A Kingdom in Crisis: The Rise of Gojong

In January 1864, the Korean Peninsula stood at a crossroads. The sudden death of 33-year-old King Cheoljong without a male heir plunged the Joseon Dynasty into its third succession crisis of the 19th century. The royal lineage had grown perilously thin – King Sunjo (r. 1800-1834) saw his heir die four years before his own death, while King Heonjong (r. 1834-1849) passed at just 22, also childless.

This power vacuum allowed two powerful aristocratic clans – the Andong Kim and Pungyang Jo – to dominate court politics. Their strategy was ruthless: potential royal successors showing any promise were either exiled or executed. Among the surviving royals stood one remarkable exception: Yi Ha-eung, a distant descendant of King Injo (r. 1623-1649) who had perfected the art of survival through calculated debauchery.

Yi’s masterstroke came when he positioned his 12-year-old son, Yi Hui (later renamed Gojong), as the new monarch. The boy-king’s accession marked the beginning of Korea’s final royal reign – one that would witness the dynasty’s collapse and the birth of its brief imperial experiment.

The Puppet King: A Life Under Control

Gojong’s early reign (1864-1873) was dominated by his formidable father, who ruled as the Daewongun (“Prince of the Great Court”). This period saw significant reforms: reconstruction of Gyeongbok Palace, military reorganization, and economic measures that temporarily stabilized the kingdom. Yet the Daewongun’s conservative Confucian worldview led to extreme isolationism, leaving Korea unprepared for the challenges of industrialization and imperialism sweeping Asia.

The young king remained a figurehead, his rare moment of inspiration – quoting Mencius about small states achieving greatness – serving only to highlight his powerlessness. This dynamic shifted in 1873 when Gojong’s wife, the ambitious Queen Min (later Empress Myeongseong), orchestrated the Daewongun’s ouster. But rather than empowering the king, this transition merely transferred control to his formidable consort.

The Queen’s Gambit: Myeongseong’s Rise and Fall

Queen Min’s political acumen reshaped Korea’s foreign policy. Initially favoring Japan (signing the unequal 1876 Ganghwa Treaty), she later pivoted to Qing China when Japanese ambitions grew threatening. This balancing act collapsed during the 1882 Imo Mutiny, when disgruntled soldiers nearly toppled the monarchy. The crisis revealed Korea’s precarious position – Min barely escaped disguised as a court lady, while Chinese forces intervened to restore order.

The subsequent decade saw Min’s faction embrace Russia as a counterweight to both China and Japan. This “scramble for Korea” culminated in her brutal 1895 assassination by Japanese agents – an event witnessed helplessly by Gojong. The king’s subsequent flight to the Russian legation, where he lived for a year, symbolized Korea’s loss of sovereignty.

Empire’s Brief Dawn: The Korean Empire

In 1897, Gojong made his boldest move: proclaiming the Korean Empire and adopting the title of Emperor, breaking centuries of tributary relations with China. His reforms, however, remained rooted in traditional authoritarianism rather than embracing modernity. When the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War tipped regional dominance to Japan, Korea’s fate was sealed.

The 1905 Eulsa Treaty turned Korea into a protectorate, stripping its diplomatic sovereignty. Gojong’s desperate 1907 attempt to appeal to the Hague Peace Conference only accelerated Japan’s takeover – he was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Sunjong. The 1910 annexation formally ended Korea’s independence, with the former emperor relegated to “Yi Taewang” (King Yi the Great) under Japanese rule.

Legacy of Resistance

Gojong’s 1919 death under suspicious circumstances (possibly poisoning) sparked the March 1st Movement, Korea’s first nationwide independence protest. Though his reign was marked by weakness against foreign powers, his late-life defiance and the empire’s brief existence became potent symbols for later independence activists. Today, historians debate Gojong’s legacy – was he a tragic figure overwhelmed by global forces, or a ruler whose missed opportunities hastened Korea’s colonization?

His life encapsulates Korea’s painful transition from Hermit Kingdom to modern nation – a monarch who outlived his dynasty, witnessed his wife’s murder, and died under occupation, yet whose final acts planted seeds for his country’s eventual rebirth.