The Court of Korea—The Emperor and his Chancellor—The Empress
and some Palace factions
[Illustration: HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE YI-CHA-SUN]
A study of the morals and personalities of the Court of Korea throws no
little light upon the interesting phases of its contemporary condition,
even affording some explanation of the political differences and
difficulties which, if now in the past, may be expected none the less
to crop up again. Since the dastardly murder by the Japanese of the
Queen, who held the reins of Government with strong hands, the power of
the Emperor has been controlled by one or other of the Palace factions.
His Majesty is now almost a cypher in the management of his Empire.
Nominally, the Emperor of Korea enjoys the prerogative and independence
of an autocrat; in reality he is in the hands of that party whose
intrigues for the time being may have given them the upper hand. He
is the slave of the superb immoralities of his women. When he breaks
away from their gentle thraldom, in the endeavour to free himself from
their political associations, his exceedingly able and unscrupulous
Minister, Yi Yong-ik, the chief of the Household Bureau, rules him with
a rod of iron. It matters not in what direction the will of his Majesty
should lie, it is certain to be thwarted with the connivance of Palace
concubines or by the direct bribery of Ministers. If the King dared,
Yi Yong-ik would be degraded at once. No previous Minister has proved
so successful, however, in supplying the Court with money; and, as the
Emperor dreads an empty treasury, he maintains him in his confidence.
[Illustration: HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE EMPEROR]
In the position of Minister of Finance and Treasurer of the Imperial
Palace, which he once filled, Yi Yong-ik opposed foreign supervision of
the revenues of the Maritime Customs. Acting in concert with the Russian
and French Ministers, he was primarily responsible for the most recent
crisis in the affairs of Mr. McLeavy Brown, the Chief Comptroller and
Executive Administrator of the Korean Maritime Customs. At a time when
the Imperial household was in need of money, Yi Yong-ik created the
desire for a loan by withholding the revenue of the Privy Purse from his
master. It was explained to his Majesty that his financial embarrassments
were due to the action of his Chief Commissioner of Customs in locking up
the proceeds of the Customs. Supported by the influence of the Russian
and French Ministers, Yi Yong-ik suggested that the Customs revenue
should become the security for the loan which was being pressed upon him
by a French syndicate. When Mr. McLeavy Brown heard of the transaction
between the agent of the syndicate and the Minister of Finance, he at
once repudiated any hypothecation of the revenues of the Customs for
such a purpose. In co-operation with the French and Russian Ministers,
Yi Yong-ik, upon a variety of pretexts, attempted to bring about the
peremptory dismissal of the Chief Commissioner of the Customs. He was
foiled in this by the unexpected demonstration of a British Squadron in
Chemulpo Harbour, and the attendant preparation and embarkation of a
field force at Wei-hai-wei. Upon the withdrawal of the guarantee of the
Customs revenue the Franco-Russian scheme collapsed, the agent of the
interested syndicate returning to Europe to complain of the action of the
British Minister and the Chief Commissioner of Customs.
Yi Yong-ik is an instance, together with that afforded by Lady Om, of a
Korean of most humble birth rising to a position of great importance in
the administration of the country. A man of low parentage, he attached
himself to the fortunes of Min Yeung-ik, gradually forcing himself upon
the notice of his patron, as also of his sovereign. The services which Yi
Yong-ik rendered to the throne during the _émeute_ of 1884, when he was
a chair coolie in the service of the late Queen, found responsive echo
in the memories of their Majesties, who procured his preferment. He was
advanced to a position in which his admitted sagacity, strength of mind,
and shrewdness were of material assistance, continuing to rise until
he became Minister of Finance. He has thus made his own position from
very insignificant beginnings, and, in justice to him, it may be said
that he serves the interests of his Majesty to the best of his ability.
Nevertheless he is in turn feared and detested. Numerous attempts have
been made against him, while, within the last few months, failing to take
his life by poisoned food, some unknown enemies discharged an infernal
machine in the room at the Seoul Hospital where he was confined during
an attack of sickness. Alternately upon the crest of the wave or in the
backwash of the tide, Yi Yong-ik remains the most enduring personality in
the Court. The Russian influence is behind him, while the Emperor also is
secretly upon the side of his energetic Minister. At a moment, recently,
when the opposition against him became too strong, Yi Yong-ik took
refuge upon a Russian warship, which at once carried him to Port Arthur.
From this retreat he negotiated for a safe return with his Majesty,
who at once granted him a strong escort. Yi Yong-ik then returned and,
proceeding at once to the Palace, quickly reinstated himself in the
good graces of his master, thus again thwarting the plans and secret
machinations of his opponents.
His Majesty the Emperor of Korea was fifty years old in September 1900,
being called to the throne in 1864, when he was thirteen. He was married
at the age of fifteen to the Princess Min, a lady of birth, of the same
age as her husband. It was she who was wantonly assassinated by the
Japanese in 1895. The son of this union is the Crown Prince. His Majesty
is somewhat short of stature, as compared with the average height of the
Korean. He is only five feet four inches. His face is pleasant; impassive
in repose, brightening with an engaging smile when in conversation. His
voice is soft and pleasing to the ear; he talks with easy assurance, some
vivacity and nervous energy.
During an audience with a foreigner, the manner of the Emperor has an air
of frankness and singular _bonhomie_. He talks with every one, pointing
his remarks with graceful gestures, and interrupting his sentences with
melodious and infectious laughter. The mark of the Emperor’s favour
is the receipt of a fan. When a foreigner is presented to him, it is
customary to find upon the conclusion of the audience a small parcel
awaiting his acceptance, containing a few paper fans and sometimes a roll
of silk. The Emperor rarely exceeds this limit to his Imperial patronage,
for, like the rest of his people, he cannot afford to be unduly generous.
The dress of his Majesty upon these occasions is remarkable for its
impressive and Imperial grandeur. A long golden silk robe of state,
embroidered with gold braid, with a girdle of golden cord, edged with
a heavy gold fringe, covers him. While the magnificence of this attire
excites envy in the heart of any one who sees it, the ease and dignity of
his carriage suggest his complete unconsciousness of the impression which
he is creating in the minds of his guests.
The Emperor is ignorant of Western languages, but he is an earnest
student of those educational works which have been translated for the
purposes of the schools he has established in his capital. In this way
he has become singularly well informed upon many subjects. He speaks and
writes Chinese with fluency, and he is a most profound student of the
history of his own people. The method and system of his rule is based
on the thesis of his own personal supervision of all public business.
If there be some little difference between the Utopia of his intentions
and the actual achievement of his government, it is impossible to deny
his assiduity and perseverance. He is a kind, amiable, and merciful
potentate, desirous of the advancement of his country. He works at night,
continuing the sessions and conferences with his Ministers until after
dawn. He has faults, many, according to the Western standards by which
I have no intention of judging him. He has also many virtues; and, he
receives, and deserves, the sympathy of all foreigners in the vast works
of reform which he has encouraged in his dominions.
[Illustration: THE HALL OF AUDIENCE, SEOUL]
His Majesty is progressive. In view of the number and magnitude of the
developments which have taken place under his rule, it is impossible
to credit him with any of those prejudices against Western innovations
which have distinguished the East from time immemorial. There are
special schools in Seoul for teaching English, French, German, Russian,
Chinese and Japanese; there is a School of Law, a School of Engineering
and Science, a School of Medicine, and a Military Academy. These are
but a few minor indications of the freedom of his rule, the sure sign
of a later prosperity. He is tolerant of missionaries, and he is said
to favour their activities. It is certain that his rule permits great
liberty of action, while it is distinguished by extraordinary immunity
from persecution. His reign is in happy contrast with the inter-regnum of
the Regent, Tai Won Kun, who regarded priests and converts as a pest, and
who eradicated them to the best of his ability.
As the autocratic monarch of a country, whose oldest associations are
opposed to all external interference, the attitude of his Majesty has
been instinct with the most humane principles, with great integrity of
purpose and much enlightenment. It cannot be said that his reign has been
a failure, or that it has not tended to the benefit of his people and his
realms. Certain evil practices still exist, but his faults as an Emperor
are, to a great extent, due to the worthlessness of his officials.
Indeed, he frequently receives the condemnation which should be passed
upon the minds and morals of his Ministers.
Saving Yi Yong-ik, the most important figure in the Court is the
mature and elderly Lady Om, the wife of his Majesty. In a Court which
is abandoned to every phase of Eastern immorality, it is a little
disappointing to find that the first lady in the land no longer
possesses those charms of face and figure, which should explain her
position. There is no doubt that the Lady Om is a clever woman. She is
most remarkably astute in her management of the Emperor, whose profound
attachment to her is a curious paradox. Lady Om is mature, fat, and
feebly, if freely, frolicsome. Her face is pitted with small-pox; her
teeth are uneven; her skin is of a saffron tint. There is some suggestion
of a squint in her dark eyes, a possible reminder of the pest which
afflicts all Koreans. She paints very little and she eschews garlic. Her
domination of the Emperor is wonderful. Except at rare intervals, and
then only when the assent of Lady Om to the visit of a new beauty has
been given, he has no eye for any other woman. Nevertheless, the Lady Om
has not always been a Palace beauty; she was not always the shining light
of the Imperial harem. Her _amours_ have made Korean history; only two of
her five children belong to the Emperor; yet one of these may become the
future occupant of his father’s throne.
[Illustration: THEIR IMPERIAL HIGHNESSES THE CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS]
In her maiden days, she became the mistress of a Chinaman; tiring of
him she passed into the grace and favour of a Cabinet Minister. He
introduced her to the service of the late Queen, whose acquaintance she
made at the house of her father, a Palace attendant of low degree, with
quarters within the walls. By the time that she became a woman in the
service of her Majesty, the Lady Om had presented a child to each of
her respective partners. As the virtue of the women in attendance upon
the Queen had of necessity to be assured, her previous admirers kept
their counsel for the safety of their own heads. The Lady Om boasted
abilities which distinguished her among the other maids in attendance.
She sang to perfection, danced with consummate grace; painted with
no little delicacy and originality, and could read, write, and speak
Chinese and Korean with agreeable fluency. The Queen took a fancy to her
apparently innocent, guileless, and very lovable attendant. Imitating
the excellent example of his illustrious spouse, his Majesty sealed the
rape of virtue with a kingly smile. The Queen grew restless. Suspicion,
confirmed by appearances, developed into certainty, and the Lady Om fled
from the Palace to escape the anger and jealousy of her late mistress.
The third child, of whom Lady Om became the mother, was born beyond the
capital, in the place of refuge where the errant Griselle had taken up
her abode. Meanwhile, Lady Om avoided the parental establishment within
the purlieus of the Palace. Upon the death of her third child she sought
the protection of another high official. With him she dwelt in safety,
peace, and happiness, becoming, through her strange faculty of presenting
each admirer with evidences of her innocence, the subject of some ribald
songs. Since her return to Imperial favour, these verses have been
suppressed, and may not be uttered upon pain of emasculation.
It now seemed as if the Lady Om had settled down, but the events of
1895, culminating in the foul murder of the late Queen, prompted her to
renew her acquaintance with the unhappy Emperor. She became a Palace
attendant again, and at once cleverly succeeded in bringing herself
before the Imperial notice. She was sweetly sympathetic towards his
Majesty; her commiseration, her tenderness, her suppliant air of injured
innocence, almost immediately captivated him. She was raised to the
rank of an Imperial concubine; money was showered upon her, and she
proceeded immediately to exercise an influence over the Emperor which
has never relaxed. She became a power at Court and once again a mother.
Her influence is now directed towards the definite maintenance of her
own interests. She wishes her son to be the future Emperor; she is now
living in a palace, and, since she is the apple of his Majesty’s eye, she
permits nothing to endanger the stakes for which she is playing. Recently
Kim Yueng-chun, an official of importance but of precarious position,
wishing to secure himself in the consideration of his sovereign,
introduced a new beauty, whose purity and loveliness were unquestioned.
Lady Om heard of Lady Kang and said nothing. Within two weeks, however,
the Minister was removed upon some small pretext, and subsequently
tortured, mutilated, and strangled. The Lady Kang found that if the mills
of Lady Om grind slowly, they grind exceedingly small.
Lady Om is a lover of ancient customs; by ancient customs she made her
way; by ancient customs she proposes to keep it. Her power increases
daily, and a stately edifice has been erected in the centre of the
capital to commemorate her virtues. A few months before her marriage to
the Emperor, when there was ample indication of the trend of events, the
Emperor published a decree which declared that Lady Om had become an
Imperial concubine of the First Class. This did not give her Imperial
status; but it conferred upon her son Imperial rank. By reason of this
decree, however, he will, at some future date, ascend the throne, while
it opened a way for Lady Om to secure recognition in Korea as the lawful
spouse of her royal admirer.
[Illustration: A MINOR ROYALTY]