Empress Myeongseong

Empress Myeongseong was the wife of King Gojong and a powerful political figure in late Joseon Korea. Japanese agents assassinated her in 1895 at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Gojong of Korea: The last king of Joseon and first emperor of Korea, who ruled from 1863 to 1907. Her husband and political partner, Gojong shared her struggle to preserve royal authority.
Joseon: A Korean dynastic kingdom that ruled the peninsula from 1392 to 1897. Myeongseong's court and political struggles unfolded during Joseon's final decades.
Treaty of Ganghwa: A 1876 treaty that compelled Joseon to open ports to Japan under unequal terms. Its opening of Korea intensified the foreign-policy pressures facing her court.
Eulmi Reform: A series of reforms introduced in Korea in 1895, including the adoption of the solar calendar and a new hairstyle policy. The reforms followed the assassination and provoked resistance under a weakened royal court.
Eulmi Incident Trial: The 1896 Japanese trial of Miura Gorō and other suspects accused in the assassination of Myeongseong; the defendants were acquitted. Its acquittals left accountability for the assassination unresolved.
Heungseon Daewongun: The father of Gojong, who exercised power as regent during his son's early reign. His faction opposed Myeongseong's influence, and their rivalry shaped court politics.
Imo Incident: A 1882 soldiers' revolt in Seoul that prompted Chinese intervention and expanded Japanese influence in Korea. The revolt sharpened the foreign rivalry that constrained the royal court.
Treaty of Shimonoseki: The 1895 treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War and recognized Korean independence from Qing China. Its terms weakened Chinese influence, prompting Myeongseong to seek other foreign counterweights.
Korean Empire: An empire proclaimed by Gojong in 1897 as Korea sought to assert sovereign status. Myeongseong's death preceded Gojong's elevation of Korea's imperial status.
Homer Hulbert: An American educator and diplomat who lived in Korea and wrote extensively about its history and politics. His writings are among the foreign accounts used to reconstruct the assassination and its aftermath.

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