A photo of Gojong visiting King Jeongjo's tomb in Hwanseong, Gyeonggi Province in 1908, immediately after he was forced to abdicate as emperor. A name card belonging to crown prince Yeongchinwang Yi Eun (1897-1970). A letter sent by crown princess Yi Bang-ja (Masako Nashimoto, 1901-1989) to president Park Chung-hee in 1972 expressing concern about the livelihood of the surviving imperial family. A moving letter of condolence by then-interior minister Kim Hyeong-geun written on the death of prince Euichinwang Lee Gang: These are but some of 100 objects documenting the brief Korean Empire and its long aftermath that will now become accessible to the public for the first time.
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Dressed in formal attire, Gojong (in circle) visits the tomb of King Jeongjo in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in October 1908.
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Hwang Pyeong-woo, the head of the Korea Cultural Heritage Policy Research Institute, showed them to the Chosun Ilbo on May 24. "We've recently received the artifacts from descendents of the Chosun royal family, and we've donated them to the Gyeongbok Palace Museum, which is set to open this August."
The artifacts include about 60 photographs, envelopes and letter-headed paper with the symbol of the Korean Empire still clearly visible, as well as a royal genealogy chart written up by the Japanese. The objects capture the bitter history of the empire, which lasted from 1897-1910 and saw only two emperors -- Gojong and Sunjong. "I hope this contribution becomes an opportunity to start collecting materials related to the empire for the Palace Museum,Ħħ Hwang said.
The name cards of crown prince Yeongchinwang Yi Eun and his Japanese-born wife crown princess Yi Bang-ja do not show Yi Eun's title ? a poignant reminder that the empire had come to an end.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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