Empire of Korea
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대한 제국 大 韓帝國 |
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Daehan-jeguk Taehan Cheguk |
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| Korean Empire | |||||
| 1897-1910 | |||||
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Motto : 광명 천지 (光明天地 ) May shine the country in the light |
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| Official language | Korean | ||||
| Capital | Hanseong | ||||
| Form of government | Hereditary monarchy | ||||
| Government system | Absolute Monarchy | ||||
| Head of state | Emperor | ||||
| Head of government | prime minister | ||||
| surface | 222,154 km² | ||||
| population | 13,000,000 (1907, estimated) | ||||
| Population density | 58.52 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| currency | won | ||||
| founding | October 17, 1897 | ||||
| resolution | August 22, 1910 | ||||
| National anthem | Daehan jeduk aegukga | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +9 ( KST ) | ||||
| 1910: Japan-Korea annexation treaty of 1910 | |||||
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History of Korea from the 10th century |
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| States of imperial unity |
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| Colonial times |
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| Division of Korea |
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The Korean Empire , in Korea Daehan jeguk ( kor. 대한 제국 , 大韓帝國 ; dt. Great Korean Empire), called in literature as the Great Korea or hyphenated as wholesale Korea known existed from 1897 as a direct result of government Joseon to annexation Korea through Japan 1910. The empire, which was proclaimed on October 17, 1897 by the then King Joseon, Gojong , marks the last phase of the Joseon dynasty in Korea . Gojong proclaimed himself emperor under a new name, Gwangmu (warlike splendor).
history
Prehistory to the foundation of the empire
In the mid-19th century, the Korean monarchy faced major challenges. Domestically, the aim was to push back the influence of the Yangban class and to restore greater influence to the monarchy, whereas in terms of foreign policy the influence of Western powers and Japan's striving for hegemony caused problems in Korea.
When King Cheoljong died in 1864, he left no heir to the throne. From a branch line of the royal family, the 12-year-old Yi Myung-bok , who went back to a son of Prince Sado , was found and enthroned as King Gojong. Since he was too young to rule, his father took over the affairs of government, but was unable to pacify the country despite reforms. In 1873 Gojong took power himself. Politically, economically and militarily weakened, the country and the monarchy came under the influence of China and Japan. Mainly through the Treaty of Ganghwado , which provided for the opening of Korea towards Japan, Japan gained greater influence over the country in 1875.
In order to avoid the Sino-Japanese struggle for influence and the threatened establishment of a British protectorate over Korea ( Port Hamilton incident ), the Korean King Gojong asked Russia in mid-December 1884 to impose a protectorate over Korea. The tsarist empire should send warships and marines to protect the royal palace. The Russian government was anxious to maintain the status quo and refrained from taking such a step.
In 1894, when the conflict over a popular movement (see Donghak uprising ) under the influence of the Donghak sect came to a head, China and Japan sent troops to Korea for pacification. As a result of the erupted political tensions, on August 1, 1894, China and Japan declared war on one another, which entered the history books as the first Sino-Japanese War . The war that was taking place on Korean soil showed how powerless the Joseon Dynasty monarchy had become. The Japanese Empire won the conflict and on April 17, 1895, forced China to sign the Shimonoseki Treaty , according to which the complete independence of Korea was to be recognized, to accept the suspension of Korean tribute payments to China and - apart from the war compensation to Japan - the Liaodong peninsula , the island of Taiwan and the Penghu islands were to be ceded to Japan.
However , the Russian Empire saw its geopolitical interests threatened in the possible cession of the Liaodong Peninsula and successfully intervened against the occupation together with France and Germany . At the same time, Russia's political influence in Korea grew . King Gojong's wife, Queen Min , asserted her political influence and, recognizing the growing influence of Russia in East Asia , established diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire. In addition, she was also looking for an understanding with China. The queen was thus a key figure in the Korean resistance to Japanese influence. Nevertheless, Japan tried in 1895 with its Gabo reforms to influence the political and social structure of Korea in its own way, but failed due to the resistance of the Korean government.
Japan was consequently disturbed by the anti-Japanese development in Korea in its hegemony efforts and appointed a new envoy, Miura Gorō , who, as a diplomat with a military background, was supposed to put a short end to the reluctant movement. A murderer commissioned by him broke into Gyeongbokgung Palace on October 8, 1895 and killed Queen Min and two of her ladies-in-waiting. King Gojong was then forced to hand over important government offices to some pro-Japanese politicians.
Proclamation of Korea to the Empire and Gojong's accession to the throne
Following the death of his wife and loss of government authority in 1896, the king's supporters kidnapped himself, his new wife, Eom Sunheon, and his son, Crown Prince Sunjong , and took them all to the Russian consulate in Seoul , where they were granted political asylum . King Gojong tried from the consulate, which was protected by 200 Russian marines , to regain political influence over his country. But his influence on the political fortunes of the country was only minor. In order to counteract the hegemony of Russia, Japan and China over his country, he tried to play the three powers off against each other. Two agreements concluded between Russia and Korea in May and June 1896 gave Russia, like Japan, approximately equal rights and further influence over Korea. In addition, Russian, Japanese, American , French and also German companies began to exploit and recycle mineral resources, were given forestry rights and were granted concessions for the construction of railway lines.
In February 1897, Gojong returned to his palace at the request of the Korean public and tried on October 17, 1897 with the proclamation of the Korean Empire and the name Gwangmu , chosen as a symbol for a new government era , to claim the independence and sovereignty of his country underpin and demand equality at the international level. The proclamation of the Korean Empire was mainly addressed to Japan and China. With both states, which were also empires , Korea should be placed on the same level. Gojong began reforms, but the country remained weak militarily and economically. With Russian help, Gojong tried to push back the growing Japanese influence and to keep China at a distance. Russia took the opportunity to interfere politically and economically in the country's domestic politics .
After its quick defeat in the Russo-Japanese War , Russia had to give up its influence on Korea in 1905 in favor of Japan. Korea was placed under the Japanese protectorate and a governor general . The result was that the Korean emperor was only partially sovereign of the country. Because Gojong opposed the signing of the Korean-Japanese protectorate agreement of 1905 and could not bring Korea's concerns to the second peace conference in The Hague in June 1907, he had to abdicate shortly afterwards on June 22nd. As his successor, Gojong's son Sunjong was installed as emperor on August 27, 1907. That made it easier for Japan to expand its influence in Korea. As a result of an agreement imposed on July 24, 1907, the political power of Korea was transferred to the Japanese Governor General Itō Hirobumi . This dissolved the Korean military in the same year and brought the police under Japanese control.
The removal of Gojong caused an uproar among the Korean people. Under the name of Uibyeong (Just Army), a resistance movement was formed that took up the partisan struggle against the Japanese protectorate power. While active and passive resistance was forming in the population, members of the Korean ruling class allowed themselves to be quieted down through offices and posts. In contrast, the struggle for freedom claimed many victims among the population. Of the 50,000-strong Uibyeong freedom movement, 17,690 Koreans lost their lives between 1907 and 1910.
After the resignation and later assassination of Governor General Itō Hirobumi by a Korean nationalist on October 26, 1909, the former Japanese Minister of War and successor to Itō Hirobumi, General Terauchi Masatake , forced the signing of a treaty on August 22, 1910 that effectively annexed Korea resulted in. Article 1 of this treaty stipulated that Emperor Sunjong declared the complete and irreversible cession of all sovereign rights of Korea to the Japanese Empire. Korea's status as a subject of international law was thereby extinguished. From this point on it was, as part of the Japanese Empire, under the official name of Chosen as a Japanese colony .
Political system
The Korean Empire was a hereditary monarchy with an emperor at the head of the state. Under him was a prime minister, among whom were seven ministers with their departments for education, army, home affairs, foreign affairs, justice, finance and the department for agriculture, trade and industry.
literature
- Hanns W. Maull, Ivo M. Maull: In focus: Korea . CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-50716-6 .
- Marion Eggert, Jörg Plassen: Small history of Korea . CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-52841-4 .
- Hiyoul Kim: Korean History: An introduction to Korean history from prehistory to modern times . Asgard Verlag, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 .
- Gottfried-Karl Kindermann : The rise of Korea in world politics . Olzog Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-7892-8220-0 .
- 류재택 (Ed.): 한국 위 역사 . 국제 교육 진흥원 , 2007, ISBN 89-8472-715-6 (Korean).
- 신형식 : Korean history . Ed .: Accociation for Overseas Korean Education Development . Seoul 2009, ISBN 978-89-962593-0-5 (Korean-German).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics . 1994, p. 38 .
- ↑ Eggert, Plassen: Small History of Korea . 2005, p. 122 .
- ↑ The Brockhaus multimedia 2010, article: Korea , (c) Wissenmedia GmbH
- ^ Maik Hendrik Sprotte , Wolfgang Seifert, Heinz-Dietrich Löwe : The Russo-Japanese War, 1904/05: Dawn of a New Era? , Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-447-05707-3 , p. 65
- ^ A b Eggert, Plassen: Small History of Korea . 2005, p. 106 ff .
- ↑ Maull: In focus: Korea . 2004, p. 60, 61 .
- ↑ MN Pak / Wayne Patterson: Russian Policy toward Korea before and during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 , in: The Journal of Korean Studies, Vol. 5 (1984), pp. 109–119 (here: p. 114 ).
- ↑ Ibid., P. 115.
- ↑ Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics . 1994, p. 35 .
- ↑ Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics . 1994, p. 36 .
- ↑ 류재택 (Ed.): 한국 위 역사 . 2007, p. 135 .
- ↑ a b c Kindermann: The rise of Korea in world politics . 1994, p. 37 .
- ↑ Eggert, Plassen: Small History of Korea . 2005, p. 119 .
- ↑ a b c 신형식 : Korean History . 2009, p. 153 ff .
- ↑ a b Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics . 1994, p. 42 .
- ↑ Eggert, Plassen: Small History of Korea . 2005, p. 125 .
- ↑ Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics . 1994, p. 43 .