different spheres and reformed through soap operas, video clips and movies.
The musical The Last Empress in 1995 depicted her as a positive and pioneering force, as well as a figure of sacrifice. On the other hand, the television series with the name of 명성황후 (Empress Myeongseong), acquired great popularity in the territory. Inevitably, KBS's motivations for producing a historical drama based on Empress Myŏnsŏng were based on a nationalist sensibility, expressed in its desire to review that failed past and heal it through the image of the Empress. Once again the image of the empress is reinvented and reinterpreted, in a historical genre film with romantic overtones, in the feature film entitled The Sword with No Name.