Gojong 고종 |
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Emperor of Korea | |
Emperor Gwangmu of Korea
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Emperor of Korea | |
Reign | 1897 — 21 January 1907 |
Predecessor | Himself as King of Joseon |
Successor | Sunjong of Korea |
King of Joseon | |
Reign | 13 December 1863 — 1897 |
Predecessor | Cheoljong of Joseon |
Successor | Kingdom transformed as empire |
Regent |
Grand Internal Prince Heungseon (1863–1873) Queen Myeongseong (1873–1895) |
Born |
Unhyeon Palace, Hanseong, Joseon Dynasty |
8 September 1852
Died | 21 January 1919 Deoksu Palace, Keijo (Seoul), Japanese Empire |
(aged 66)
Burial | Hongneung |
Spouse | Empress Myeongseong |
Issue |
Emperor Sunjong Prince Imperial Ui Crown Prince Euimin Princess Deokhye |
House | House of Yi |
Father | Grand Internal Prince Heungseon |
Mother | Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 고종 광무제 (short ) |
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Hanja | 高宗光武帝 (short ) |
Revised Romanization | Gojong Gwangmuje (short Gojong) |
McCune–Reischauer | Kojong Kwangmuje (short Kojong) |
Birth name | |
Hangul | 이명복 later 이희 |
Hanja | 李命福 later 李㷩 |
Revised Romanization | I Myeong-bok later I Hui |
McCune–Reischauer | Yi Myŏng-bok later Yi Hŭi |
Gojong (Hangul: 고종; Hanja: 高宗; RR: Gojong; MR: Kojong), the Emperor Gwangmu (Hangul: 광무제; Hanja: 光武帝; RR: Gwangmuje; MR: Kwangmuje; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), was the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty and the first Emperor of Korea.
Gojong took the Joseon throne in 1863 when still a child. As a minor, his father, the Heungseon Daewongun (or more commonly, the Daewongun), ruled as regent for him until Gojong reached adulthood.
During the mid-1860s, the Heungseon Daewongun was the main proponent of isolationism and the instrument of the persecution of native and foreign Catholics, a policy that led directly to the French invasion and the United States expedition to Korea in 1871. The early years of the Daewongun's rule also witnessed a concerted effort to restore the largely dilapidated Gyeongbok Palace, the seat of royal authority. During the Daewongun's reign, Joseon factional politics, the Seowon (learned academies that often doubled as epicenters of factional power), and the power wielded by the Andong Kim clan, completely disappeared as political forces within Korean state life.