Assassination of Empress Myeongseong
Between 5:50 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on 8 October 1895, Queen Min (later "Empress Myeongseong"), the wife of King Gojong of Joseon, was assassinated by a group of Japanese agents under Miura Gorō. This incident is known in Korea as the Eulmi Incident (). The attack happened at Okhoru () in , which was the rear private royal residence (the king's quarters) inside the palace Gyeongbokgung.

The queen had been assertive and wielded a great amount of political power in Korea. Soon before her death, she aligned Korea with the Russian Empire, in order to counterbalance Japanese influence on the peninsula. This drew the ire of Japan.

The agents were let into the palace by pro-Japanese Korean guards. Once inside, they beat and threatened other members of the Royal Family during their search for the Queen. The Crown Princess was dragged down stairs and beaten. When the Queen was eventually located, she was beaten and killed with a single slash from a sword. Some agents then proceeded to loot the palace, while others stripped her body and examined her genitals. They then covered her corpse in oil and burned it.

The attack has been characterized by modern historians of Japan as "brutal" and "barbaric"; these sentiments were shared by contemporary international and domestic observers. The assassination had been intended to strengthen Japan's position in Korea, but it offered little benefit; its brutality even temporarily harmed Japan's international image. The attack also resulted in Gojong seeking refuge in the Russian legation in Seoul the following year.

Background 

In the immediate run-up to her death, the queen consort had allied herself with Russian interests to counterbalance Japanese influence. She was perceived by the Japanese as an important hostile target.

In 1895, Japanese officials in Korea were plotting the removal of Gojong's wife, Empress Myeongseong. Miura Gorō, Inoue Kaoru's successor as Japanese advisor to the Korean government, and Sugimura Fukashi, a secretary of the Japanese legation, planned the attempt. The two decided to involve the Daewongun in the plot, and after making inquiries, learned that he was "indignant enough to plan a coup" and would cooperate with them.

Description
In the early hours of 8 October, the assassination was carried out by Heungseon Daewongun's guide, which was in conflict with Empress Myeongseong. Japanese agents under Miura Gorō carried out the assassination. Miura had orchestrated this incident with , , ,  , , , and over fifty other Japanese men. Said to have collaborated in this were the pro-Japanese officers Major  and Major  both battalion commanders in the Hullyeondae, a Japanese-trained regiment of the Royal Guards.

Surrounding the palace

It was around midnight when the Japanese ronin led by Okamoto arrived at Gongdeok-ri, but it was around 3 am when Heungseon Daewongun left on Gyo-yeo. Daewongun was sleeping without knowing that they were coming. The Japanese climbed over the wall, captured and imprisoned all the villa inspectors, took their clothes, and had Japanese police officers put them on, in an attempt to disguise themselves as Joseon soldiers. After a long struggle, Daewongun left the house, and it is believed that the Japanese took him out by force. There are claims that it is difficult to believe that the 76-year-old Daewongun participated in the assassination. 

When the group reached Seodaemun, they were joined by the 2nd Training Battalion led by Woo Beom-seon. They didn't know until then that they were assassinating the Empress. After a while, the 1st company of the Japanese garrison, consisting of about 140 people who had misunderstood the gathering place  and had gone to the wrong place, arrived. Here again time was delayed. At this time, the 3rd company of the Japanese garrison was waiting near Gwanghwamun at Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the commander of the 2nd company of the garrison led the 2nd battalion of the training unit and gathered near Chunsaengmun (Northeast Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace). 

They had arrived in advance and surrounded Gyeongbokgung Palace since around 2 a.m. When gunfire was heard from Gwanghwamun, they climbed over the palace walls from all directions, passed through the Geunjeongjeon Hall of Oejeon, and rushed toward Geoncheong Palace, where Empress Myeongseong resides. 
At around 2 a.m., when two of King Gojong's bodyguards ran to the Byeolgungwan and reported that Japanese and Joseon military training corps were gathered in the Samgunbu (guard room in front of Gwanghwamun), Lord Hyeonheungtaek immediately sent several palace guards to Gwanghwamun to check the situation. As time passed, Hyeon Heung-taek testified that at around 4 a.m., the Joseon Army training battalion surrounded Chunsaengmun (Northeast Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace) and Chuseongmun (Northwest Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace). At this time, Gyeongbokgung Palace was in a state of chaos as gunfire broke out all the way to Gwanghwamun, including the area of Geunjeongjeon, excluding the area around Gyeonghoeru and Sujeongjeon.

As soon as General William McEntyre Dye and Afanasy Sabatin received the report from Deputy Commander Yi Hak-gyun, they got up and went to the Byeolgungwan's office, but Sabatin testified that not a single person was seen there, even though two deputy commanders and at least 6 to 7 officers on duty were supposed to be working overtime . In addition, King Gojong was already aware of the commotion in the palace around 4:30 in the morning, and it is believed that Empress Myeongseong left Okhoru, a sleeping quarters, and went into hiding. King Gojong received urgent news that the Japanese army had surrounded the palace, and ordered Lee Beom-jin to rush to the American and Russian embassies in a hurry to ask for help. Lee Beom-jin escaped the palace by jumping from a 4-5 meter high wall to avoid Japanese patrols. Beomjin Lee testified that when he arrived at the American embassy, he heard the first gunshots coming from the palace. Lee Beom-jin went to the Russian Embassy via the American Embassy and informed them that the palace was surrounded by Japanese troops and requested relief. 

Sabatin's testimony shows that the night before the incident (October 6), the military training division and Japanese soldiers gathered in front of the palace and made a fuss. Moreover, he had previously received information from the Chinese that there would be a conspiracy that night. However, they were too easy-going and did not come up with a plan, which eventually led to the palace being surrounded.

Infiltration of Gyeongbokgung Palace

At around 4:30 in the morning that day, about 250 to 300 Korean soldiers of the Military Training Division who had been trained by Japanese instructors discussed something while being led by 4 to 5 Japanese instructors. After that, a Korean man shouted several times to open the gate. The entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace was guarded by about 8 to 10 Capital Guards (Siwidae (시위대), (侍衛隊)) and 500 police officers under the command of led by Lieutenant Colonel Hong Gye-hun of the Military Training Division and Minister of the Military . Hong drew his sword and scolded at the division, "Traitors" and "Who are you? Get away!" At this shout, the Japanese ronin and division paused for a moment. But the Japanese Ronin and Korean troops, who knew of their presence in advance, easily repelled the guards. Hong Gye-hun was shot six times and stabbed with a sword and the rest of the Capital Guards retreated. When Heungseon Daewongun arrived in front of Gwanghwamun around 5 a.m., the 3rd company of the Japanese garrison, which had been waiting in advance, handed them a long ladder prepared in advance. The Hullyeondae soldiers led by Woo, and the Japanese Legation Security Group led by Lieutenant Commander Niiro Tokisuke climbed over the palace walls and opened fire on the Capital Guards. Meanwhile, the Japanese and their collaborators broke through Chunsaengmun in the northeast, and Chuseongmun in the northwest. The guards and police officers threw away their weapons and military uniforms and deserted their posts. Then unlatched the bolt and the Japanese troops and the Military Training Division rushed through the gate towards Gyeongbokgung Palace, screaming. It was easy to get to Geunjeongjeon, but after a firefight with 200 Martial Arts Special Guards guarding Geunjeongjeon, Geunjeongjeon was breached, so they were able to get to Geoncheong Palace. 

Upon hearing the cry of Lieutenant Colonel Hong Kye-hun, the Queen changed into court lady attire to disguise herself among the rest of the court ladies and hid before the Japanese arrived at Okhoru. It is said that the empress had asked the Crown Prince if he was safe before she was killed. Knowing that there was no queen at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the ronin and his Joseon collaborators headed to Geoncheong Palace, north of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The palace was defended by about 300 to 400 Capital Guards led by Major , and General Dye. They engaged in a firefight with the Capital Guards and pushed forward. The guards were unable to defeat the Japanese army as they were deprived of their superior weapons during the Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Threatening the King
Sabatin, a Russian construction engineer, was protecting King Gojong when he witnessed the actions of the Japanese in the palace yard. According to the report by Justice Department official Kwon Jae-hyeong (commonly known as the “Kwon Jae-hyung Report”), in order to distract the attention of the ronin and help Empress Myeongseong escape, Gojong tried to divert their attention away from the Queen, to have her escape the palace, by putting himself in front of their search but this led them to beat the court ladies and threaten the Crown Prince at sword point to make him talk on the whereabouts of his mother. But her son did not disclose her location and made it safely to where his father stood to which he watched the queen run as a Japanese soldier followed her down a path with a sword. The wife of the Crown Prince, Crown Princess Consort Min (later Empress Sunmyeong), was dragged downstairs while she was with a few court ladies, had her hair cut, and was beaten by the soldiers.

Assassinating the Queen

The ronin to proceed to Okhoru (), within  unopposed. The ronin approached Geoncheong Palace, where Empress Myeongseong lived, formed a formation, surrounded Hapmun (閤門), and stood guard. The ronin entered the hall and began searching the secret room, and Heungseon Daewongun waited next to Gangnyeongjeon behind Geunjeongjeon. The soldiers of the military training division rested in the front yard of Geoncheong-gun and did not participate in the assassination of the empress. Once they found the Empress and her maidens, they killed her and her maidens brutally. It was said that Minister Yi Kyŏng-chik () outstretched his arms in attempt to protect the queen but it only gave away the clue as to who she was, leading to his death and the queen's. It is said that Empress Sunmyeong, the empress' daughter-in-law, was a witness to her assassination as she stood in front attempting to protect her. She later died due to her depression.

The corpse of the Empress, and the two court ladies that followed her ill-fate, was moved to the Daeguk Pine Tree Forest where her body was violated and then drenched in oil to be burned and buried. As news reached that Japan was involved in the assassination, an investigation was conducted in October; only a single finger bone was found within the ash and sand so it made identifying body parts hard when a eunuch reported, and gave them back to Emperor Gojong. The title of the queen was also given back.

Historian of Japan Peter Duus has called this assassination a "hideous event, crudely conceived and brutally executed". American Japanese historian Donald Keene called the queen "an arrogant and corrupt woman", but described the murder as "unspeakably barbaric".

Gojong's The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty do not have a Japanese name. The names written are: Jeong Zun (2nd Battalion Officer), Yi Doo (1st Battalion Officer), Yi Chung (Senior 2nd Battalion), Yi Chun (Deputy Commander), Gong Yu Zhen (at that time police officer).

An eyewitness account 

Crown Prince Sunjong reported that he saw Korean troops led by Woo Beom-seon at the site of the assassination, and accused Woo as the "Foe of Mother". In addition to his accusation, Sunjong sent two assassins to kill Woo, an effort that succeeded in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1903. By then, Woo had married a Japanese woman, and had sired Woo Jang-choon, later to become an acclaimed botanist and agricultural scientist.

Lieutenant Colonel Yi Hak-gyun wrote that some of the assassins wore military uniform while others were in their civilian clothes. Also he reported that the Capital Guards were not able to stop the assassins from coming.

In 2005, professor Kim Rekho () of the Russian Academy of Sciences came across a written account of the incident by a Russian architect Afanasy Seredin-Sabatin in the  (AVPRI). Seredin-Sabatin was in the service of the Korean government, working with the American general William McEntyre Dye who was also under contract to the Korean government also witnessed this tragedy from inside the palace while leading the Capital Guards. Sabatin and Dye were both assaulted by Japanese soldiers, and later gave testimony exposing the Japanese atrocities to the world. In April, Kim made a request to the Myongji University Library LG Collection to make the document public. On 11 May 2005 the document was made public.

Almost five years before the document's release in South Korea, a translated copy was in circulation in the United States, having been released by the Center for Korean Research of Columbia University on 6 October 1995 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Eulmi Incident.

In the account, Seredin-Sabatin recorded:

Perpetrators

Groups 
 , a joint military unit (Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy) who provided security for the Japanese legation. It was commanded by legation minister Miura Gorō. After the assassination, Lieutenant Commander Niiro Tokisuke (新納時亮), an IJN Officer of the Japanese Legation Security Group wrote a report on the assassination: "the King is safe and secure; the Queen has been eliminated "
 Japanese Legation Security Police Officers, commanded by legation minister Miura Gorō and led by MOFA   at the scene. The Japanese Legation Security Police Officers wore plain clothes during the Eulmi Incident.
 Three battalions of the Hullyeondae, commanded by Major Woo Beom-seon (1st battalion), Major Yi Doo-hwang (2nd battalion), and Major Yi Jin-ho (3rd battalion). Hullyeondae commander Lieutenant Colonel Hong Kye-hun did not notice the betrayal by his officers and was killed in action by his own men.
 At least four  officers who served as military advisors and instructors of the Hullyeondae, including . The IJA Keijō Garrison was commanded by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, but Second Lieutenant Miyamoto's crew joined in the Eulmi Incident without permission from the IJA General Staff Office.
 More than four dozen ronin disguised as Japanese officials, including Adachi Kenzō. They took the role of a vanguard. According to a secret report by Ishizuka Eizo, most of them originally came from Kumamoto Prefecture and were armed with katanas and handguns. (On 3 December 1965, Japanese politician  mentioned part of Ishizuka Eizo's secret report in the , House of Councillors).

Individuals 
In Japan, 56 men were charged. All were acquitted by the Hiroshima court due to a lack of evidence. The factual findings of the Hiroshima investigating court were early translated into English and printed. They are to be found in circulation in scholarly works by 1905.

They included (among others):

 Viscount Miura Gorō, Japanese legation minister.
 , a legation official and former Japanese Army officer
 , businessman
 Kokubun Shōtarō, Japanese legation officials
 Chief Inspector Hagiwara Hidejiro, Officer , Officer , Officer , Officer , Officer , Officer , Officer , Japanese legation officials (Japanese Legation Security Police)
 , a second Secretary of the Japanese legation, Legation minister Miura's inner circle. In his autobiography "Meiji 17~18 Year, The Record of the torment in Korea (明治廿七八年在韓苦心録)", he unilaterally claims that the Eulmi Incident was his own scheme, not Miura's.
 Adachi Kenzo, former Samurai, editor of Japanese newspaper in Korea, Kanjō Shimpō (漢城新報, also called  in Korean)
 Lieutenant Colonel Kusunose Yukihiko, an artillery officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and Military Attaché at the Japanese legation in Korea, Legation minister Miura's inner circle.
 , one of the original  ("Society for Political Education") members
 Shiba Shirō (柴四朗), former samurai, private secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce of Japan, and writer who studied political economy at the Wharton School and Harvard University. He had a close connection with Japanese legation minister Miura Gorō because Shiba contributed Miura becoming a resident legation minister in Korea.
 , a physician
 Terasaki Yasukichi (寺崎泰吉), a medicine peddler
 Nakamura Tateo (中村楯雄)
 Horiguchi Kumaichi; in 2021, a letter was found which was sent by him to his friend which writes about how the assassination went down, mentioning how easy it was.
 Ieiri Kakitsu (家入嘉吉)
 Kikuchi Kenjō (菊池 謙讓)
 
 Ogihara Hidejiro (荻原秀次郎)
 Kobayakawa Hideo (小早川秀雄), editor in chief of Kanjō Shimpō
 Sasaki Masayuki
 Isujuka Eijoh

In Korea, King Gojong declared that the following were the 'Eulmi Four Traitors ()' on 11 February 1896:

 
 Yu Kil-chun
 Kim Hong-jip 
 
New pieces of information appeared in 2021 in the form of private letters written by a Japanese consular officer to his best friend in Japan. Eight letters (apparently traded for the stamps on the envelopes) were sent by Kumaichi Horiguchi to Teisho Takeishi detailing Horiguchi's part in the slaying.

Aftermath 
In 2005 archive research from Japan revealed that the  Emperor Meiji was personally informed in January 1896 as to the slaying of the queen consort by the Japanese representative. The report had been sent off after the assassination and arrived shortly before the trial in Japan of the Japanese individuals involved in the killing. Some see the subsequent acquittal of the Japanese accused as an attempt by the Emperor Meiji to suppress information about the incident.

The historian Homer B. Hulbert writing in 1905 was in high personal standing with the Joseon Emperor, and was posthumously honoured many years later for national services to Korea. He surmised that the Japanese government in Japan only achieved knowledge of the queen's death after it had occurred but that, despite clear recited evidence and findings of a detailed murderous plot by its representatives in Korea, the Japanese court investigating in 1896 treated the events as "official" and therefore not matters of individual responsibility. He theorised that the government of Japan were possibly only to blame for having appointed  a man of Count Miura's temperament as their representative in Joseon. The arrest of Miura and his Japanese conspirators was sufficient in itself to destabilise their Korean followers' positions. 

The Gabo Reform and the assassination of Empress Myeongseong generated a backlash against the Japanese presence in Korea; it caused some Confucian scholars, as well as farmers, to form over 60 successive righteous armies to fight for Korean freedom on the Korean peninsula. The assassination is also credited as a significant event in the life of Syngman Rhee, the future first president of South Korea.

The assassination of Empress Myeongseong, and the subsequent backlash, played a role in the assassination of influential statesman and Prince Itō Hirobumi. Itō Hirobumi was a four-time prime minister of Japan, former Resident-General of Korea, and then President of the Privy Council of Japan. Empress Myeongseong's assassination was the first of 15 reasons given by the Korean independence activist An Jung-geun, who is regarded as a hero in Korea, in defense of his assassination of Ito Hirobumi.

After the assassination, King Gojong and the Crown Prince (later Emperor Sunjong) accepted refuge in the Russian legation on 11 February 1896. He ordered the deaths of pro-Japanese officials such as the Four Eulmi Traitors ending the Gabo Reform. Gojong disbanded the Hullyeondae for participating in the assassination and Capital Guards in August 1895 for failing to stop the Japanese. However, In 1897, Gojong, yielding to rising pressure from both overseas and the demands of the Independence Association-led public opinion, returned to Gyeongungung (modern-day Deoksugung). There, he proclaimed the founding of the Korean Empire.

Apology 
In May 2005, 84-year-old , the grandson of Kunitomo Shigeaki, paid his respects to Empress Myeongseong at her tomb in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea. He apologized to Empress Myeongseong's tomb on behalf of his grandfather, however, the apology was not well received as the descendants of Empress Myeongseong pointed out that the apology had to be made on a governmental level.

Since 2009, several South Korean non-governmental organizations have been trying to sue the Japanese government for their documented complicity in the murder of Queen Min. "Japan has not made an official apology or repentance 100 years after it obliterated the Korean people for 35 years through the 1910 Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty," the statement said. The lawsuit will be filed if the Japanese government does not accept their demands that the Japanese government issue a special statement on 15 August offering the emperor's apology and mentioning whether it will release related documents on the murder case.

See also 
Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung Palace
 Chihapo Incident: The later President of the Provisional Government of Korea, Kim Ku, killed a Japanese man as revenge for this incident.
 : After the death of Gojong, rumors emerged that he had been poisoned by Japanese agents.

Notes

References

External Links
 The last queen who died at the hands of the Japanese [ENG SUB (YouTube)]

1895 murders in Asia
1895 in Korea
Assassinations
Japan–Korea relations
History of Japan
History of Korea
Historical controversies
Empress Myeongseong