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A picture apparently capturing the state funeral of Empress Myeongseong on Nov. 22, 1897 is being stored in the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg. Museum officials currently visiting Korea to sign a cultural exchange agreement with the National Folk Museum of Korea showed pictures of Korea-related artifacts on Tuesday.
The picture was taken by Russian journalist Sergey Syromyatnikov in the streets overlooking Gwanghwamun. It is titled "market streets," but Denis Samsonov, a researcher at the Peter the Great Museum, said the picture was thought to have been taken during the funeral ceremony as there are many people wearing white top hats shown in the picture. The only state funeral that took place in 1897 was that of Empress Myeongseong, or Queen Min, two years and two months after her assassination by the Japanese.
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A picture apparently showing the state funeral of Empress Myeongseong on Nov. 22, 1897 taken by a Russian journalist Sergey Syromyatnikov. /Courtesy of National Folk Museum of Korea
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"Very few pictures of the funeral of Empress Myeongseong have survived," said Prof. Han Young-woo of Ewha Womans University. "The picture seems to show crowds walking up to Gwanghwamun when the empress' coffin was carried toward Dongdaemun from Deoksu Palace."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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