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A letter in Hangeul by Empress Myeongseong
A letter in Hangeul by Empress Myeongseong

yong chern lee · CC BY 2.0 · Source

Person1851 – 1895

Empress Myeongseong

Gojong's queen, who resisted Japanese influence and was assassinated in Gyeongbokgung

Of the Yeoheung Min clan. After the Heungseon Daewongun stepped down in 1873, her Min relatives took power and pursued opening and reform. In the Imo Incident of 1882 she escaped the palace to Janghowon and returned after Qing troops intervened. When the Triple Intervention weakened Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, she drew closer to Russia to check Japan. In 1895 she was murdered in Geoncheonggung in Gyeongbokgung by men sent by the Japanese minister Miura Gorō (the Eulmi Incident). She was posthumously named Empress Myeongseong in 1897.

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2 related events

  1. 1
    1882Imo Incidentrelated figure

    Old-style soldiers angry over unpaid wages rose up and attacked the Japanese legation. The Daewongun briefly returned to power until Qing troops seized him.

  2. 2
    1895Eulmi Incident (Assassination of Empress Myeongseong)related figure

    On 8 October 1895 Japanese agents and soldiers sent by Minister Miura Gorō broke into Geoncheonggung in Gyeongbokgung and assassinated Empress Myeongseong.

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People who appear alongside

  • Gojong1852 – 1919

    Twenty-sixth king of Joseon and first emperor of the Korean Empire

  • Heungseon Daewongun1820 – 1898

    Gojong's father and regent, who rebuilt Gyeongbokgung and rejected Western trade

  • Miura Gorō1847 – 1926

    Japanese minister to Korea who directed the assassination of Empress Myeongseong

Themes this person appears in

  • Military Systems Through the AgesAD 685 – 1907

    From the Nine Oath Banners to the Two Armies and Six Guards, the Five Commands and garrison system, the Five Army Camps and the Board of Marshals — armies rebuilt at every crisis

  • Seoul18 BC – 1988

    From Hanseong Baekje to the June Democratic Struggle — the Han River land every kingdom fought for, and Joseon’s capital for five centuries

  • ChungjuAD 450 – 1895

    From the Goguryeo stele to Tangeumdae — Jungwon, the middle of the Namhan River route that the Three Kingdoms fought over