Empress(Queen) Myungsung
-Her Sorrowful life-
She(1851~1895) was the wife of Gojong(1852∼1919, 26th king of Joseon Dynasty). In 1902, she received the posthumous name which is often abbreviated as Myeongseong Hwanghu (Hangul: 명성황후, Hanja: 明成皇后), meaning Empress Myeongseong. She was born in very dignified family. Her name is Min-Ja young. The father of Gojong, Heung-Seon Daewongun(“Daewongun” is a title of King`s fahter, which is not previous king) selected her, because she has no father or mighty family. Her father had passed away, when she was young This is because before Gojong, there was corrupt politics run by influential person(especially queen`s family). So, Heung-Seon Daewongun want to stop that.
The Japanese considered her as an obstacle against its overseas expansion. Efforts to remove her from the political arena, orchestrated through failed rebellions prompted by the father of King Gojong, 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, Queen Min advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea, which was represented by the Daewongun. Miura Gorō, the Japanese Minister to Korea at the time and a retired army lieutenant-general, backed the faction headed by the Daewongun, whom he considered to be more sympathetic to Japanese interests.
In the early morning of 8 October 1895, sword-bearing assassins allegedly under orders from Miura Gorō entered Gyeongbok Palace. Upon entering the Queen’s Quarters (Okhoru ), the assassins “killed three court [women] suspected of being Empress Myeongseong. When they confirmed that one of them was the Empress, they burned the corpse in the pine forest in front of the Okhoru complex of the immense palace, and then dispersed the ashes.” Queen Min was 43.
okhoru-where Empress was killed
The assassination of the Korean Empress ignited diplomatic protest abroad.[citation needed] To appease growing international criticism,[citation needed] the Japanese government “recalled Miura and placed him under a staged trial at the Hiroshima District Court, while the military personnel involved were tried at the military court. All were given the verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insufficient evidence.”
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[who?] 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.[citation needed]
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.
Today, there were no pictures of Empress Myungsung, because the Japanese burned all of the photos of her.
This is the music video of the Drama “Empress Myungsung” OST.
