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Empress Myeoung-Song of Joseon (明成皇后, 1851- 1895), more commonly known as Queen Min (閔妃), was the last empress of Korea. She is recognized by the Korean people as a heroine, equivalent to France's Joan of Arc.Empress Myeoung-Song was the wife of Emperor Gojong, Emperor of the Joseon Dynasty of the Daehan Empire. During her life as empress, she strived diplomatically and politically to keep Korea independent of foreign influence. She is credited for introducing new Western technologies, such as trains, telephones, streetcars, and electrical lights. She also proved herself brilliant when handling foreign affairs, as shown when she summoned the help of Russia and the Qing Dynasty of China to block the JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honshese from taking over Korea, which was within considerable influence of TokyoTokyo (; Tokyo lit. eastern capital) is the capital of Japan as well as the most populous conurbation in Japan, and the world's largest metropolitan area by population with 33,750,000 people living within its urban influence. A little more than 12 million's imperialistic ambitions.
The Japanese, Emperor Meiji in particular, viewed her as an obstacle. However, efforts to neutralize her or to remove her from Korea's government continuously failed due to Emperor Gojong's devotion. The Japanese resorted to sending ambassadors to Korea's royal court, but such efforts were eventually repelled, again by Empress Myeoung-Song. As a result, the Japanese minister to Korea, Miura Goro , faced with losing Korea to other foreign powers, hired assassins to invade the Korean imperial residence and kill the empress in 1895. They killed three women suspected of being Queen Min, and when they verified which was the Queen, they violated her body and then burned the corpse. These acts were witnessed by a Russian architect named Sabatin and other foreign officials, who protested heavily.
Emperor Gojong, enraged over the event, posthumousPosthumous means after death. Posthumous works are those published after the death of the author. There are many examples of famous works published posthumously. Examples include: Discourses by Algernon Sydney The Silmarillion by J. Tolkien The Trial Thely awarded his late wife the title Myeoung-Song (heavenly light) and enshrined her in Jongmyo , Korea's state shrine. She is the only empress enshrined in Jongmyo; all other females are queens.
There is some uncertainty about the date of Queen Min's assassination. Most authorities view October 8October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). There are 84 days remaining in the year. Events 451 At Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins (ends on November 1). 1600 San Marino ad 1895 as the correct date; however, other sources cite the date as August 20 1895.
See also
Korean rulers
