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EMMA HONKOLA

KYRA SMITH- STEWART

OWEN NEWMAN

VINNIE KIM CHAPTER 1 One Step Forward, Two Steps Back It’s quiet- too quiet for the number of people lining the roads. Faces are somber as residents gather to watch the procession. Decorated lanterns line the crowded streets of the capital city of Hanseong (now called ), hanging off of traditional styled concave roofs, as over five thousand soldiers dressed in classic Korean garb accompany large wooden horses that serve as the main attraction in the parade. Although elaborate, this sort of display is appropriate. Queen Min, the empress of Korea and the Empire is dead and only a spectacle as great as she was could ac- company her to the afterlife. The year is 1897, two years after the queen’s death. The em- princesses of the royal family, unless politics beckoned her to. peror Gojong had only been able to hold the funeral now be- At the age of 20 Queen Min began using her position to influ- cause inner turmoil in Korea and the inability to find her body ence the king and become a powerful political figure. (because her assassins had burned her body and scattered her One of Min’s biggest goals was to modernize Korea. She and ashes) had prevented him from doing so earlier. The funeral King Gojong took trips throughout the 1870s to places like Ja- procession brings thousands upon thousands of mourners- pan, and even America to research how their education, and some jubilant celebrators- to observe as she goes to the af- military and economic systems worked. Queen Min wanted to terlife. King Gojong awards her the honourable title of Em- completely reform the education system, the press, the mili- press Myeongseong and commemorates the many great things tary and the economy. Korea had been especially reluctant to she had accomplished in her life. Even her greatest critics and engage in relations with the outside world for a long time, and opposition, which come in abundance, would have to say that therefore was behind many other countries when it came to throughout her short life Queen Min took great steps towards technologies and new western ideas. Queen Min detested this the modernization and leading of Korea and exceeded all ex- and began to implement change as soon as possible. pectations placed upon her, becoming one of the most power- ful women in all of Korea’s history. Because of the queen’s strong hold on Korea’s politics and her urge to modernize the country, she faced much criticism. Con- Queen Min was born into obscurity, within the clan, servatives felt like she was making too many changes too Yeohung Mins. Yangban was a part of the traditional ruling soon, while progressives didn’t think she was moving fast class of Korea during the Joseon . She was orphaned enough. Korea, found itself conflicted. Two power factions, at a young age and grew up quiet and timid. When young Go- the progressives and conservatives, battled each other for pol- jong was ready to marry, his father and one of their advisors, icy control. This left Korea vulnerable to China, , Russia, Daewongun, chose Min, who was about 15, for her meekness and the European powers, who wanted to take over Korea to and beauty, expecting her to set a good image, but not make expand their territory. any waves. Unfortunately for Daewongun, after she came into power, Min possessed an assertive and ambitious nature, un- Faced with overwhelming pressure from Japan, King Gojong like other queens that came before her. She did not set the ex- signed the Treaty of Kanghwa on February 15, 1876, agreeing ample that he had expected her to: she disliked lavish parties, to open treaty ports with Japan. Earlier that year, the Japa- rarely wore extravagant fashion, and almost never hosted af- nese Meiji government had dispatched the navy vessel Unyô ternoon tea parties with the powerful aristocratic ladies and nto the waters off Kanghwa, forcing the to open fire,

2 then used this attack as an excuse to demand treaty negotia- of Korea at the time. The Chinese military was able to sup- tions. The treaty granted Japanese many rights that were not press it, but in doing so burned down the Japanese legation granted to Korea on an equal basis, the first of building and killed forty of the Japanese people involved in many. It gave extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens in Ko- the conflict. Japan used this to force Korea to apologise, make rea, meaning that the Japanese could not be tried in Korean amends and sign the Treaty of Hanseong. King Gojong did so courts, the Korean government was to open 3 ports to Japa- without letting Min know. This treaty restored diplomatic rela- nese and foreign trade, specifically , and Won- tions, and Korea agreed to pay Japan 110,000 yen (approxi- san. This marks the beginning of Japan’s imperialist designs mately 963 US dollars), the currency used in Japan, and pro- on the Korean peninsula. vide a site and buildings for a new legation.

In 1884, there was a large-scale Tonghak rebellion, with thou- Without Korea’s knowledge, on April 18, 1885, China and Ja- sands of peasants joining forces, attempts to overthrow the pan signed the Li-Ito Agreement in Tianjin, basically agreeing Min rule and banish the imperialist Japanese presence al- to keep each other informed about planned moves on Korea. ready taking root in Korea by this time. Tonghak was a nation- Many countries were beginning to think about taking over Ko- alistic religion that opposed Western culture and embraced rea, especially Japan, who wanted to expand their territory, equality of all people. The Korean government was unable to and China, who already had a huge presence in Korea’s poli- subdue the uprising on its own, so it called on China for help. tics and military. Queen Min was greatly opposed to the idea China sent troops, as well as Japan without being asked. The that Japan especially was trying to force it’s way into politics rebels laid down their arms, but China and Japan clashed, and policies, and so she tried to establish alliances with Russia which eventually lead to the Sino-Japanese war, which was to hopefully scare Japan off. Unfortunately, that did little to fought over control of Korea. help the situation and Japan’s plans for Korea did not slow in the slightest. Meanwhile, Daewongun and members of the old military tried to violently overthrow King Gojong and Queen Min, attacking Throughout the years, although Queen Min had been slowly the palace. The king and queen were able to escape and go modernizing Korea, things didn’t really pick up until 1894. A into hiding until things had settled down considerably. series of sweeping sociopolitical reforms, known as the Kabo Reforms, were launched. Queen Min supported reform in the In 1885, the Japanese took advantage of the fact that the Chi- economy, communications, transportation, agriculture, mili- nese withdrew half of its troops positioned in Seoul, and or- tary science, education, the press, and medicine. She sup- ganized an unsuccessful coup d'état in Hanseong, the capital ported the founding of schools, newspapers, hospitals, and

3 welcomed Christian missionaries from the and This incident, known as the Eulmi Incident, ignited extreme Europe. Christianity made great strides under Queen Min's anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea. The now widowed Gojong protection and encouragement. fled to and sought refuge in the Russian legislation in Seoul. With Russian support he regained the palace, but his power At the same time, Japan and the Qing Empire of China began was short-lived in the face of an aggressive Japan. The inci- the first Sino-Japanese war. This war was fought primarily dent also created even more tension between Japan and Rus- over the control over Korea, even though at the time Korea sia. was still its own nation and neither country had any claim to it. Eventually Japan won a year later, in 1895, and for the first time the regional dominance in Eastern Asia shifted from China to Japan. At this point Japan started taking their plans for taking over Korea more seriously than ever. But first they had to take out their greatest obstacle- Queen Min.

On October 8, 1895 troops loyal to Daewongun attacked the Palace, overpowered the royal guard, and ad- mitted a group of Japanese assassins allegedly recruited by Mi- ura Gorō, the Japanese Minister to Korea at the time who had reached out to Daewongun to attempt to remove Min from power. They crept through the palace, carrying large swords and moving stealthily in their robes. They had a difficult time finding the queen. Korean women of this era, especially roy- After Queen Min’s assassination, Daewongun returned to als, lived in intense secrecy and the queen was reported to power, and with the encouragement of Japanese officials, he have lived in a constant state of extreme vigilance–complete presented a proposal to lower Min’s status from Queen con- with trap doors and escape routes. Eventually they found her, sort to commoner. Although Gojong seemed to have been eas- along with two other courtiers, and killed all of them with ily swayed by others, in this case he took a strong stand and their swords. Then, once they discerned which of the three refused to sign. He reportedly said, “I would rather slit my women they killed was Min, they lit her body on fire and scat- wrists and let them bleed than disgrace the woman who saved tered her ashes. She was 43 years old. this kingdom.”

4 In the coming years tension between Russia and Japan would increase, leading to the Russo Japanese war, from 1904 to 1905. Japan wins and more control over Korea from Russia.

In the September of same year as the end of the Russo- Japanese war, a treaty would be signed through the mediation of the United States, granting Japan undisputed supremacy in Korea, even though Korea was still technically an independent country (though not for long).

The next fifteen years would bring many changes, including the fall of the Joseon empire under a new foreign power, but back in the too quiet streets lined with lanterns, the people are mourning their queen, the Empress Myeongseong, and the death of the last obstacle standing between Korea and an im- minent Japanese rule.

5 CHAPTER 2 Bitter Relations

It’s 1945, Soviet Union tanks move across Korea’s northern border, threatening Japan to surrender and leave the broken country of Korea to reclaim their cul- ture, language and religion after years of war and bru- tality from Japanese imperialism. This is the story of how Japan managed to oppress and almost destroy an entire civilization, stripping Korea and its people of their freedom, rights and dignity.

It was a hot summer day in Korea on August 22, 1910, the humidity making everyone uncomfortable, espe- cially The Minister of War for Japan, Terauchi Masa- take, who had just proposed an annexation treaty, which would hand over the leadership of Korea to the em- In order to create loyalty and improve relations between Ja- peror of Japan, Emperor Meiji. Masatake sat tense, stiff pan and the natives, and to avoid rebellions and revolts within straight, he was a strong, honorable man who had been en- the Korean people, Masatake was instructed by Japan to en- trusted by Emperor Meiji to gain control of Korea the previ- force japanese language, history and culture onto Korean soci- ous year. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as the ety. The main way that Masatake chose to introduce Japanese Prime Minister of Korea, Ye Wanyong, unbeknownst to him culture and language was through the education system. The that his signing of the treaty would forever change the fate education system in Korea was poorly managed and outdated, and permanently impact Korea, scribbled his sloppy and impa- so he saw this as the perfect way to get allegiance with the Ko- tient signature across the treaty, permitting Japan to be the reans as a whole and also create a strong bond with the official authority of Korea. younger generation by teaching them Japanese and Japanese culture. Over the course of a few years Masatake built many When Masatake returned to Japan the Japanese hierarchy new schools throughout the country which greatly increased awarded him for his great triumphs, by pronouncing him the the education standards of the commoner in Korea first governor-general of Korea. This position would include the responsibilities of creating and destroying laws, imple- When Masatake gained control he realized that the land and menting Japanese culture and language onto the natives, ownership system was very messy and complicated. The ma- maintaining control and improving Korea's economic and po- jority of Korean citizens lived on small farms and in small vil- litical standings. lages. Most had acquired their land or home from ancestors or from friends and had no written documentation that it was The majority of native Korean citizens were immediately op- legally theirs. In 1913, without taking this into consideration, posed to Japanese rule because relations had been toxic and he created the Land Survey Bureau. The Bureau travelled the controlling in the past. Japan, as well as China and Russia, country to establish ownership only by written documenta- had interest in invading Korea because of its land and coastal tion. Those without documentation had to give up their land. advantages. This led the native Koreans to believe that Ja- The land was then sold by the Japanese government to Japa- pan’s best interest was not the people or culture but Korea’s nese developers, leaving many Koreans homeless and jobless. economics and politics. These Koreans flocked to the growing cities in search of jobs. Growing up in a military family, Masatake had decades of ex- As a result, the majority of the people now lived in cities, out perience in military operations so he naturally enforced a mili- of rural areas. To create cheap jobs, Masatake opened sweat- tary style of governing, creating strict laws and punishments.

7 shops in the cities and people in Japan start promoting the These land reform policies, taxation systems and the enforce- slavery of Koreans. ment of Japanese culture only brought a higher animosity of Japan between the Koreans. Koreans had been deprived of their own culture, history and language, pushed into poverty and robbed of their property. As a result, there was not much else that Japan could take from them and with nothing to lose the Korean people felt that fighting back didn’t seem like a bad option.

One of the main reasons that Japan and Masatake were able to take over Korea was because of its outdated technology. A- round 1914, Japan introduced the railroad and used it to trans- port produce and goods from central Korea to the coastal ports, which opened new markets for trading and boosted Ko- rea’s economic standing. Japan also expanded the Korean ports and introduced the telegraph and telephone which com- pletely modernized Korea. Masatake restarted the taxation system in order to pay for the new technology as it came with tremendous cost.. However, people worked long hours and for very little pay so any portion of their income taken by the government increased poverty immensely.

8 CHAPTER 3 Rebellion

March 1, 1919 , A group of 33 Korean intellectuals, cultural and religious leaders have met in a restaurant to discuss the future of Korea. The leaders met to for- mally introduce and discuss the Korean declaration of independence and organize a large protest in the city's capital, Seoul known as the March First Movement. Ko- rea's declaration of independence was largely inspired by presidents Woodrow Wilson's fourteen points speech which he delivered near the end of the world war in 1918, this speech greatly encouraged the March First Movement. The exposure of the declaration of in- dependence motivated Koreans to protest against Japa- nese occupation for the first time in mass. The Japanese counter reacted brutally against the many pub- tween the and Korean armed groups lic demonstrations that took place across Korea, over seven in the woods of eastern Manchuria called Qīngshānlǐ. thousand people died and over two times as many people During the Korean independence movement students and oth- were wounded. ers who supported Korean independence gathered in universi- After the many public demonstrations demanding liberation ties to talk about the movement. The Boston chapter of the from Japanese occupation some Korean activists formed an League of Friends of Korea was founded on January 11, 1920, independence army, which the Japanese government asked an acquaintance of one of the group's founders named Yow China to control them but got no substantive result. On Octo- Chan Yang spoke on numerous occasions at churches, univer- ber 2, 1920, bandits raided the city of Hun-ch'un and killed 13 sities, and civic organizations on behalf of Korean independ- Japanese including the commissioner of the consulate police. ence. Yang's speeches attracted a many local politicians, entre- In retaliation the Japanese sent troops to eastern Manchuria. preneurs, theological, Japanese and Chinese students from Japanese and Chinese officials immediately held discussed, Boston university and Harvard who supported Korean inde- and on October 16 received permission for military action in pendence. Also some notable figures such as Homer B. Hul- eastern Jilin from the governor of Jilin. October 1920, during bert, a famous missionary and correspondent to the Times the campaign of the Japanese army in Jiandao, the Battle of and Associated Press and close confidant of King Gojong of Qingshan Li lasted over six days the battle was fought be- Korea attended yang’s speech, his speech even attracted Presi- dent Murlin. President murlis relationship with Yow Chan Yang influenced him to become the president of the Boston League of Friends of Korea.

The Korean Independence movement greatly benefited from the interminable advocacy of the Korean diaspora community in America. Yow Chan Yang globalized and universalized the movement for Korean independence. After the formation of the Republic of in 1951 Dr. Yow Chan Yang was appointed to be the first south Korean ambassador to the United States.

10 CHAPTER 4 Spilled for Peace

Broken and terrified. That is the word that most would describe as the people of South Korea at the mo- ment North Korea invaded, South Korea. The date is June 25th, 1950, and they came powerful and swift, like an avalanche of snow on the steepest mountain. As boats filled with 50 men each flooded the shores of Ganghwado, the South Korean people knew that their hard fought peace, was coming to an end. This attack started everything.

It started in 1950, yet people say they can still hear the noise that the bombs made, whizzing through the air until they finally made contact upon the Korean soil. The had won and treasured lands were now being torn apart ploding in the distance. Every family in the North and the between the two countries that were originally one. The lands South, heartbroken and full of despair. Simply because every were treasured because the Japanese and the Russians had father, husband, and first oldest son, were stripped from their just left Korea, and WWII was coming to an end. The Rus- homes. Korea needed every soldier to defend itself, from itself. sians wanted the land because they thought it would be good It’s very ironic if you think about it. As the Soviets from Rus- to have a railroad going through Korea, and the Japanese sia and the heartless pirates from Japan finally pull away from wanted Korea because of it’s location and they just wanted to Korea, instead of coming together to rebuild broken homes, expand their land. They always resented each other, the north and scrambling every paper for some hint of a long forgotten and the south, always arguing, disagreeing with each other culture, they chose to choose who was worthy of living and over facts that could easily be changed the next day yet, the Ko- who was worthy of dieing. People that are to sick to eat, scram- rean pride of having to always win, the greed, overcame the ble for food to feed their families. The people of South and thought of the people and the purpose of being one. Alas, for North Korea fester inside their homes, terrified from the the people of both North and South Korea, it was too late to bombs like how a rat is scared of light. They scramble in the think about what could’ve been, but they had to think of how dark, ashamed of who they might see in their pitch black, to take back and defend what was rightfully theirs, the land. filthy, disease filled, broken “Korea.”

The reasoning why the North invaded the South was be- This once peaceful people have absorbed this idea of “every cause, at the time, America had a huge amount of power in man for himself.” Kim on Kim, Lee on Lee, Park on Park. South Korea, so America contradicted a lot of Korea’s deci- Brother fighting brother for someone that doesn’t even know sions and also at the time, the communists of North Korea their name. Pride of each other’s homeland comes into mind were taking control. As history has told us, the Communists of and their instant reaction is to just absolutely rip each other North Korea didn’t exactly see eye to eye with the government apart. of South Korea that was supported by America. In 1958, the All this fighting for nothing. The war ended in a draw, a stale- Americans in the South and the Soviets in the North with with- mate. No one won the war. Simply because the war would’ve drawn, but Joseph Stalin had insight on South Korea, and ad- destroyed everything in it’s path, so it needed to be stopped. vised that the North took this time of vulnerability, to invade They ended up splitting, into the north and the south. Legally South Korea. now, now they would be referred to as North Korea and South The war rages on as homes of families that were once filled Korea, and to make sure that they would stay separated, they with joy and laughter are silenced by the sound of bombs ex- made a two mile long Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. This zone

12 is one of the most dangerous areas in the world. If someone steps into this zone, you will be shot on site. Technology has advanced so far to the point where machines are programmed to kill anything and anyone that lives and breathes that steps into the DMZ.

As people stood in the lands that used to be called home, they couldn’t recognize it anymore. People that were intended by God to be brothers were fighting over their land, power, and the people, all at the same time. Now the thoughts had to be put onto how the repair the people and the land that had been utterly destroyed.

Years have passed from the attack. Years have passed since the war. So many years have passed that the war is now re- ferred to as, ‘’The Korean Civil War’’. The war lasted for about three years. Three awful, exhausting years that took a toll on the people, Korea itself, and Korea’s reputation. Now North Korea was known worldwide that it was a psychopathic nation run by someone that didn’t know any better, and that reputa- tion has run down and affected South Korea. That was before, but now, people live in excitement as the 24th summer Olym- pics in 1988. South Korea is being protected from North Ko- rea by the US. As the people of South Korea stood in the stands for the soccer game, and hats were tipped for the na- tional anthem, the people of South and North Korea never for- got the blood, the blood that was spilled for peace.

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