Empress Myeongseong Birthplace

The birthplace of Empress Myeongseong is the house where the consort of Emperor Gojong, who took part in state affairs during the era of enlightenment reform but was assassinated in the Eulmi Incident of 1895, was born and lived until the age of eight. Empress Myeongseong was born in 1851, the second year of King Cheoljong, in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, to her father Min Chi-rok and her mother, Lady Yi, Buin of Hanchang. After her father died when she was eight, she moved with her mother to live at Gamgodang in Seoul, which had been the natal home of Queen Inhyeon, consort of King Sukjong. In 1866, at the age of sixteen, she was chosen as Gojong's queen consort through the involvement of Heungseon Daewongun and his wife, Lady Min. For the ten years following Gojong's accession, Joseon's state affairs were run under the regency of Heungseon Daewongun, but once Gojong reached adulthood, Empress Myeongseong joined him in pursuing policies of enlightenment reform. In the course of these reforms she lived through political crises including the Imo Incident, the Gapsin Coup, and the Donghak Peasant Revolution. During the Donghak Peasant Revolution in particular, Japan unilaterally sent troops into Joseon, invaded Gyeongbokgung Palace, and seized control of the Joseon court, leaving Gojong and Empress Myeongseong confined within the palace. Empress Myeongseong sought to restore royal authority by aligning with Russia, and when Russian influence thwarted Japan's plan to turn Joseon into a protectorate, Japan attacked Gyeongbokgung Palace and assassinated her. In 1897, the first year of the Gwangmu era, she was given the posthumous name Myeongseong, and immediately after Gojong's enthronement as emperor and the proclamation of the Korean Empire she was posthumously honoured as empress. In November of that year she was buried at Hongneung Royal Tomb in Cheongnyangni, and in 1919, at the time of Gojong's funeral, she was reinterred together with him at Hongneung Royal Tomb in Geumgok, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. This house was originally built in 1687, the 13th year of King Sukjong, as a small caretaker's house for the tomb of Min Yu-jung (1630-1687), father of Queen Inhyeon (1667-1701), consort of King Sukjong (1661-1720), and the sixth-generation ancestor of Empress Myeongseong; of the buildings from that time, only the main hall survives, preserved to the present day. In 1996 the main hall was repaired, and the servants' quarters, the men's quarters, and a detached annex were built alongside it, giving the house its present appearance. The birthplace of Empress Myeongseong is a house that well illustrates the characteristics of a mid-Joseon-period residence.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeoju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산