Gojong of Korea
Gojong, personal name Yi Myeongbok, later Yi Hui, also known as the Gwangmu Emperor, was the penultimate Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 1907, first as the last King of Joseon, and then as the first emperor of the Korean Empire from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. His wife, Queen Min, played an active role in politics until her assassination carried out by the Japanese.
Gojong oversaw the bulk of the Korean monarchy's final years. He was born into the ruling House of Yi, and was first crowned on 13 December 1863 at the age of twelve. His biological father, Grand Internal Prince Heungseon, acted as regent until he reached the age of majority, although he continued holding power until 1874. At this time, Korea was under policies of strict isolationism. By contrast, Japan had been rapidly modernizing under the Meiji Restoration. In 1876, Japan forcefully opened Korea and began a decades-long process of moving the peninsula into its own sphere of influence. For the following few decades, Korea was highly unstable, and subjected to a number of foreign encroachments. Incidents such as the 1882 Imo Incident, the 1884 Kapsin Coup, the 1894–1895 Donghak Peasant Rebellion, and the 1895 assassination of Gojong's wife occurred during his reign. All of these incidents were related to or involved foreign powers.
All the while, Gojong attempted to consolidate control, seek foreign support, and modernize the country in order to keep Korea independent. He initiated the Gwangmu Reform, which sought to improve the military, industry, and education, to some amount of success. These reforms were seen as insufficient by some parts of the Korean literati, especially the Independence Club, which Gojong at first tolerated but eventually abolished in 1898. After Japan defeated China in the 1894–1895 First Sino-Japanese War, China lost its suzerainty over Korea, which it had held for centuries. In 1897, shortly after returning from his internal exile in the Russian legation in Seoul, Gojong proclaimed the establishment of the independent Korean Empire, and became its first emperor. Gojong's actions drew the ire of Japan. After Japan defeated Russia in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, it finally became the sole power in the region, and accelerated its pace of absorbing Korea. Two months after the victory, Korea under Gojong lost diplomatic sovereignty in the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, signed by five ministers of Korea. Gojong refused to sign it and made attempts to bring the treaty to the attention of the international community and convince leading powers of the treaty's illegitimacy, but to no avail.
Gojong was forced to abdicate by Japan on 20 July 1907, and was replaced by his son, Yi Cheok. He was then confined to the palace Deoksugung. He made multiple attempts to escape and establish a government in exile abroad, but was unsuccessful each time. Korea formally became a Japanese colony in 1910, and the Korean imperial family was formally absorbed into the Japanese Imperial house. Gojong died on 21 January 1919, in his palace, in conditions that were then and are still seen in Korea as suspicious. The official cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage but rumors persisted that. His death was a direct catalyst for the March First Movement, which in turn bolstered the Korean independence movement.
Early life
Yi Myeong-bok was born on 25 July 1852, in Jeongseonbang district, Seoul, Joseon. He was born into the royal House of Yi, and was the son of Yi Ha-eung and Lady Min. After King Cheoljong died without son, the influential Andong Kim clan nominated Yi as the next King. Yi became Prince Ik-seon, shortly before his coronation. He entered the palace on 9 December 1863, and his father and mother were ennobled.King of Joseon
On 13 December 1863, Yi was crowned in Injeong gate of Changdeokgung. He was only twelve years old when he was crowned. Queen Sinjeong acted as regent until he became an adult. His father, Prince Heungseon Daewongun, assisted in the affairs of Queen Sinjeong's regency. In 1866, when the queen proclaimed the abolishment of the regency, Gojong's rule started. On 6 March 1866, Min Chi-rok's daughter, Lady Min was selected as the new queen. Even though Gojong's father Daewongun had no rights to maintain the regency, he still acted as regent illegally.During the mid-1860s, the Daewongun was the main proponent of isolationism and was responsible for the persecution of native and foreign Catholics, a policy that led directly to the French and the United States' expeditions to Korea, in 1866 and 1871 respectively. The early years of the Daewongun's rule also witnessed a concerted effort to restore the largely dilapidated Gyeongbokgung, the seat of royal authority. During this time, the Seowon, and the power wielded by the Andong Kim clan in particular were dismantled.
Finally in 1873, Gojong announced the assumption of his direct royal rule. In November 1874, with the retirement of the Daewongun, Gojong's consort, Queen Min and Yeoheung Min clan, gained complete control over the court, filling senior court positions with members of her family. It was an open secret that the court and its policy were controlled by the queen consort.
Gojong tried to strengthen the king's authority by giving important positions to consort kins and royal family members. It is known that Min Young-hwan, who was a distant relative of Queen Min, was Gojong's favorite official.
External pressures and unequal treaties
In the 19th century, tensions mounted between Qing China and Imperial Japan, culminating in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895. Much of this war was fought on the Korean peninsula. Japan, having acquired Western military technology after the Meiji Restoration, secured a victory against Joseon forces in Ganghwa Island, forcing Joseon to sign the Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876. Japan encroached upon Korean territory in search of fish, iron ore, and other natural resources. It also established a strong economic presence in the peninsula, heralding the beginning of Japanese imperialist expansion in East Asia. These events were the roots of Gojong's antipathy to the Japanese Empire.The Treaty of Ganghwa became the first unequal treaty signed between Korea and a foreign country; it gave extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens in Korea and forced the Korean government to open three ports, Busan, Chemulpo, and Wonsan, to Japanese and foreign trade. With the signing of such a lopsided treaty, Korea became easy prey for competing imperialistic powers, paving the way for Korea's annexation by Japan.
Imo Rebellion and Kapsin Coup
King Gojong began to rely on a new paid army of soldiers equipped with rifles. These new armies were requested by the Gaehwa Party and was supervised by Yun Ung-nyeol. In contrast to the well-armed army, the old army had not received a salary for 13 months. The tattered army was finally paid one month's salary. Enraged, the old army sparked a riot, and the Daewongun seized power. When the Imo Incident happened, Queen Min requested the Qing Empire for military support. On 27 June 1882, the Qing deployed about 3,000 soldiers in Seoul. They kidnapped the Daewongun on 7 July 1882, which led the Min family to regain political power.During the Imo incident when Queen Min was taking refuge in her relative's villa, Lady Seon-yeong of the Yeongwol Eom clan showed extreme devotion towards King Gojong. He rewarded her fealty by promoting her to the rank of Jimil Sanggung.
On 4 December 1884, five revolutionaries attempted a coup d'état by leading a small anti-old minister army to detain King Gojong and Queen Min. These revolutionaries tried to remove the Qing army from Korea. The Kapsin Coup failed after 3 days. Some of its leaders, including Kim Okkyun, fled to Japan, and others were executed.
While suppressing this coup, Gojong actively invited Qing only to increase the Yuan Shikai's influence over Korea. Yet Gojong did try to maintain the independence of his nation. The Chinese even considered abdicating Gojong for consolidation of Qing influence in Korea. For Gojong, he believed that relying on to stronger powers was the best solution in the situation without neither army to guard him nor money. However, these decision never followed his own responsibility, ultimately poisoning his very own nation he intended to save.
Peasant revolts
Widespread poverty presented significant challenges to the 19th century Joseon Dynasty. Starvation was rampant, and much of the populace lived in run-down shanties lined along dirt roads. Famine, poverty, crushing taxes, and corruption among the ruling class, led to many notable peasant revolts in the 19th century.In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution took hold as an anti-government, anti-yangban, and anti-foreign campaign. One leading cause of the revolution was the tax system implemented by Queen Min. Gojong asked for the assistance from the Chinese and Japanese to crush the revolution. Yi Jun-yong and others coordinated with peasants to assassinate Gojong. However, the plot was leaked and the revolution failed. Although the revolution ultimately failed, many of the peasants' grievances were later addressed with the Kabo Reform.
One of the biggest reforms in 1894 was abolishing the slave system, which had existed as far back as the Gojoseon period.