Portrait: AI-generated imagined likeness
Monarch
Late Joseon king and the first emperor of the Korean Empire. He tried to preserve national independence amid pressure from the great powers and Japan. He represents the period when the Korean Peninsula confronted the pressures of imperialism and modernization.
View in catalogHanseong
Birth
Proclamation of the Korean Empire
1897
Political event · Leader
Map: Natural Earth (PD)
He became king as a child, while his father, the Daewongun, directed the government. He gained political experience amid conflicts among the family of Queen Min, reformers, and conservatives.
In 1897 he proclaimed the Korean Empire and became emperor. He attempted modern institutional reforms, but the international situation deteriorated rapidly after the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars.
For a time Gojong conducted politics after moving to the Russian legation. The episode symbolized the tense rivalry among the great powers over Korea.
Gojong's reign was the last phase in which Korea sought to modernize as an independent state. He is indispensable for understanding the process that led to Japanese protectorate rule and annexation. Studying him also shows how institutions, belief, war, and trade could combine with individual decisions to move history.
