From: ra01+@andrew.cmu.edu (Rikiya Asano)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: The Emperor Series vol. 1: Emperor Kojong pt.I
Date: 8 Nov 92 05:36:19 GMT
	<1992Nov7.174144.9467@tc.cornell.edu>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Freinds,

              Finally, I have completed my personal research on the
lives of several Asian Emperors. I have decided to share my happiness
with you all. The first Emperor will be in two parts. This is only on an
experiemental basis.
                                                  

                                                 I dedicate this to the
interdependent progress of Zhong Guo, Hankuk and Nippon and to Emperor
Akihito.
                             
                            

                           The Emperor: King Kojong


     An introduction....

                            Before I talk about specifically about the life of
Emperor Kojong(1852-1919), I would like to briefly talk about the
historical developments of the late 19th and 20th century Hankuk. This
will give some light as to why the last two rulers of Hankuk were called
Emperor and not the usual King. Sadly to say that for a long time,
Hankuk was recognized as a tributary state of Zhong Guo. The rulers of
Hankuk had to accept the Emperor of Zhong Gou
as their superior and therefore were recognized by Zhong Guo as
wang(taewang) or king. However, even though Hankuk recognized Chinese
suzerianty, it maintained territoral independence and controlled its own
domestic and foreign affairs.

             Hankuk followed a tough policy of seclusion right until the
second half of the 19th century when tremendous pressures were brought
to bear on the nation from encroaching foreign powers, especially Russia
and Nippon(sorry)

                                                         King
Kojong(1852-1919) ascended the Hunkuk throne in 1864 at the age of
Twelve, but his father the Regent known as Taewon'gun(Grand Prince). The
Taewon'gun set about trying to reform his nation to make it stronger and
more independent. Around 1873, King Kojong came of Age and declared his
own rule, ending the regency. However, actual power was in the hands of
his Queen's family the Min, who were determined to resist the
Taewon'gun's reforms and to continue the traditional relationship
with Zhong Guo. However, this moderate program of Cooperation with Zhong
Guo came into conflict with Western ideas of modernization coming from
Nippon. The Japanese had imperialistic designs on Hankuk and were
determined to draw Hankuk away from Zhong Guo's political influence.
Soon the embroilmentb between Zhong Guo and Nippon over Hankuk erupted
into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5. Nippon won  over the Chinese and
promoted Hankuk's independence from Zhong Guo. The Japanese even went as
far as having King Kojong's pro-Chinese wife, Queen Min, murdered. While
this was going on, Russia likewise made clear its imperialist plans for
Hankuk, which immediately came into conflict with Nippon Intentions.

                  In a vain attempt to assert Hankuk's independence from
foreign powers, King Kojong introduced the concept of a Hankuk
empire(Taehan Cheguk) and declared himself Emperor. He wished to be
officially recognized as an Emperor
with equal status to the Emeror of Zhong Guo and the Emperor of Nippon.
Despite 
his best attempts, Emperor Kojong was incapable of establishing Hankuk's actual
independence. In 1904-5 the Russo-Japanese War broke out over the two
nations' struggle for domination of Hankuk. Nippon again was the winner
and was recognized by treaty as having "Paramount Interest" in Hankuk.

                                                                      In
1907, Empeoro Kojong sent a secret diplomatic mission to an
international peace conference at the Hague, Holland, in the hope of
getting international recognition of his nation's independence from the
aggressive policy of the encroaching Japanese, This move, which exposed
Nihon's injustices in Hankuk to the world, infuriated the Japanese, who
then forced Emperor Kojong to abdicate on July 19, 1907 in favor of his
son, who became Emperor Sunjong. SunJong was little more than a puppet
reuler for the Japanese and was powerless to resist Japanese pressure.
On August 22, 1910, he too was forced to abdicate and Hankuk was annexed
by Nippon. Hankuk would remain a Japanese colony until the Japanese were
defeated in WWII. Emperor Kojong died on 1/22/1919 at the age of
sixty-seven. He was laid to rest at Kumgok, near Seoul. The unsuccessful
Samil(March First) Independence Movement of 1919 was timed around his
funeral, but was brually suppressed by the Japanese. 


                                The End of Part one

                  
          
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