The Ex-Regent.... The new Cabinet.... the Tong-hak pacified.... The Ta-wun-kun retires.... Japan declares war.... Korea abrogates all treaties with China.... Pak Yong-hyo returns.... his memorial.... he is pardoned.... Chinese excesses in the north.... new Korean-Japanese treaty.... Marquis Saionji visits Seoul....Tong-hak in arms again.... Prince Eui-wha goes to Japan.... Count Inouye comes.... amnesty to offenders of 1884.... Dr. Jaisohn comes.... Army reform.... the privy Council.... the King’s Oath.

The Ta-wun-kun, the former Regent, was now a prominent factor in the government and the well known strength of his personality did much to give stability to the new regime. The Queen necessarily retired from active participation in politics for the time being and there was apparent promise of better days to come. The new cabinet chosen at this time was a curious mixture of progressive and conservative men. It was composed of Kim Hong-jip, Kim Yun-sik, O Yun-jung, Pak ChÖng-yang and An KyÖng-su representing the progressive wing and Min Yong-dal, Su Chung-sun, Yi Kyu-wun, Yun Yong-gu and Um Se-yung representing the conservative wing. Among the secondary officials some were progressive and some conservative. This apparent blending of the various factions was a hopeful sign outwardly but it had no real significance. All were appointed by permission of the Japanese and they worked together only because it was useless to oppose. But the same intrinsic hostility remained and only needed opportunity to manifest itself. It was the calm of repression rather than of genuine reconciliation, and it helped to prove that there is no hope for good government in Korea by Koreans until the country has secured the benefit of genuine education.

These reforms that were proposed had the apparent sanction of His Majesty, as is proved by the fact that after their proposal he called all the high officials to the palace and made them a speech in which he referred to this as a splendid opportunity to make a radical and beneficent change in the government, and laid it as a sacred duty upon the officials to carry out the reforms, and he declared that he, too, would become a new king and do his part in bringing about the desired renovation of the land.

In spite of the previous declaration that the tong-hak uprising was at an end there was much unrest especially in the south and the tong-hak were really as ready as ever to take the offensive. For this reason the king sent a high official to KyÜng-sang Province to make an attempt at pacification and told the people that the trouble was because of his own lack of virtue and begged them to be patient a little longer until the reforms could be carried out. The people were pleased, especially with the promise that slavery should be discontinued and that the barriers between the classes should be broken down. The fact that this effort on the part of the king was entirely successful shows that the tong-hak were not anarchists or banditti but were merely desperate citizens who required some assurance that certain changes would be made so that life would be bearable.

A word is necessary as to the attitude of the Ta-wun-kun toward these reforms. He had been called to the palace and put in a responsible advisory position by the Japanese but he was not the sort of man to hold an empty honor or to pose as a mere figure-head. Several of the proposed reforms were distasteful to him but when he found that his objections carried no weight he retired to his private house in disgust. It took him only a few weeks to discover that his elevation had been merely a formality.

The month of August was an anxious one in Korea. The battle of Asan had been fought on the 28th and 29th of July and it was known that there would be a decisive battle fought at P‘yung Yang in the near future. Foreign opinion was divided as to the probabilities, some people believing that the Japanese would sweep every thing before them and others being equally sure that the Chinese would win.

But in spite of the state of anxiety and unrest the month of August saw some important results accomplished in civil matters. The Commission on Reforms were at work on their scheme until about the tenth of the month. It was on August 1st that Japan formally declared war on China and a few days later troops began to pour in by way of Chemulpo and join those already here.

It was on August 16 that there occurred the formal act of casting off Chinese suzerainty. On that day the Korean government declared all treaties hitherto signed between itself and China to be abrogated and all political connection between the two countries to be at an end. The Japanese Minister had already on June 28th demanded from the government an expression of its attitude toward China and had received the answer that Korea considered herself an independent power. This was now followed up by a definite diplomatic rupture between the two and, probably forever, the question of Chinese political predominance in the peninsula was disposed of.

It was about the 20th of August that Pak Yong-hyo, the refugee in Japan since his participation in the attempted coup of 1884, was brought to Seoul incognito by the Japanese. He had long since been declared an arch-traitor by the Korean government, his house had been razed to the ground and his family dispersed. For almost ten years he had enjoyed asylum in Japan and had been treated with great consideration by the Japanese who rightly saw in him a man of strong personality, settled convictions and a genuine loyalty to the best interests of his native land. His worst enemies would probably grant that he falls below none in his desire to see Korea prosperous and enlightened. It was the methods adopted that made all the trouble and drove him into exile.

At first he remained in hiding in the Japanese quarter but from that point of vantage he sent a long memorial to the King relating the fact of his high ancestry and the fact that it was purely in the interests of Korea that he participated in the emeute of 1884. He had been however, unsuccessful and was branded as a traitor, compelled to fly the country and see his house broken up. Now that the country had fallen upon such critical times and the King had determined to effect a radical change in affairs it was a cause of utmost rejoicing to him and he could not help coming back even though it cost his life. He begged to see the King’s face once more, to be allowed to collect and bury the bones of his relatives and be given back his life which had been forfeited. If then the King should wish to use him again he would be at the service of His Majesty.

To this plea the King listened, whether from preference or out of consideration for the Japanese, and replied that the petitioner was forgiven and might resume his former status as a Korean citizen. A number of memorials immediately poured into the palace urging that Pak Yong-hyo be executed as a traitor, but as the decree of pardon had already gone forth these memorials were ignored.

The fall of P’yung-yang before the victorious Japanese on September 15-17 and the flight of the Chinese inflicted great sufferings upon the Koreans in the north. The Chinese followed their usual medieval tactics and pillaged right and left. The local magistrates and governors fled to places of safety and the people survived the best they could. The government hastened to send a high official to the north to calm the excitement and counteract the disintegrating effects of the Chinese flight. At the same time the perfect orderliness of the Japanese army began to be understood by the people, and between these two agencies the northern province speedily settled down to its former status. The city of P’yung-yang had been almost deserted by its 60,000 or more of people and it was many months before the town resumed its normal status.

As August drew to an end the Japanese deemed the time ripe for completing the purposed union with Korea and on the 26th there appeared a provisional treaty between the two countries, which was not an offensive and defensive alliance but one in which Japan guaranteed the independence of Korea and Korea engaged to look to Japan for advice and to aid her in every possible way. The nature of this agreement was practically the same as that made between the same countries at the opening of the Japan-Russia War in 1904. In it Japan once more emphasized the independence of Korea which she had consistently championed ever since the Japanese-Korean treaty was signed in 1876.

The month of September opened with the arrival of Marquis Saionji with presents and a friendly message from the Emperor of Japan. The visit was merely a complimentary one and seems to have been devoid of great political significance.

It was evident that Japanese influence was overwhelmingly predominant in Seoul and as the government had committed itself to the policy of selecting advisers for its various departments there was reason to believe that most of these places would be filled by Japanese and that they would so predominate numerically as to seriously impair the autonomy of the government. As foreign powers had concluded treaties with Korea on the basis of equality, this possibility became a matter of concern to them and through their representatives here they protested against the employment of an undue number of assistants from any one nationality. Whether there ever was any such danger as was anticipated we cannot say, but this preventive measure was successful at any rate and the apparent independence of the government was never shaken.

The month of October saw the Chinese driven across the Yalu and order restored in a measure on Korean soil, but it also saw the resurgence of the tong-hak in the south. These malcontents had been temporarily cowed by the coming of Chinese and Japanese troops but now they seem to have discovered that the Chinese and Japanese were too busy with each other to attend to the civil troubles in the interior of Korea. So they broke out much worse than ever and the principal anxiety of the month in Seoul was the putting down of the serious insurrection. Sin Chung-heui, the highest Korean general, was sent south to Kong-ju with three thousand Korean troops to meet a strong body of tong-hak who were reported to be marching on Seoul. A few days later there was a series of fights at various points throughout the province, notably at Kong-ju, Ung-jin, U-gum Hill, Yi-in village, Hyo Harbor, SÖ-san and Hong-ju. About two hundred Japanese troops aided the government forces and at every point the government troops were successful. Some of the fights were very severe. It is probable that there were some 20,000 tong-hak in all, but they were a mere rabble compared with the well armed and at least partially drilled government troops. A large number of the tong-hak leaders were captured and brought to Seoul. Many were also executed in the country, for the generals were given the power of life and death for the time being.

Having been thus dispersed the tong-hak moved southward and took their stand at various places in Chulla and southern Ch’ung-ch’ung Provinces. Their main point was the town of No-sung where for eleven days they continued to revile the government and put up placards defying the government troops. The Korean troops moved on them and soon had them on the retreat again. Other encounters took place at various points but by this time the leading spirits in the tong-hak movement had been captured. Among these were Chun Nok-tu and Kim Ka-nam. They were brought to Seoul and the latter was executed and the former is said to have been taken to Japan, but there is some doubt as to his fate. Two tong-hak leaders named Kim ChÖng-hyun and Au Seung-gwan were beheaded at Su-wun and their heads were raised high on poles and the people told to take warning from them. This put an end to the tong-hak except for some small sporadic movements which amounted to nothing. But the tong-hak, like the poor, we have ever with us,—in posse.

Prince Eui-wha was sent to Tokyo to return the visit of Marquis Saionji and present the compliments of the King to the Emperor of Japan.

The Japanese government evidently realized the necessity of having an exceptionally strong representation in Seoul, for Count Inouye arrived on the 20th of October and assumed the duties of minister. He had more than once helped to straighten out matters in Korea and he had the confidence of the king and of the people as well. No better appointment could have been made under the circumstances.

The end of October was signalized by the murder of Kim Hak-u, the vice-Minister of Law, who was one of the strongest and best men that the reform movement had brought to the front. He was stabbed at night in his house.

The month of November witnessed some progress in the reconstruction of the government. The pardon of Pak Yong-hyo had been the sign for a general amnesty to all those who had forfeited their rights in 1884. Su Cha-p‘il, known better as Dr. Philip Jaisohn, who had been many years in America and had become a naturalized citizen of that country, had come back to Korea quietly and was awaiting an opportunity to make himself useful. Su Kwang-bÖm had also come back from exile in Japan and others who had been kept sedulously in the background because of their liberal tendencies all came forward and received recognition by the king and were put again in line of political preferment. So rapid was the progress of this movement that by the middle of December the king found himself moved to form a new cabinet composed almost entirely of men who had been foremost in the attempt of 1884, as the following list will show. The Ministers were Kim Hong-jip, Yu Kil-jun, Pak Yong-hyo, Su Kwang-bÖm, Cho Heui-yun, Sin Keui-sun, Um Se-yung, O Yun-jung, Kim Yun-sik, Pak Chong-yang and Yi Cha-myn. At the same time Dr. Jaisohn was employed as adviser to the Privy Council for a term of ten years.

This era of change also affected the Korean Army. The various regiments in Seoul, numbering five, had heretofore been under wholly independent and separate commands but now they were all placed in the hands of the War Department, their names were changed and many men were dropped because of age and younger men were appointed in their places. The tactics that had been taught were given up and the Japanese tactics were introduced instead.

We have referred to the Privy Council. This was an advisory board or council composed of some forty men whose business it was to take up and discuss all important government matters, and it was supposed to have a sort of veto power. It exercised this power for about three years but lost it when the Independence Club was overthrown. The entire personnel of this Council was progressive and pro-Japanese. There can be no question that the machinery was now all complete whereby Korea could be governed properly. There was no great obstacle in the way. All that was needed was that no serious blunders should be made and that the Japanese should act firmly but wisely. At the same time there was a strong pressure being exerted behind the scenes in the opposite direction and, as we shall see, not without effect. And so the year 1894 came to a close and the new year opened with great promise of better things to come. On the fifth of the new year the king went to the Ancestral Temple and in the most solemn manner took an oath to carry out the reforms already determined upon and partly inaugurated. It is unnecessary to give this oath in full but only to enumerate the principal points. After a long preamble in which the king declares his intention to uphold the government as an independent one he guarantees specifically that—

(1) All thought of dependence on China shall be put away.

(2) The line of succession and rank in the Royal Family shall be clearly marked.

(3) The King shall attend to public business in person and in consultation with his ministers, and the Queen shall not interfere in government matters.

(4) The affairs of the Royal Household shall be kept quite distinct from the general government.

(5) The duties of Ministers and other officials shall be clearly defined.

(6) Taxes shall be regulated by law and additions to them are forbidden.

(7) The assessment, collection and disbursement of the national revenue shall be in the hands of the Finance Department.

(8) The expenses of the Royal Household shall be reduced, that the example may become a law to the other departments.

(9) An annual budget shall be made out so as to regulate the management of the revenue.

(10) The laws governing local officials shall be speedily revised in order that their various functions may be differentiated.

(11) Intelligent young men shall be sent to foreign countries to study.

(12) A method for the instruction of military officers and a mode of enlistment for soldiers shall be determined upon.

(13) Civil and criminal law must be clearly defined and strictly adhered to and imprisonment and fines in excess of the law are prohibited.

(14) Men shall be employed irrespective of their origin. Ability alone shall determine a man’s eligibility whether in Seoul or in the country.