뉴스레터

Jungmyeongjeon of
Deoksugung restored in 2010

Walk along the Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway toward Jeong-dong until you find a nice two-story building in the alley of Jeong-dong Theater. This is Jungmyeongjeon of Deoksugung, which is thought to date back to 1897. At that time, the building was an imperial library called Suokheon (漱玉軒), located within the premises of Deoksugung (then known as Gyeongungung), although it is presently outside the palace.

It is said that Suokheon was renamed Jungmyeongjeon when King Gojong moved in there after a great fire in Gyeongungung in 1904. Designed by the Russian architect A.I. Sabatin, this building reflects King Gojong's determination to embrace modern culture and civilization.

By 1905, however, Japan had begun to reveal itself as a greedy invader eyeing on the Korean Empire after its victory in the Russo-Japanese War. In November of that year, Ito Hirobumi, the special envoy to the Korean Empire, paid visits to King Gojong on the 9th and 15th and started forcing him to sign the treaty unilaterally prepared by Japan that would turn Korea into a Japanese protectorate (Eulsa Treaty). In the afternoon on the 17th of November, Japanese troops encircled the palace as a council meeting before the King was held in Jungmyeongjeon. In the early morning on the 18th, by which time Prime Minister Han Gyu-seol and other officials who disputed the treaty to the end had been dragged out of the hall, the Eulsa Treaty was signed.

Once the Eulsa Treaty deprived the Korean Empire of its diplomatic sovereignty, some of the Korean ministers, including Min Yeong-hwan and Cho Byeong-se, committed suicide as an act of protest, and Confucian scholars and volunteer soldiers from across the country started to rise up against Japan. But they couldn't stop the Korean Empire from meeting its doom as the Japanese Empire established the Residency-General in Seoul in the following year, 1906, and sent Ito Hirobumi as the first Resident-General.

Jungmyeongjeon as of 1906

But King Gojong was not going to give up easily. He decided to send special envoys to the Second Hague Convention who would speak on his behalf to the international community about the unfair nature of the Eulsa Treaty in an effort to recover his country's lost sovereignty. In April 1907, King Gojong secretly appointed Lee Jun, Lee Sang-seol, and Lee Wi-jong as special envoys and gave them the power of attorney in Jungmyeongjeon. Three months later, the special envoys arrived in the Hague in the Netherlands, only to be denied entry into the convention hall. But at least Korea's diplomatic effort to let the world know how unfair the Eulsa Treaty had been to Korea drew attention from the world's press.

King Gojong was deposed by force in the end for having sent special envoys to the Hague Convention. And Jungmyeongjeon burned down in a fire, although it was rebuilt later and used for different purposes. The building was once sold and placed under private ownership, but was taken over for administration by the Cultural Heritage Administration in 2004 and restored in 2010, and is now open to the public.

Jungmyeongjeon is a place that bears witness to the tragedy of the Korean people from 110 years ago and their struggle to recover their lost sovereignty. As we visit this place on this fine autumn day, let us remind ourselves once again of the historical lessons from that day.

Reference: Cultural Heritage Administration - Deoksugung hompage
http://www.deoksugung.go.kr/cms/contents/story/story03.asp
The Independence Hall of Korea "Independence Movement Sites in Seoul" - Jungmyeongjeon of Gyeongungung
http://sajeok.i815.or.kr/ebook/ebookh01/book.html