What Became of Korea's Royal Family?

Dear Korean,

I am British and although this hasn't been on the news much you may have heard we are about to celebrate a Royal Wedding. Although I suppose that you will probably find the whole thing ridiculous (It isn't, the kitsch provides excellent presents for American Friends and Relatives) I was wondering whether you could explain the current status of the Korean Monarchy (ie, what has happened to them since they were overthrown after Korea's independence from Japan) and the general attitude towards them.

Her Majesty's Subject.

It has been more than a week since the royal wedding, but the Korean still has not stopped crying...

NOT! Are you kidding? As a proud American, American media's dotage upon the royal wedding appalled the Korean. The Korean means no offense to Her Majesty's Subject, and he wishes the newly married couple well as he wishes for every newlyweds. But regardless, didn't Americans fight a war or something to get away from the British royal family and its shindigs? George Washington must have been spinning in his grave last weekend.

You are committing treason, OK! Magazine.

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But this is an interesting point, so let's dive in. As most people know, Imperial Japan annexed Korean Empire in 1910. In 1945, Korea re-emerged as two sovereign states, neither of which had a king. Then what happened with Korea's royal family? The fate that befell on his family was perhaps not as severe as those Koreans died in forced labor or were mobilized into forced prostitution, but it is a tremendously sad and tragic reflection of the decline and fall of Korea in the early 20th century. Let's travel back four generations.

First Generation: Emperor Gwangmu

We go back four generations because the demise of Korea's royal family arguably starts in 1907. While Korea officially disappeared in 1910, in practicality Korea lost is sovereignty in 1905, when the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 was entered into. Under the treaty, Korea became Japan's "protectorate," and lost the ability to conduct its own foreign affairs. A governor from Japan was sent to Korea to conduct Korea's foreign affairs instead. It goes without saying that the treaty was not entered into in a fair manner -- dozens of armed Japanese soldiers were staring down the emperor and the officials when the treaty was signed.

Emperor Gwangmu

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Emperor Gwangmu (also known as Gojong) of Korea could plainly see where this was going. Although the 1905 Treaty stripped his ability to conduct foreign affairs, the emperor sent secret envoys to 17 major powers, including United Kingdom, France and Germany, to protest the forcible signing of the 1905 Treaty. The highlight of this effort was in 1907, when three Korean envoys were sent to the Second International Peace Convention at the Hague. Although Japan froze out the envoys from attending the convention, Yi Wi-Jong, one of the three envoys, managed to give a speech imploring for help in a separate conference. (The speech fell on deaf ears.)

The three secret envoys to the Hague: 

Yi Sang-Seol, Yi Joon, Yi Wi-Jong

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Although the emperor's efforts did not create any result, Imperial Japan did not take kindly to Emperor Gwangmu's extracurricular activity, and demanded that he abdicate his throne. The emperor acquiesced, giving way to his son, Emperor Yunghui (also known as Soonjong) -- who would become the last emperor of Korean Empire.  Former Emperor Gwangmu died in 1919. Although this is not certain, there are ample indications that he was poisoned.

More after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.



Second Generation:  Emperor Yunghui, King Euichin, King Yeongchin, Princess Deokhye

Emperor Gwangmu had 13 children, but only four survived into adulthood -- three sons and a daughter. And they were survivors in the truest sense. Even as the empire was in precipitous decline, the palace intrigue did not stop. Emperor Gwangmu's oldest son, born from his third wife, is rumored to have been poisoned by Empress Myeongseong, the emperor's main wife. The second son, born from Empress Myeongseong, died young. The Emperor's father may have poisoned him. The crown prince -- the third son who would become Emperor Yunghui-- was also poisoned in his youth, but barely survived. It was rumored that because of the lingering effects of the poisoning, the crown prince did not have full mental capacity.

The last royal family. From the left: King Euichin, Emperor Yunghui, 

King Yeongchin, Emperor Gwangmu, with Princess Deokhye in front

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In 1910, Emperor Yunghui signed over his empire to Imperial Japan, ending the 600-year dynasty headed by his family. Emperor Yunghui was demoted to a king, subordinate to the Japanese emperor. Korea's royal family as a whole became Japanese nobility. The policy of Imperial Japan toward Korea's royal family was clear: the royal family will be either assimilated or killed. The first to go was the Emperor Gwangmu, as described above. Emperor Yunghui did not last much longer -- he died in 1926, at age 53.

Perhaps the most interesting figure in this drama is Yi Gang (also known as King Euichin,) second surviving son of Gwangmu. Yi Gang studied in Roanoke College in Virginia and was an officer of Korean imperial military when his older brother signed over the empire. Yi Gang silently assisted Korea's independence movement, signing petitions and sending funds to support Korean independence fighters and schools. He attempted to flee Korea and join the provisional government in Shanghai, but was arrested in the process and lost his nobility status. Since then, he evaded Imperial Japan's surveillance by engaging in profuse boozing and whoring while continuing to support the independence movement. During the course of his independence movement, he expressed that he would abdicate his royal status and submit to the rule of the democratic government. He led a quiet life after the independence, and died in 1955 at age 79.

Emperor Yunghui died without a son, and King Euichin was not favored by the Japanese because of his involvement in Korea's independence movement. Therefore, Gwangmu's youngest surviving son, King Yeongchin, succeeded the throne. Yi Eun, also known as King Yeongchin, was born in 1897. At age ten, he was taken to Japan to "study" under the patronage of the Japanese governor of Korea -- essentially being held as a hostage. As the contemporary Japanese nobility did, Yi Eun was forced to attend the military academy. He became an officer of the Japanese military, and was forced to married Nashimotonomiya Masako, a member of the Japanese royal family. He became the king of Korea after his father died in 1926, but only visited Korea briefly to accept the crown. He became a general of the Japanese army in 1938. He would see the end of World War II in Japan.

Young Yi Eun with his Japanese "patron,"

Governor-General Ito Hirobumi

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After the war, Yi Eun lost his nobility status, which pushed his family into dire poverty. He would scrape by with the financial help from the very few remaining Korean royalists. His wife also had to work, notwithstanding her royal family status. He attempted to return to Korea, but was rebuffed -- that he served in the Japanese military and married a Japanese royal family did not play well with the newly established Korean government. He suffered a stroke in 1961 in Hawaii while visiting his son; he was allowed to return to Korea in 1963, and lived in the Changdeok Palace with his aunt. He passed away in 1970.

It is a cruel irony of history that the only person who came out of this drama with a shred of dignity was Yi Eun's wife, Masako. After returning to Korea in 1963, she changed her name to a Korean-style name Yi Bang-Ja and focused her energy on charity work, establishing schools for children with disabilities despite living off the meager government pension. She received numerous medals and awards for her volunteer work. She passed away in 1989.

Princess Deokhye, Gwangmu's youngest daughter who was born in 1912, is probably the most tragic figure. She was forcibly moved to Japan and attended a university, where she developed schizophrenia. In 1931, she married a Japanese nobleman in an arranged marriage, and had a daughter. She survived the war, but lost her only daughter in the process. She was abandoned by her husband in 1953 as her schizophrenia worsened. For the next nine years, she would go from mental hospital to mental hospital in Japan. Korean government heard about her in 1962. and President Park Chung-Hee passed the law providing for pension for the former royal family in response. Princess Deokhye returned to Korea, and lived in Changdeok Palace until 1989 when she passed away.

Third and Fourth Generations: Yi Gu and King Euichin's 21 Children

Yi Eun and Masako had two sons, but the older son died at less than one year old. The last official crown prince of Korean royal family is Yi Gu, born in 1931. He had spent his entire life in Japan, and he worked as a clerk for a company in Tokyo after World War II. In 1953, he moved abroad to study in MIT, and met his future wife -- a white American woman named Julia Murlock. Yi Gu married Murlock in 1959 in New York, and he worked for the architectural company of I.M. Pei.

He was also allowed to return to Korea in 1963, and lectured architecture in universities. But he could not adjust to the life in Korea. Although Korea was no longer a monarchy, the Jeonju Yi (Lee) lineage society took (and still takes) its royal family line very, very seriously. Yi Gu received pressure as a crown prince within his family, and that he married a white woman who could not get pregnant only intensified the pressure. Yi Gu separated from Murlock in 1977, and returned to Japan in 1979. He would visit Korea from time to time, but refused to settle down in Korea. He died alone in 2005 in a hotel in Tokyo; apparently Yi Gu favored the hotel because it overlooked his old birthplace. He was buried in a royal garb; his funeral was attended by the prime minister of Korea (equivalent to American vice president) and 1,000 people.

Yi Gu's funeral

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This means that the only surviving royal family in Korea are the descendants of King Euichin, the rebel prince. Remarkably, he had 12 sons and 9 daughters from 13 different women -- as far as we know. Fate was not kind to them either. For example, Yi Geon, the oldest son of King Euichin, became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1947 and severed his ties with Korea completely. Reportedly, before he naturalized, he brought all of his (step-)brothers and sisters together and asked them all to forget about the fact that they belong to the royal family. He died in 1991. Yi Wu, the second son, died in Hiroshima as the officer of the Japanese military when the city was hit by the nuclear bomb. The rest scattered into Korea and America, and led more or less unremarkable lives. Out of the 21 children of King Euichin, ten (four sons, six daughters) are still alive. They live in Korea, New York, Los Angeles and San Jose. After Yi Gu passed away, the Jeonju Yi lineage society established the son of King Euichin's ninth son to be the crown prince -- a man named Yi Sang-Hyup, 50 years old.

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What do contemporary Koreans think about the royal family? Yi Gu's death in 2005 served as a reminder to Korean people that Korea in fact had a royal family. This acted as a catalyst for the royal family fad in Korea. In a survey conducted in 2006, 54.4% was in favor of "restoring the royal family," although no one in Korea is quite sure what that means. In a survey conducted in 2010, the number dropped significantly to 40.4% in favor, but still outpaced the 23.4% against. But it would be wise not to put too much stock in those numbers, because the restoration of the royal family is a pipe dream as of now. The numbers will likely change dramatically when people start thinking about the concrete details -- for example, will the royal family have any kind of political power? Will they take back any part of their formerly vast property around the nation?

So regardless of the surveys that essentially ask if one prefers the moon to be made of cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese, the Korean is pretty confident that the monarchy is not coming back to Korea any time soon. If that means one less royal wedding that assaults the supermarket newsstands around the world, all for the better.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.