Independence Club
After the Independence Club (독립협회, 獨立協會) was dissolved on December 25, 1898 as Emperor Gojong officially announced a prohibition on congresses held by people, the Empire of Japan made a treaty with the Korean Empire called the Eulsa Treaty which made the Korean Empire become a protectorate of the Empire of Japan. The treaty laid the foundation for the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907 and subsequent annexation of Korea in 1910. Even though Emperor Sunjong, who is a son of Emperor Gojong, sent a Hague Secret Emissary Affair to expose the unfairness of the treaty in the Hague Convention of 1907, due to the Great Powers, they were ignored.