Empress Myeongseong

Empress Myeongseong of Korea

Empress Myeongseong of Korea
Reign	circa 1866 – October 8 1895
Coronation	circa, 1866
Predecessor	Queen Cheorin (Kim Andong)
Spouse	Emperor Gwangmu
Issue	Crown Prince Cheok
Royal House	House of Yi
Father	Min Chirok
Mother	Unknown
Born	October 19 1851 Seoul, Kingdom of Joseon
Died	October 8 1895 Seoul, The Han Empire
Template:Koreanruler

Empress Myeongseong (October 19, 1851 – October 8, 1895) ('閔妃), was the last empress and queen of Joseon (present-day Korea). She ascended the throne as Queen Minbi during the late years of the Kingdom of Joseon as the consort of King Gojong (高宗). Later during the founding of the Han Empire by her husband, she and her husband were elevated to the status of Empress Myeongseong (閔妃) and Emperor Gwangmu (光武). After her death, she was posthumeously granted the title of Hwanghu. Presently in South Korea, influenced after TV dramas and musicals, she is viewed by many as a national heroine like Joan of Arc of France. During her life as empress, she strived diplomatically and politically to keep Joseon independant of foreign mass influence. She proved herself brilliant when handling foreign affairs and was skilled in the art of diplomacy, as well as having had an ambitious and grand plan to modernize Joseon by placing her on par with the rest of the industriliazed world. She was viewed as a major obstacle against Japanese imperialistic ambitions. Efforts to neutralize her and to remove her from politics failed, only prompting the Empress to take a harsher stance against Japanese influence. Viewed as the last hope against Japanese invasion into the Asian mainland, Emperor Meiji, fed up with constant interference and blockades made by the Empress, secretly ordered Miura Goro, Japanese minister to Joseon, to commission assasins to brutally murder the Empress. She was savagely killed within the confines of her apartments in Gyeongbokgung Palace on October 8, 1895.

Empress Myeongseong is a rather controversial figure in Korean history. Recently, she has had a revival in South Korea with a wave of novels, TV dramas, musicals, etc. that has glorified her reign and has portrayed her as a national heroine. This view, however, has been widely debated by historians. Older generations of Koreans that went through the atrocities of the Japanese Colonization of Korea have different, harsher feelings towards their last Empress for not having taking a more pro-military stance against the Japanese. The Japanese government recently published controversial texbooks downgrading the Empress' role in East Asian history, stating that she was a manipulative, weak, feeble ruler that abused her power, along with ignoring to mention other atrocious crimes the Japanese government committed during from 1895-1945 such as the assassination of the Empress, use of comfort women, the Rape of Nanjing, genocide, and the notorious Japanese germ warfare.

Like with all historical figures associated with a downfall of a regime (such as Marie Antoinette, Alexandra Fyodorovna), there exists a celebratory, tragic story of their reigns that is often heavily sugarcoated, but at its polar opposite stands the harsh, often cruel and partially made of truth distorted into fiction lores of their lives. It is often difficult to see these tragic figures in a neutral viewpoint because these historical figures that had powerful influences over politics and yielded the ability to condem or to forgive were also at one point in their lives, daughters, sisters, lovers, wives, and lastly, human. Empress Myeongseong is defineatly no exception. Whether one sees her as a national heroine or an evil villain is entirely up for debate, but it can be agreed upon by both those that view her positively and those that view her negatively that she had a turbulant life with little stability.

The Background

End of an Era

1864 is a year that is remembered in Korean history as the year of drastic outcomes that produced dire consequences for the House of Yi that eventually ended her political dominance over the Korean peninsula. King Ch’olchong died of suspected foul play by the rival branch of the House of Yi, the Andong Kim clan, which had been made powerful and influential during his reign by his wife, Queen Cheonin who was a member of the Andong Kims. With no male heir, a power struggle immediately broke out amongst the different branches of the royal family. Queen Cheonin (Kim An-dong), the late queen consort of King Ch’olchong, immediately claimed the right to choose the next king of Joseon and received heavy support from her native clan. But the traditions of the House of Yi dictated that when there is no legitimate male heir to the throne, the eldest Dowager Queen is the sole person who has the power to select the new king of Joseon. Ch’olchong’s cousin, Great Dowager Queen Cho of the Cho clan, who was Ikjong's widow held this dynastic title.

Great Dowager Queen Cho immediately seized the opportunity which royal court custom offered. Seeing the chance to further the power and influence of the Cho clan, which was the sole clan that was a true threat to Kim dominance over Korean politics, Great Dowager Queen Cho immediately set out to find the suitable young man. The Andong Kim clan were furious when they were informed of the legal right of Great Dowager Queen Cho to choose the next king. Despite the numerous threats Great Dowager Queen Cho received, she did not hesitate to quickly choose the son of an obscure descendant of King Yongjo named Yi Myong-bok, the future Emperor Gojong, as the new King of Joseon. Yi Myong-bok was a member of an obscure, forgotten branch of the House of Yi that managed to survive various political conflicts by having no affiliation with any of the factions. Yi Myong-bok was only a child of twelve, which was advantageous for Great Dowager Queen Cho; the boy would not be able to rule in his own name until he came of age. The Cho clan also strongly felt that they could easily influence the father of the boy, Yi-Ha-eung, who would act as regent for the child, but they were in for a terrible surprise.

Great Dowager Queen Cho arranged the coronation ceremony hastily to crown the child before the Kims could refute her choice. The young Yi Myong-bok in the autumn of 1864 was crowned King Gojong of the Kingdom of Joseon, with his father styled as Daewon-gun (Great Prince), giving him the powers of regent as the living father of the king.

Daewon-gun, a man that represented all the virtues of the Confucian tradition proved to be a wise and crafty leader in the early years of Gojong's reign. He abolished the old government institutions that had become corrupt under various clan rule, 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 defeated the Chos and the Kims through political manipulation which resulted in weakening their power and eventual submission to him.

A New Queen

Born into the impoverished and powerless aristocratic clan of the Yohung Mins, Min Ja-Young, the future Queen and later Empress Myeongseong, was a prime choice to be crowned as the next Queen of Joseon. Her family posed no threat to Daewon-gun’s influence and power, and being fatherless, Daewon-gun foolishly assumed that if she was crowned queen, Min would not be able to build her own political power base against him. She fit perfectly within the plans of Daewon-gun to establish a firm grip over the monarchy. However, he was strongly mistaken as the Chos were mistaken of Daewon-gun's own power and ability to accumulate power cleverly and quickly.

Min ascended the throne at the age of sixteen styled as Her Royal Highness, Queen Min (Min Daebee). She was an assertive teenage girl with large ambitions to rule Joseon, proving herself unlike other queens that came before her, a far cry from the timid little girl Daewon-gun thought her. She was wise in not participating in lavish parties, rarely commissioned extravagant and expensive 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 like the others before her, to fully immerse herself as a fashion icon to Korean high society, but Min dumped this role to become something beyond just being a consort queen. She indulged herself in the luxuries of reading books reserved for men, teaching herself philosophies, history, and science. She gained knowledge of politics and of religion. This tradition of scholarship is characteristic of Min women to this day. Despite the fact that she was never groomed to be queen like other aristocratic girls before her, Min made up for this through constant reading and studying in her late teenage years as queen. Rarely did she go outside her chambers to be with her playboy husband Gojong, who was too busy enjoying himself night after night, dining and being entertained by princesses and gisaengs at the royal tea houses. Rather, she chose to memorize law codes by heart and allow herself to freely think of solutions to problems she knew her kingdom faced. But before she could rule her kingdom, she knew she must first find out how to rule her court.

The Beginning

Court Domination

Even without parents, the intelligent, energetic, and ambitious Min was able to secretly form a powerful faction against Daewon-gun as soon as she reached adulthood. Upon reaching the age of 20, Min began to wander outside the safe confines of her apartments at Changgeyungung Palace and began to actively play a part in politics. She no longer kept her opinions quiet, but spoke loudly and assertively. She defended her views against high officials that regarded Min as becoming meddlesome in Joseon politics. Daewon-gun, a man deeply rooted in Confucius values, became furious that Min, a woman, was taking control in a realm he dominated. The political struggle between Min and Daewon-gun officially became public when the son Min bore for Gojong died prematurely. Daewon-gun publicly stated that Min was unable to bear a healthy, male child and he humiliated the queen by forcing Gojong to sleep with a royal concubine to bear his child. In 1880, the royal concubine gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Daewon-gun did not hesitate for a second to grant him the title of Crown Prince.

The humiliated and deeply hurt Min took action immediately. She rallied support and created a powerful faction made up of high officials, scholars, and members of her clan to bring down Daewon-gun from power. The Queen’s relative, Min Sung-ho, set about with court scholar Choi Ik-hyun to write a formal impeachment of Daewon-gun to be presented in front of the Royal Council of Administration. Min Sung-ho made the case that Gojong was twenty two years old and clearly capable of ruling in his own right. With the approval of Gojong and the massive support and approval from the Royal Council, Daewon-gun had no choice but to relinquish his powers and retired to his estate at Yangju in 1882. After having eliminated Daewon-gun temporarily from court politics, Min banished the royal concubine and her child to a village outside the capital. She stripped her and the child of any royal titles they retained. Whether she had the child poisoned has been debated, but the child soon died afterwards. Queen Min finally had complete control over her court and raised her family to prominence through placing them in high court positions and ranks.

The Hermit Kingdom Emerges

Japan had been anxiously following developments in Joseon, watching for the golden oppurtinity to open the country to the world. Having been an Hermit Kingdom from the rest of the world for the past 200 years, Joseon was a virgin to the Industrial World. She was ripe for plucking by the industrialized nations of the West, and Japan was anxious to prevent the wealthy Joseon from being dominated by any other power. There were even some Japanese aristocrats and nobles that favored the idea of immediate invasion of the Kingdom of Joseon, but the idea was quickly dropped since it would start also a war with the protector of Joseon, Qing China. When news arrived that Daewon-gun was ousted from politics, Japan decided to renew their efforts to establish ties with Joseon. However, their envoy that arrived at Tongae in 1883 with a proposal from the Emperor of Japan, Meiji was turned away by Joseon officials.

Meiji, furious that his envoy was turned away, sent the Japanese battleship Unyo towards Busan and another battleship to the Bay of Yonghung on the pretext of surveying sea routes, but in reality to scare Joseon in opening their doors. In September of 1884, battleships approached Kanghwa Island and attacked the local Korean guards. Unyo arrived in Busan and began a small attack upon a small division of the royal army. After the Japanese judged that the Koreans had been sufficently impressed, the Japanese notified the Koreans that negotiations must now begin. Six naval vessels and an Imperial Japanese Envoy was sent to Kanghwa Island.

A majority of the Royal Court of Joseon favored absolute isolationism, but the demonstration of Western weapons by the Japanese showed that the Japanese would use force if neccessary. After numerous meetings, the high officials of Joseon were sent to Kanghwa Island to sign a treaty of amity on February 15, 1885, opening Joseon to the Japanese.

Queen Min clearly understood the impacts of the Kanghwa Treaty. She knew it was greatly disadvantageous to Joseon, but she had no other choice. Various ports were forced to be open to Japanese trade, as well as the right for the Japanese to buy massive pieces of land within designated areas in Joseon. She realized action must be taken in opening diplomatic relations with the West to create friendships with other powerful nations that could help Joseon in their predicament with the Japanese. The Kanghwa Treaty had been modeled upon the treaty the West imposed on Qing China to sign, opening their doors to the West. But the West had drastically weakened Qing China such that they were no longer the dominant power of Asia. Queen Min realized that she could not go by traditional reliance on Qing China as a protector but must rather seek out the new world in front of her.

Kanghwa Treaty began its toll when the Japanese forced Joseon to open up Incheon and Wonsan to Japanese merchants. For the first few years of the Hermit Kingdom no longer being isolated from the world, Japan enjoyed a near total monopoly of trade, and Korean merchants suffered serious losses. The Japanese penetration had begun.

A Social Revolution

Queen Min refused to see her kingdom be abused by the Japanese, but knew clearly that without a strong Western military like the Japanese, Joseon would be weak in this new world they have entered. In 1887, a comprehensive mission headed by Kim Koeng-jip was commissioned by Gojong and Min to discover what Japanese intentions were in Joseon and how Japan has become after being Westernized.

Kim Koeng-jip and his team explored Japan extensively. Senior members of his team were shocked at how massive and huge the cities had become. Kim Ki-Su noted that the cities of Seoul and Busan of Joseon were metropolitan city centers of East Asia, towering over the smaller, underdeveloped and weak Japanese cities only fifty years ago. But now, with Tokyo and Osaka completely westernized, Seoul and Busan looked like vestiges of the ancient past.

While in Japan, Kim Koeng-jip had the opportunity to meet 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. Councillor Huang Tsu-hsien took a special interest in Joseon and presented to Kim Koeng-jip a book he had written called Korean Strategy.

No longer was China the Lord of Ten Thousands Years. No longer was Joseon militarily more advanced than the Japanese. No longer could the two allies protect themselves against the Japanese without Western aid. But the issue that was raised in the endangerment to Joseon's sovereignty was the expansion of the Russian Empire into Asia. Huang Tsu-hsien advised that Joseon should adopt a pro-Chinese policy, but should retain close ties with Japan for the time being. He also advised an alliance with the United States in order to secure Western protection against Russia. He then continued to state that Joseon should open trade relations with Western nations and should begin to adopt Western technology to domestic industry. He noted that China had tried but admitted failure due to the massive size of the Chinese Empire, but Joseon was a kingdom smaller than Japan, and Japan achieved quick Westernization due to their smaller geography. He concluded that Joseon was one of the hopes to prevent Japanese expansion into mainland Asia. He added that Korean youths should be sent to China and Japan to study, and that Western teachers of technical and scientific subjects should be invited to Joseon.

When Kim Koeng-jip returned to Seoul with his squad, he gave this book to Queen Min and King Gojong. Queen Min took special interest and read it attentively and then commissioned copies of the book to be made to be sent out to all the ministers of the state to read it as well. They had printed these copies in hope that the yangban would change their opinion of total isolationism. Queen Min was hoping with yangban approval that she could end total isolationism and invite Western nations into Joseon.

Her plan was quite simple; play chess with the world. She wanted Joseon to be the focal attention to the West, even more so than China and Japan. She wanted to first allow Japan to help in the modernization process of Joseon but towards completion of certain projects, be driven out by Western powers. Following this, she intended for Western powers to begin trade and commercial business within Joseon, to drive the economy to the level of Japan. Western investment was what she sought and with Western investment, Japan could never dare try to harm the sovereignty of Joseon. The West would never allow their investments to be damaged, especially by a nation that they had westernized themselves. Towards the end, she would play the Western powers against each other through persuasion and debate and in her plan, intended to have one sole Western power at the back of Joseon's interests.

However, the hope was in vain. The yangban still preferred total isolationism. The scholars opposed opening the country to the West and not even the arguments of a shrewd Chinese diplomat could not change their minds. Ch’oe Ik-hyon who had helped with the impeachment of Daewon-gun, sided surprisingly with the “Isolationists,” despite the fact that the isolationism policy was heavily supported by Daewon-gun during his reign of power. He said that the Japanese were just like the “Western barbarians” and that relations with them would mean the spread of subversive notions like Catholicism (which had been a major issue during Daewon-gun’s reign that ended in massive persecution).

To the scholars and the yangban, this new radical plan of the Queen would mean the destruction of social order. The response to the distribution of “Korean Strategy” was a joint memorial 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 Joseon should be sought out and destroyed. One cannot doubt the scholars’ sincere devotion to their country, but their attitude towards westernization was extremely unfortunate.

Despite these objections, Queen Min believed that she knew what was best for her nation. 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, Queen Min instructed the beginning of 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 the weapons and military technique. Civilian departments were also established to import Western technology. As far as it could against widespread opposition by the yangban and the scholars, Queen Min was trying to put into practice some of the ideas of Huang’s “Korean Strategy.”

In the same year, Queen Min signed documents for top military students to be sent to Qing China and learn the new western military technologies and strategies. The Japanese, aware of the still present Chinese influence, quickly jumped in and 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.

However, the beginning of modernizing the military was met with opposition. The special treatment of the new training unit caused resentment among the other troops. In September of 1881, a plot was uncovered to overthrow Queen Min’s faction, depose King Gojong, and place Daewon-gun’s illegitimate son, Yi Chae-son on the throne. The plot was frustrated by Queen Min but Daewon-gun was kept safe from persecution since he held the title of the living father of the King.

Despite constant opposition, Queen Min ignored the pleas of the conservative yangban and scholars by sending twelve liberal yangbans to Tien-tsin in China to study the making of ammunition, electricity, chemistry, smelting, mechanical engineering, cartography, and other basic subjects related to military affairs. When they returned, great changes began to be made and their newfound technologies were placed into action. Seoul began to see street lamps, street cars, and a telephone system was installed within the palaces. Gyeongbokgung became the first palace to be completely powered by electricity in all major rooms, including the throne room. Seoul was becoming a westernized city and with the heavy support and influence of Queen Min, the military rapidly modernized.

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 Kyom-ho, a relative of the Queen who was the administrative head of the training units. These soldiers than fled to Daewon-gun for support and was publicly scorned by him but privately praised and encouraged them. Daewon-gun then took control of the old units behind the scenes.

He ordered an attack on the administrative district of Seoul that housed Gyeongbokgung Palace, numerous embassies, military centers, and science institutions. They 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 many Japanese training officers and narrowly missed killing the Japanese ambassador to Seoul, who quickly escaped to Incehon. 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 Chungju, where they remained in hiding.

Numerous supporters of Queen Min were immediatly put to death as soon as Daewon-gun arrived and took control of administrative power at Gyeongbokgung Palace. He immediatly dismantled the reform measures to the government implented by Queen Min and dismantled the new units of their duty. Foreign policy was quickly changed in favor for Isolationism and Chinese envoys were forced out of the capital, along with Japanese officials. But his reign of power was short-lived. Discovering what had happened in Seoul, Li Hung-chang, with the consent of Joseon envoys in Beijing, sent 4,500 Chinese troops to Joseon to restore law and order, as well as to secure China's place in Joseon politics. The troops, upon arriving in Joseon, arrested Daewon-gun and was taken to China to be tried for treason. The insurrectionists were subjugated, and Queen Min and her husband returned from Changju and overturned all of Dawon-gun's actions. Knowing full well that Queen Min would turn away their demand, the Japanese forced King Gojong privaetly, without his wife's knowledge, to sign a treaty on August 10, 1882 to pay 550,000 yen indemnity for lives and property that the Japanese had lost during the insurrection, and permit the stationing of a company of Japanese troops to guard the Japanese embassy in Seoul. When Min was informed of the forced treaty, furious, she contacted the Chinese government and proposed a new trade agreement between the new nations that would grant the Chinese special privileges and rights to ports blocked off from the Japanese. Along with a trade agreement, Queen Min requested for a Chinese commander to take control of the new units and a German advisor to head the Joseon Maritime Customs Service named Paul George von Moellendorff.

The American Expedition

In September 1883, Queen Min signed charters that established English language schools within the capital, hiring Americain instructors to train interpreters and students. Queen Min, excited at the prospect of establishing stronger ties with the United States', sent a special mission to the U.S. headed by Min Young-ik, a relative of the Queen, to establish a Korean presence within Americain politics in July 1883. The mission arrived at San Francisco carrying the newly created Korean national flag, visited many Americain historical sites and lectures to educate them on Americain history (including Western ideals of democracy, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without the interferance of the government), and attended a gala event in honor of them by the mayor of San Francisco and other U.S. officials. The mission was granted the honor to dine with President Arthur Chester and discussed with him the ever growing threat of the Japanese in Asia and numerous, lucrative oppurtunities for American investment in Joseon. At the end of September, the mission left the U.S. and returned to Seoul. Upon arriving, Min Young-ik 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 as a group of yangban who fully supported Westernization of Joseon. However, they wanted to immediate Westernization and to cut off complete 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 was informed that they were deeply anti-Chinese, Min quickly turned her back on them. Cutting ties with China immediatly was not within Min's gradual plan of Westernization. She saw 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 Sadaedang who were pro-China and pro gradual Westernization.

However, in 1884, the conflict between the Progressives and the Sadaedang intensified. When American legation officials, particularily 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 at peace with each other in order to aid the Queen in a peaceful transformation of Joseon into a modern nation. After all, she liked both party's ideas and plans. As a matter of fact, she was in support of many of the Progressive's ideas, except for cutting China off. However, the Progressives, fed up with the Sadaedang 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 Sadaedangs and secured key government positions vacated by the Sadaedang 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 forcefulness of the Progressives and refused to support their actions and declared any documents signed in her name to be null and void. Only after 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 oppurtunity to extort money out of the Joseon government by forcing King Gojong, once again secretly without the knowledge of the Queen, to sign the Hansong Treaty in which Joseon was forced 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 Tientsin, 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 in danger 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 Americains to take full control of their new 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 policement 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-nicknamed "Land of the Morning Calm." With the majority of Japanese troops out of Joseon and Chinese protectionr readily available, the plans for further, drastic modernization were continued. Plans to establish a palace school to educate children of the elite were in the making since 1880 but it was finally executed in May 1885 with the approval of Queen Min. A palace school named Yugyoung Kung-won was established, with an Americain missionary, Dr. Homer B. Hulbert, and three other missionaries that headed the developement of the curriculum. The school had two departments, liberal education and military education. Courses were taught exclusively in English using English-language textbooks.

In May 1885, Queen Min also gave her patronage to the first all girls' academy, Ewha Haktang, now one of Asia's finest and elite universities for women under the same name Queen Min had bestowed upon them, Ewha University. This was the first time in history that gave all Korean girls, commoner or aristocratic, the right to an education. This was a significant social change and in 1887, Queen Min with the help of an American nurse named Annie Ellers established another school for girls named Yondong Haktang. The courses at these schools were rigerous 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 and the classical Korean script of Hanmun were made part of elementary education through high school.

The Protestant Missionaries contributed much to the developement of Western education in Joseon. Queen Min, unlike Daewon-gun 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. She, unlike the Isolationists, saw no threat to the Confucius-driven morales of the society by Christianity. Religious tolerance was another one of Queen Min's goals and in June of 1885, she approved of the establishment of Paejae Haktang, the first Christian school strictly to educate the 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 Kyongshin Haktang.

Knowing that schools also had to be established outside of Seoul, Queen Min extended her patronage to a secondary school for boys named Kawngson 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 Hansong Sunbo, under the approval of the King and the Queen. It was published as a thrice monthly official government gazette by the Pangmun-guk, an agency of the Foreign Offices. 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 Hansong Chubo (The Seoul Weekly). She ordered it for to be strictly written in Korean with a mixture of Hanmun, 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 appaer itself played an important role as a communication media to the masses until it was abolished in 1888 under the pressures of 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 noteven adopt, and the Chinese grew uncomfortable with the constant criticism of their presence.

A newspaper in entirely Korean, disregarding the Korean Hanmun script, was not published again until in 1894, Kanjo 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.

Medecine, Christianity, 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 to, with the Queen's permission and official sanction, arrange for the appointment of other missionaries as government employees. He also introduced modern medecine in Korea by establishing the first western Royal Medical Clinic of Kwanghyewon, in February 1885.

In April 1885, a horde of Christian missionaries began to flood into Joseon. The Isolationists were horrified and realized they had been finally defeated by Queen Min. The doors to Joseon were not only open to ideas, technology, culture, but as well as to other religions. Having lost immense power with Daewon-gun 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 Daewon-gun'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 and 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 illiteracy rate to drop and with the aid of Christian educational programs, it significantly dropped in a matter of a few years.

Drastic changes were made to music as well. Rather than the traditional Eastern thought of music, Western ideas of music theory was introduced. The Christian hymnal, Changsongga, was published in Korean in 1893 under the commission of Queen Min. Queen Min herself, however, was never a Christian. A devout Buddhist with a dab of shamanism and following the laws of Confucius, Queen Min's religious beliefs would become the model, indirectly, for many Koreans and their personal beliefs. Queen Min ardently believed that religions can exist side by side without conflict, no matter how different the two faiths may be. Modern Koreans often do not follow just one religion. The law codes of Confucius is as strong as ever in modern Korea but many Koreans also are Christians and Buddhists while once in awhile dipping their feet in the ancient shaman religion of Korea. Along with the introduction of the organ and other Western musical instruments in 1890, the developement of modern music was underway.

Military

Modern weapons were imported from Japan and the United States in 1883. The first military related factories were established and a new military uniform 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. Out of all the projects that were going on simultaneously (Which in itself was a major accomplishment for any nation. Not even Japan had modernized at the rate Joseon was and not with as many projects going at once, a precursor to modern Korea as one of East Asia's Tigers in rapid developement into a first class nation during the 1960s), the military project took the longest. 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 upon rapid military development.

A new military school was created called Yonmu Kongwon, and an officers training program began. However, despite land 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. Because a navy was neglected, 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 develope massive iron-clad warships equipped with cannons. Now, Joseon's navy was nothing but ancient ships that could barely fend themselves off 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, like they had earlier.

Economy

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

By 1883, the economy was now no longer a totally monopoly of the Japanese 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 Taedong and the Changdong companies emerged. The Bureau of Mint also produced a new coin called tang-ojon in 1884, securing a stable Korean currency at the time. Western investment began to take hold as well in 1886.

A 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 brough 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, faciliating communication.

(NOT COMPLETED - PLEASE DO NOT TAMPER OR REVERT THIS ARTICLE. If done so repetively, you will be reported. Update - Yes, I'm serious.)

See also

• List of Korea-related topics

Further Reading & References

• Martina Dechler, Culture and the State in Late Choson Korea (1999) ISBN 0674007743

• Woo-Keun Han, The History of Korea (1996) ISBN 0893245082

• James Bryant Lewis, Frontier Contact between Choson Korea and Tokugawa Japan (2003) ISBN 0700713018

• Andrew C. Nahm, Introduction to Korean History and Culture (1997) ISBN 0930878086

• Andrew C. Nahm, A History of the Korean People: Tradition & Transformation (1996) ISBN 0868158681

• Hongjong Yu, The Last Empress of the Lost Empire: A Comprehensive Study of Empress Myeongseong Hwanghu (2003) ISBN 0758268921

External links

• Information about Queen Min
• Japanese Raped the Last Queen of Korea Before Burning Her Alive!
• Letter Links Japan to Death of Empress