Korea (Hamilton)/Chapter 5

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.

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 Yohg-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 tiie 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.

​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.

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 ​ 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
THEIR IMPERIAL HIGHNESSES THE CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS ​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.