1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: and Mild from Air and Mankie Listener Discretion advised. On 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: a normal day, the grounds of the Korean Royal Palace 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: would be quiet at five a m. Servants would be 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: just rising to begin their day. Birds would be chirping, 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: leaves rustling in the wind. 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 2: But at five a m. On October eighth, eighteen ninety five, 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 2: Queen min nowhere near her usual wake up time, was 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 2: awoken by one of her ladies in waiting. She was 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,919 Speaker 2: told the Vice Minister of Agriculture had an urgent message 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: for her. The Queen hurriedly rose and got dressed. A 12 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 2: bit frustrated but also a bit nervous, Queen Men stepped 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 2: outside her quarters to see the minister. It seems that 14 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 2: the Japanese are attempting another coup, he whispered. They're here 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 2: trying to enter the palace grounds. Queen Men had been 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: through this before. Just a year earlier, the Japanese had 17 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: unsuccessfully tried to lead a coup against her, but something 18 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 2: about this morning felt different. Before she could express her fear, 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 2: her minister looked her in the eye and stated, no 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 2: harm will come to you. There is no need to 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 2: hide or even flee. You will be safe. The Queen 22 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 2: took a moment to process and reflect. She bowed to 23 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 2: her minister and retreated back into her quarters. She had 24 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 2: survived attempts to oust her before, and she would do 25 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 2: it again. All she had to do was wait for 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 2: this all to pass. Even so, probably rightly, her nerves 27 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 2: wouldn't allow her to fall back asleep, So Queen men 28 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 2: sat amongst her ladies in waiting and attempted to quiet 29 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: her mind. Across the palace grounds, Japanese so she were 30 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 2: scaling the palace walls with foldable ladders. Once over the walls, 31 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 2: they thrust over the palace gates and ushered their comrades inside. 32 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 2: No one was there to keep them from rushing in. 33 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 2: All of the palace guards normally stationed at the gates 34 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 2: had been relieved of their duties earlier by allies on 35 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 2: the inside. So the mob, made up of Japanese expats, 36 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 2: Japanese army officials, Korean civilians, Japanese trained Korean soldiers, and 37 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: consular policemen, streamed through the gates and surged into the 38 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 2: palace grounds, not even trying to hide their presence any longer. 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 2: They whooped and hollered as they dispersed and began their 40 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 2: hunt for queen men. There was no stopping this mob. 41 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 2: Not only had almost every remaining royal guard abandoned his post, 42 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 2: but the men who stormed the castle were too bloodthirsty 43 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 2: and crazed to be contained. One major obstacle, however, stood 44 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 2: in their way. None of the wood be assassins knew 45 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 2: what the queen looked like. Very few people had directly 46 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 2: interacted with her, and almost all who had done so 47 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 2: had done so through a screen which prevented them from 48 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 2: laying eyes on her. Rumor was that she had a 49 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 2: bald spot above her temple, but that was about all 50 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 2: the information about her appearance that the interlopers had to 51 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 2: go on. This major unknown element, however, hadn't deterred the men. 52 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 2: In fact, they had made a game out of their 53 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 2: murderous hunt, and each man was competing for the honor 54 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 2: of finding and killing Queen min. The mob headed for 55 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 2: the inner quarters of the palace and targeted any woman 56 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 2: whom they came across. According to eyewitness reports from foreign 57 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 2: envoys staying in the palace, the Japanese men burst into 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 2: each and every room. They beat women, dragged them by 59 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 2: their hair, and threw them off of veranda, all while 60 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,119 Speaker 2: demanding to know where the queen was. They even came 61 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 2: upon two different women that they thought were queen men. 62 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 2: Each woman was stabbed to death. As these screams and 63 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: jeers got closer and closer, Queen Min's fears skyrocketed, but 64 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 2: so too did her survival instincts. Put me in your 65 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 2: robes quickly, she ordered her ladies rushed to take off 66 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 2: the Queen's garments and dress her in a clean set 67 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 2: of their clothing. Now all twenty five women in the 68 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 2: room were dressed exactly alike. She ordered the women to 69 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 2: hide wherever they could, and she tried to cover herself 70 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,239 Speaker 2: in a pile of bedding in a corner. Queen Min 71 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 2: could hear the Minister of the Royal Household shouting at 72 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 2: the men outside her door, trying to prevent them from entering. 73 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 2: She heard the sound of metal slicing through flesh, and 74 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 2: his shouts turned to screams and then gradually to groans. 75 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 2: She steeled herself and took a deep breath. As the 76 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 2: screen door slammed open, Queen Min focused on keeping still 77 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 2: despite the chaos around her as the intruders trashed the room, 78 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 2: brutalizing her ladies. Suddenly, the bedding which covered her was 79 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 2: ripped off. Queen Min turned her head to make eye 80 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 2: contact with the young Japanese man now standing above her. 81 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 2: Her eyes burned with fear and determination, she refused to 82 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 2: cower or beg Unfortunately, her composure betrayed her regal stature 83 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,840 Speaker 2: and gave her identity away. I found her was the 84 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 2: last full sentence Queen Min ever heard. I'm Dana Schwartz 85 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 2: and this is noble blood. According to the sixty year 86 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 2: cyclical calendar traditionally used in Korea, eighteen ninety five was 87 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 2: the year Yulmi. If you're from Korea, one particularly event 88 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 2: probably comes to mind when you hear that word, the 89 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 2: Yulmi Incident. This is, in my opinion, a rather undescriptive 90 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 2: name for a really brutal event, So I hope this 91 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 2: episode's introduction enticed you more than that very simple name might. 92 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 2: The Yulmi Incident, as it's known, was the assassination of 93 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 2: the Koreana Queen men as part of an attempted coup 94 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 2: by her father in law and by Japanese envoys to 95 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 2: the Korean Kingdom in eighteen ninety five. Before we finished 96 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 2: the tragic story we started, let me set the scene. 97 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 2: Korea in the late eighteen hundreds faced an entirely different 98 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 2: reality than they had been facing earlier in the century. Korea, 99 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: also known then as Chosun, had been officially ruled by 100 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 2: China for centuries, but the various Chinese diyeynesties had left 101 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 2: Korea pretty much alone, allowing the King of Chosan to 102 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 2: rule an absolute monarchy and run the country on a 103 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 2: day to day level pretty autonomously. And besides, the country's 104 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 2: relationship with China, Korea was entirely insular. That all changed 105 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 2: in eighteen seventy six, when Japan forced Korea to open 106 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 2: itself up to the rest of the world. All of 107 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 2: a sudden, Korea was inundated with emissaries from China, Japan, Russia, 108 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 2: and the United States, all looking to bring the Korean 109 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 2: peninsula under their influence. This massive change in international policy 110 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 2: had occurred under King Gojong. King Gojung was not a 111 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 2: particularly strong ruler. Although technically an absolute monarch, he was 112 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 2: easily persuaded by whoever last whispered in his ear Perhaps 113 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 2: this is because of his early experience on the throne. 114 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 2: He had risen to power in eighteen sixty three at 115 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 2: the age of only twelve, and so his father, known 116 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 2: as the Daywong Gun, stepped up as regent, a role 117 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 2: that he stayed in past Gojung's coming of age. As such, 118 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 2: Gojung became accustomed early on to being the supreme leader 119 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 2: only in name, and so he deferred to those who 120 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 2: supposedly knew better. Because of Gojung's personality, Korea of the 121 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 2: late eighteen hundreds was full of factions, all vying to 122 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 2: control the king and control access to him. These factions 123 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 2: only multiplied when the country was forcibly opened and international 124 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 2: powers joined the domestic powers in jockeying for favor. But 125 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,719 Speaker 2: by far the most powerful party, the one most successful 126 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 2: at getting the king's ear, was the party of Queen Men. 127 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 2: King Min had been selected to marry King Gojung in 128 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 2: eighteen sixty six, when she was only sixteen years old 129 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 2: and he was only fifteen. The day One Gun had 130 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 2: signed off on the arrangement because he believed that Queen 131 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 2: Min would be a dutiful wife, and more importantly, that 132 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 2: she wouldn't pose a threat to his power as regent. 133 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 2: How wrong he was, Queen Min didn't adhere to the 134 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 2: role traditionally played by the wife of the king. Not 135 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 2: only did she shirk these social responsibilities typically held by 136 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 2: queen's instead investing time in her education, she also slowly 137 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 2: extricated herself from the traditionally secluded queen's apartment and crept 138 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 2: down to the political scene. By eighteen seventy three, when 139 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 2: King Gojung was twenty two and well passed the age 140 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 2: to rule independently, his father still acted as regent, which 141 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 2: was posing a problem for Queen Men. She hoped to 142 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 2: gain real political influence, she needed to rid the palace 143 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 2: of her father in law, who didn't like her and 144 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 2: her untraditional behavior. Queen Min secretly started organizing a powerful 145 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 2: political faction to oust the day one Gun as regent, 146 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 2: and in eighteen seventy three successfully forced her father in 147 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 2: law into retirement. He already didn't like Queen Min for 148 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 2: her quote radical ways, but that coup solidified his hatred 149 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 2: of her. With her plans to oust the dayongun successful, 150 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 2: Queen Men moved into the power vacuum left behind and 151 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 2: became the de facto regent of Korea alongside her husband, 152 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 2: the King, who was essentially a figurehead. With Queen Men 153 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 2: in the highest position of power in the country, her clan, 154 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 2: the Min clan, became the dominant political faction. Queen Min 155 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 2: was clearly a four to be reckoned with. Unfortunately for her, 156 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 2: it was her power and the threat her power posed 157 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 2: to both Japan's influence on Korea and to one man's 158 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 2: masculinity that would eventually lead to her death. That one 159 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 2: man was Mura Goro. Mura first arrived in Korea in 160 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 2: eighteen ninety five as Japan's new envoy to the country. 161 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 2: He was appointed to the position during a period of 162 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 2: great turmoil. Eighteen ninety four and eighteen ninety five had 163 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 2: seen two attempted coups against King Go Jung and Queen Men, 164 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,599 Speaker 2: both of which had involved the King's father and Japanese 165 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 2: and pro Japanese actors. Japanese politicians back in Japan blamed 166 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 2: those two unsuccessful coups on their then envoy, who had 167 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,679 Speaker 2: tried to work diplomatically with the Queen. So the Japanese 168 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 2: government hoped to try a different approach, and they sent 169 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 2: over Mura Goro as their new Envoy, Mura was incredibly 170 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 2: unqualified for the job. He had little diplomatic experience, no 171 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 2: knowledge of broader world politics, and a penchant for being 172 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 2: loyal too. As historian Danny Orbach put it, quote heaven 173 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 2: and the Emperor, but not the government. Mura's background was 174 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 2: as a commander in the Japanese army, and he was 175 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 2: known for his crude and direct style, not typically personality 176 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 2: traits one would imagine to be helpful in a diplomat. 177 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 2: Regardless of his lack of qualifications, Mura was in a 178 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 2: tough spot as the new Japanese envoy. Queen Men and 179 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:55,839 Speaker 2: therefore King Gojung had started leaning away from Japanese influence 180 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 2: towards an alliance with Russia in eighteen ninety five. His 181 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 2: job was to fix that. One of Mura's first meetings 182 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 2: in Korea was his introductory interview with King Gojung. At 183 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 2: that meeting, Mura noticed that Queen Min directed the king 184 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 2: almost as if she were a disembodied, omniscient force. She 185 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 2: advised him in real time from a room behind the 186 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 2: King's throne, where she could remain out of sight and unapproachable. 187 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 2: Mura walked away from the meeting feeling that the Queen 188 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 2: looked down on him. In his mind, she viewed him 189 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,319 Speaker 2: as a dumb soldier whose weakness could be taken advantage 190 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 2: of in order to dismantle the Hulian Day the pro 191 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 2: Japanese regiment of the Korean Army. The Hulunde was one 192 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 2: of the biggest bases of support for the Japanese on 193 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 2: the Korean peninsula, and so if Queen Min disbanded that regiment, 194 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 2: there would be little stopping her from bringing Russia and 195 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 2: forces in and pushing Japan out entirely. Given the situation, 196 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 2: Mura had a couple of options. He could employ a 197 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,319 Speaker 2: woman to interface with Queen Men directly, since the queen 198 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 2: followed the Korean tradition of remaining secluded from men. Or 199 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 2: Mura could have turned to his envoy predecessor for advice 200 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 2: and guidance, because despite the fact that he was a man, 201 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 2: he had been able to meet with Queen men face 202 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 2: to face. But Mura wouldn't allow himself to stoop to 203 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 2: either of those paths. He wouldn't employ a woman, and 204 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,479 Speaker 2: he wouldn't ask for advice. He felt clueless and helpless, 205 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 2: but he was too haughty to accept help, and so 206 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 2: he chose a different option where instead of fixing his problem, 207 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 2: he would just remove it. In his own memoir, Mura 208 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 2: confessed that he decided quote in the space of three 209 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 2: puffs on a cigarette, that he would assess the queen. 210 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 2: Even though Miuragurro wouldn't accept help to negotiate with queen men, 211 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 2: he knew he needed help assassinating her. He turned to 212 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 2: someone he knew would be more than up to the task. 213 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 2: Adachi Kenzo. Adachi was a Japanese reporter in Seoul who 214 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 2: ran a newspaper which was essentially a propaganda paper run 215 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 2: by Soshi or Japanese expats who advocated for hawkish Japanese 216 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 2: foreign policy achieved through violence. They held some pretty misogynistic beliefs, 217 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 2: and so they were quite antagonistic towards Queen Men. Some 218 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 2: of their reporters, including Adachi, described her as quote wickedness 219 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 2: at the king's side and that bewitching beauty who cunningly, 220 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 2: ubiquitously and treacherously manipulated virtuous men for over a generation 221 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 2: and the root of all evil in Korea. Within so 222 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 2: she circus men were openly calling on their comrades to 223 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 2: kill the queen, so Mura wasted no time in turning 224 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 2: to that paper and their owner, Adachi for help. On 225 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 2: September nineteenth, eighteen ninety five, Mua met with Adachi and 226 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 2: asked if he knew of any young men up for 227 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 2: a fox hunt. Adachi later admitted that his heart leapt 228 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 2: with joy when Mura asked him this question. He knew 229 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 2: that there was no actual fox hunt, but that Mura 230 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 2: was actually talking about killing queen men. The writers at 231 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 2: his paper frequently utilized a common metaphor of foxes as 232 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 2: evil and as cunning women. While discussing queen men, so 233 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 2: Adachi heard Mura's dog whistle loud and clear. Adachi was 234 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 2: thrilled to finally have a powerful partner giving him and 235 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 2: his staff the go ahead to act on their hateful desires. 236 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 2: Under order to maintain the utmost secrecy, Adachi set out 237 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 2: recruiting members of his newspaper staff for the mission. The 238 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 2: soshi at the newspaper all enthusiastically volunteered. They couldn't wait 239 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 2: to undertake this exciting, manly adventure. Mura, looking for additional support, 240 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 2: also recruited the hulliun Day, the pro Japanese Army regiment 241 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 2: that he feared Queen Min would disband, they would be 242 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 2: additional muscle for the operation. Now he had a critical 243 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 2: mass to execute his mission and the Queen. But Mura 244 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,680 Speaker 2: couldn't dispose of Queen Min without someone to replace her 245 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 2: as de facto ruler of Korea. Quite reluctantly, Mura and 246 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 2: his advisers turned to the Day One Gun, King Go 247 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 2: Jung's father and former regent. Like I mentioned briefly, just 248 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 2: a year prior before Mua was the envoy, the Japanese 249 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 2: had already tried to work with the Day one Tie 250 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 2: to overthrow Queen Men, but the plot had failed. The 251 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,919 Speaker 2: Day One Gun had gone behind the Japanese's backs and 252 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 2: collaborated with the Chinese, so the Japanese were understandably incredibly 253 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 2: hesitant to work with him. But the Day One Gun 254 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 2: was now in dire financial straits, and so Mura believed 255 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,680 Speaker 2: that he could more easily be manipulated and pressured into 256 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 2: doing what he was told. Ultimately, though, the truth is, 257 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 2: Mua had no better option. It took some time to 258 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 2: iron out the details, but finally, on October third, eighteen 259 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,879 Speaker 2: ninety five, the Day One Gun and the Japanese came 260 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 2: to an agreement with that the plan was set. Now 261 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 2: they just needed to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Unfortunately, 262 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 2: for Mura and his alliance, the necessary time to act 263 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 2: came before the perfect moment, and it came quite fast. 264 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 2: On October seventh, less than a week after the alliance 265 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 2: had finalized arrangements with Queen Men's father in law, Mura 266 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 2: received reports that Queen Men was about to disband the 267 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,919 Speaker 2: Hullian Day ally with Russia and order the assassination of 268 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:20,959 Speaker 2: multiple pro Japanese politicians. Mura needed to act fast before 269 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 2: his base of support was swept out from beneath them, 270 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,959 Speaker 2: and so he decided that the very next morning they 271 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 2: would kill the Queen. As I described in this episode's introduction, 272 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 2: on the morning of October eighth, a mob descended on 273 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 2: the Royal Palace in search of Queen Men. The mob 274 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,640 Speaker 2: was made up of Jullian Day so She's staff, members 275 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 2: from the newspaper, Japanese soldiers, Korean policemen and other soldiers 276 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 2: in plain clothes, and some random Korean civilians. With help 277 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 2: from palace insiders, the mob breached the inner rooms of 278 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 2: the Royal Palace, where they found the queen amongst her 279 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 2: ladies in waiting. I won't go into too much detail, 280 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 2: but once the mob found Queen Min, they assassinated her 281 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 2: very brutally. To say that they engaged in overkill would 282 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,959 Speaker 2: be an understatement. Suffice it to say all that remained 283 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 2: of her after the coup was a singed fingerbone. Historian 284 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,880 Speaker 2: Danny Orbach posits that the mob so brutally murdered Queen 285 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:30,640 Speaker 2: Men for a couple of reasons, including their misogynistic attitudes 286 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 2: towards the queen and the competitive nature of the search 287 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 2: for her. Regardless of the reasons, they were so complete 288 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 2: in their decimation of her that, until her remains were 289 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 2: recovered in a forest much later, it was sometimes thought 290 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 2: that she had just disappeared. Importantly, there was no clear 291 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 2: evidence as to who the exact person was who had 292 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 2: killed Queen Min, and so to this day it's still 293 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 2: unknown which member of the mob murdered the monarch. Waiting 294 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 2: for the Queen's assassination to take place, the Daewengun arrived 295 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 2: at the Royal Palace at six a m ready to 296 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 2: swoop in to claim power back from the woman who 297 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 2: had taken it years ago. Mura later described the Dewengun, 298 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 2: as quote, beaming with delight as he entered through the 299 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 2: palace gates. He was pleased with himself to have toppled 300 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 2: the woman who had pushed him out previously, never mind 301 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 2: that he was now a pawn of the Japanese. The 302 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 2: day Onengan was ready to resume power with the assassination executed, 303 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 2: Mura and the Daewenguan met with the dayeongun son, King Gojung, 304 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 2: who was shell shocked and upset. The Daywengun presented the 305 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 2: king with a variety of documents to sign, including a 306 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 2: proclamation denouncing Queen Men and relegating her to the rank 307 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 2: of commoner. In a rare moment of courage, Ojung refused 308 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 2: to sign anything and told his father, you can cut 309 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 2: my fingers off, but I will not sign your proclamation. 310 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 2: The Day one Gun went ahead and published the edicts 311 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 2: without his son's official seal, but that was enough to 312 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 2: indicate to the general public that there was some sort 313 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:23,879 Speaker 2: of foul play going on. Everyone denounced the edict as fraudulent, 314 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 2: and the Day one Gun had to retract it. He 315 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 2: attempted again to undercut Queen Min's public image. A couple 316 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 2: of days later, King Gojung was being kept confined to 317 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 2: the Royal Palace despite the horrific murder that had taken 318 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 2: place there just days earlier. Perhaps the king could stomach 319 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 2: this because he didn't yet know that his wife was dead. 320 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 2: He actually believed at this point that she had escaped 321 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 2: the mob, as she had during multiple previous other attempted coups, 322 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 2: and like I previously mentioned, there was no treece of 323 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 2: her remaining. So, capitalizing on his son's ignorance and seclusion, 324 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 2: the dewengan issued another edict under his son's name, stating 325 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 2: that the king was divorcing Queen Min for desertion and 326 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,640 Speaker 2: that he would remarry. When King Gojung heard of this, 327 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 2: he was infuriated. He turned around and issued his own edict, 328 00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 2: in which he raised the queen's status to bin the 329 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 2: title for the first rank of women of the Internal Court. 330 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 2: It took some time for everyone to accept what they 331 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 2: soon all knew Queen Min had been murdered. A month 332 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 2: and a half after the Royal Palace had been stormed, 333 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:50,439 Speaker 2: King Gojung's cabinet finally made an official announcement that Queen 334 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 2: Min was dead, but that the events of October eighth 335 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 2: would be investigated. Even though it took over a month 336 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 2: for this investigation to be announced, the public knew from 337 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 2: day one who really was the power behind the murder. 338 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 2: From the moment news of the coup and Queen Min's 339 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 2: assassination became public, it was clear to everyone that the 340 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 2: Japanese were involved. Even as the coup was happening, witnesses 341 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 2: could see the men dressed in Japanese clothing and wielding 342 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 2: Japanese swords tearing through the palace. When reporters for the 343 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,719 Speaker 2: English language newspaper arrived at the Royal Palace, they found 344 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 2: that the main gates were being guarded by Japanese soldiers. 345 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 2: Mura's personal involvement wasn't too difficult to deduce either. Korean 346 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 2: royal emissaries reported that after having been dispatched to alert 347 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,479 Speaker 2: Mura to the coup, they arrived at his offices to 348 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 2: find him and the emissaries secretary dressed and waiting by 349 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 2: the door with their sedan chairs ready to carry them 350 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 2: to the palace knew what had happened and were just 351 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 2: waiting to be summoned. Once officials started investigating, there was 352 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 2: ample evidence that pointed to Mura's role in leading the conspiracy, 353 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 2: but that didn't stop Mua from attempting to hide his complicity. 354 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 2: He tried telling other foreign emissaries that some Koreans must 355 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,679 Speaker 2: have dressed up in Japanese clothing to frame the Japanese. 356 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 2: Mura also tried to peddle this lie to his own 357 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 2: superiors in the Japanese government, and even pretended that Queen 358 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 2: Men might still be alive when he already knew she 359 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 2: had been killed. You might be wondering how much the 360 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,880 Speaker 2: Japanese government back in mainland Japan knew about the assassination 361 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 2: scheme beforehand. Historians widely believed that Tokyo had no idea 362 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 2: of MUA's plan before it happened, and their actions after 363 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 2: the fact definitely do indicate that. There's pretty ample evidence 364 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 2: that Mura spent much of his days after October eighth 365 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,879 Speaker 2: working to convince his superiors, like the acting Foreign Secretary, 366 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 2: that he had no idea of the plot and was 367 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,400 Speaker 2: working to investigate it. But like a guilty child who 368 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 2: thinks they're smarter than their parents, Mura just couldn't help 369 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 2: himself and kept dropping hints that pointed to the truth 370 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 2: inadvertently or not. He eventually admitted to the Foreign Minister 371 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 2: that Japanese actors might have been involved, and that he 372 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 2: did believe something had needed to be done about the queen. Anyways, 373 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 2: when Mura's complicity became clear to government officials, Tokyo summoned 374 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 2: Mua and his co conspirators back to Japan, expecting a 375 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 2: hero's welcome upon their return. The foreign envoys were instead 376 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 2: met at the docks in Hiroshima and arrested. Mura and 377 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 2: his co conspirators had been charged with murder and conspiracy 378 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 2: to commit murder. The subsequent trial riveted the Japanese public 379 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 2: as multiple so she who had participated in the coup, 380 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,200 Speaker 2: admitted under oath to participating in the killing that day, 381 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 2: and historians admit that the trial was shockingly honest and 382 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 2: forthright with the evidence regarding the conspiracy up until the 383 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 2: day of the assassination. However, the court ended up acquitting 384 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 2: all of the defendants of charges. The judge, in his 385 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 2: ruling stated that while everyone charged had clearly been involved 386 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 2: in a conspiracy to kill Queen men quote, there is 387 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 2: no sufficient evidence to prove that any of the accused 388 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:43,440 Speaker 2: actually committed the crime originally mediated by them. In other words, 389 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 2: because no one could prove who had killed Queen Men, 390 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,959 Speaker 2: they all got off. No one knows exactly why the 391 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 2: court made such a ruling. The case had been surprisingly 392 00:27:55,880 --> 00:28:00,919 Speaker 2: transparent regarding the complicity and responsibility of men like Mura, 393 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,160 Speaker 2: and yet they were still acquitted. Perhaps the government stepped in, 394 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 2: but perhaps the judge in this case made the ruling 395 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 2: entirely of his own accord. There's no evidence pointing towards 396 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 2: government interference, but that's not to say it didn't happen. 397 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 2: A lack of evidence isn't proof that nothing happened. You 398 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,120 Speaker 2: might also be wondering why Korea didn't try the various 399 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 2: co conspirators. Because of a clause about extra territoriality in 400 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:36,360 Speaker 2: a treaty that Korea and Japan had signed in eighteen 401 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 2: seventy six, Korea was powerless to try Japanese nationals for 402 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 2: their crimes. In the end, Japan had wrapped up the 403 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 2: matter by January twentieth, eighteen ninety six, less than four 404 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:54,959 Speaker 2: months after Queen Men's assassination. King Gojung's process of mourning 405 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 2: and commemorating his wife, on the other hand, took him 406 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 2: over two years. Perhaps because it took him almost two 407 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 2: years and support from the Russian delegation to wrest back 408 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 2: control of his throne from his father. But once he 409 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 2: was secure back in power in eighteen ninety seven, King 410 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 2: Gojung wasted no time honoring his late wife. He first 411 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 2: issued her a new posthumous name, Myung Sung, when Gojung 412 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 2: proclaimed himself as emperor a few months later. He also 413 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 2: changed Myeongsong's title from queen to empress. Her final and 414 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 2: current posthumous title is Mungsong the Great Empress. Gojung also 415 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 2: planned an extravagant funeral procession for his late wife. The 416 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 2: Procession through Soul featured five thousand soldiers, six hundred and 417 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 2: fifty policemen, four thousand lanterns, hundreds of scrolls honoring her, 418 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 2: and giant wooden horses intended for her use in the afterlife. 419 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 2: She was laid to rest in the Josian Royal Tomb Complex, 420 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 2: where Emperor Gojung would later be buried alongside her. Empress 421 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 2: Mungsong could not have known it, but she would be 422 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 2: the last queen of Korea, and even though she was 423 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 2: technically the second to last Empress of Korea, she is 424 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 2: commonly known today as the Last Empress, Her reign and 425 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 2: assassination have been dramatized as a television series, a movie, 426 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 2: and the first Korean musical to grace a Broadway stage. 427 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 2: Despite enduring a brutal death, Empress myungsung continues to have 428 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 2: an impact on Korea and lives on in the Korean 429 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 2: consciousness over a century after her passing. That's the story 430 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 2: of Queen Min and her assassination. But keep listening after 431 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 2: a brief sponsor break to hear how recently discovered documents 432 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 2: shed light on the details of what happened October eighth, 433 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 2: eighteen ninety five. Perhaps because of the chaos and confusion 434 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 2: of the attempted coup and assassination of Queen Men, there 435 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 2: were very few written accounts that captured the events of 436 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:23,479 Speaker 2: that morning on October eighth, eighteen ninety five. Luckily for us, however, 437 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 2: there have been two separate recent discoveries of just that. 438 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 2: It's not surprising that the first recently discovered eyewitness account 439 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,640 Speaker 2: only came to light over one hundred years after Queen 440 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 2: Men's murder, given where it was found in the nineteen 441 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 2: nineties and early two thousands, researchers uncovered an eye witness 442 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:50,080 Speaker 2: account of the coup deep in the archive of foreign 443 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,520 Speaker 2: policy of the Russian Empire, in the fourth appendix of 444 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 2: a report sent to the Russian government by the Russian 445 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:02,560 Speaker 2: Minister to Korea. The writer was a Russian civilian under 446 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 2: the employee of King Gojung in eighteen ninety five. He 447 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 2: had been hired as an architect by the king to 448 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 2: design Western inspired buildings, and just so happened to be 449 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,480 Speaker 2: living at the palace the morning the mob breached the walls. 450 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 2: He described the frenetic energy of the Japanese men as 451 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 2: they dashed around searching for the queen. When a palace 452 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 2: staff member who was participating in the raid recognized the 453 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 2: Russian man and told some of the Japanese soci that 454 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 2: he too was an employee at the palace, they grabbed 455 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 2: him and tried to force him to locate queen men. 456 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 2: The Russian wrote, Both of the Japanese and a new 457 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 2: one who had just joined them, ran up to me again, 458 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 2: grabbed me by my gown, and dragged me off to 459 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 2: the Queen's chambers, demanding that I show them where she 460 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 2: was hiding. Moreover, one of the Japanese repeatedly asked me 461 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 2: in English, where is the queen? Point the queen out 462 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,120 Speaker 2: to us? I tried to convince them to leave me 463 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,720 Speaker 2: alone because I did not know and would not know 464 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 2: where the queen was, but they did not listen to 465 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 2: me and just kept repeating, where is the queen? Point 466 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 2: the queen out to us? The Russian then supposedly escaped 467 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 2: the palace without witnessing the queen's actual murder to deliver 468 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:22,920 Speaker 2: his report to the Russian minister. Some scholars believed that 469 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 2: he did in fact witness the murder, but to save 470 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 2: himself from becoming a target, never admitted it. Ultimately, his 471 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,440 Speaker 2: account only confirmed what most already knew to be true, 472 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:39,640 Speaker 2: the Japanese were involved in the assassination. A more recent 473 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 2: discovery revealed just how involved Japanese officials really were. In 474 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, a Japanese man purchased a collection of 475 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,240 Speaker 2: letters at a flea market, and upon having them deciphered 476 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 2: by a Korean Japanese scholar, he learned they were written 477 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 2: by a consular assistant in Korea in the eighteen nineties. 478 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 2: In a letter sent to a friend one day after 479 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,920 Speaker 2: the attempted coup and murder. The man didn't mince words. 480 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 2: We killed the queen, he wrote, My job was securing 481 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,439 Speaker 2: the entrance. We crossed the wall and barely got into 482 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 2: the building where we killed the queen. Upon reflecting on 483 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 2: the queen's death, he stated, I was shocked to realize 484 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,440 Speaker 2: how easy it was. While the man never stated exactly 485 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 2: who struck the murderous blow, that he so freely and 486 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 2: proudly admitted his role in this brutal, illegal act while 487 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:40,920 Speaker 2: serving as a minister is astonishing. You never know what 488 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,600 Speaker 2: you might find at a flea market. These two discoveries 489 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 2: just underscore to me and hopefully you listeners, just how 490 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:52,959 Speaker 2: important archival research is. So next time someone is trying 491 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,759 Speaker 2: to defund the libraries and archives, just ask yourself what 492 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 2: might they be trying to cover up. Noble Blood is 493 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,120 Speaker 2: a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from 494 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 2: Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, 495 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 2: with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, 496 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 2: Amy Hit and Julia Milani. The show is edited and 497 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:28,920 Speaker 2: produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il Kaali 498 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,480 Speaker 2: and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. 499 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 500 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.