Empress Myeongseong
Empress Myeongseong
Empress of Korea
Born
October 19, 1851(1851-10-19)
Birthplace Yeoju County, Gyeonggi Province,
Joseon
Died
October 8, 1895 (aged 43)
Place of
death
Okhoru Pavilion,
Geoncheonggung, Gyeongbok
Palace, Seoul, Korean Empire
Consort
1867—1895
Consort to Gojong of Korea
Offspring
Sunjong of Korea
Father
Min Chi-rok
Mother
Hanchang, Princess Consort to
the Internal Prince, of the Lee
clan
Korean name
Hangul
????
Hanja
????
Revised
Romanization
Myeongseong Hwang-hu
McCune-
Reischauer
Myŏngsŏng Hwang-hu
Empress Myeongseong (October 19, 1851 –
October 8, 1895), also known as Queen Min,
was the first official wife of King Gojong, the
twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty of
Korea. In 1902, she received the posthumous
name Hyoja Wonseong Jeonghwa Hapcheon
Myeongseong Taehwanghu (Korean Hangul:
?????????????, Hanja: ?????????????),[1] often
abbreviated
as Myeongseong Hwanghu
(Hangul: ????, Hanja: ????), meaning Em-
press Myeongseong.
The
Japanese considered her as an
obstacle against its overseas expansion.[2] Ef-
forts to remove her from the political arena,
orchestrated through failed rebellions promp-
ted 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 influ-
ence.[3]
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 October 8, 1895,
sword-bearing assassins allegedly under or-
ders from Miura Gorō entered Gyeongbok
Palace. Upon entering the Queen’s Quarters
(Okhoru, Geoncheong Palace; ??? ???), the
assassins "killed three court [women] suspec-
ted of being Empress Myeongseong. When
they conf