The Japanese then[then] asked why they had been fired upon at Yŭng-jŭng. The answer was that the Japanese were dressed in European clothes and were therefore mistaken for Europeans. But when the Japanese asked why the Koreans had not recognized the Japanese flag, especially since the Japanese government had been careful to send copies of their flag to Korea and ask that one be sent to each of the prefectures throughout the land, the Korean commissioners could find nothing to say and had to confess that they had been in error.
All these things were duly reported to the authorities in Seoul where daily councils were being held to discuss the important questions. The ex-Regent sent an urgent appeal to the ministers not to make a treaty, but the tide had turned, and after some sharp discussion as to how the two governments should be designated in the treaty it was finally ratified on February[February] 27th 1876, and Korea was a hermit no longer. Three months later a semi official envoy was sent to Japan in the person of Kim Keui-su.
Meanwhile the closing days of 1875 had beheld a curious event in Seoul. In the dead of night the house of Yi Ch’oe-eung, the Prime Minister and the brother of the ex-Regent, was set on fire by an unknown hand and burned to the ground. None of the inmates were injured. The culprit was seized and under torture confessed that one Sin Ch’ŭl-gyun had hired him to do the work. Sin was therefore seized and put to death as a traitor. Whether he was indeed guilty and if so whether he was but an agent in the business are questions that have never been answered.
It was not until the sixth moon of 1879 that, in pursuance of the new treaty, a Japanese Minister, Hanabusa, was sent to represent his government at Seoul. We will remember that he had already served his government most successfully at the Korean capital in a private capacity. The new legation was situated at the Ch’ŭn Yŭn-jŭng near the lotus pond outside the West Gate. At almost the very same time two French priests arrived in Seoul and took up their quarters outside this same gate and began to proselyte. They were forthwith seized by the authorities, and were for some time in imminent danger. There was however a strong feeling in the government that this was inconsistent with the new role that it had elected to play and that it was distinctly dangerous. A halt was called and the Japanese Minister took advantage of it to inform the authorities that he had received a message from the French Minister in Tokyo asking him to use his good offices in behalf of these endangered men. The Minister added his own advice that the Korean government should hand over the imprisoned men at once. This was done and the Japanese Minister forwarded them to Japan.
One year later, in the summer of 1880, Kim Hong-jip, a man of progressive tendencies, went to Japan. Soon after arriving there he met a Chinaman who seems to have made a strong impression on him. This Chinaman had many talks with him and gave him a long manuscript dealing with the subject of Korea’s foreign relations, which he asked should be transmitted to the king of Korea. In it he advised the cementing of friendship with the United States, China and Japan, but he spoke disparagingly of Russia. It mentioned Protestant Christianity as being the basis of Western greatness and advised that its propagation be encouraged. It compared the division of Christianity into Roman Catholic and Protestant to the division of Confucianism into the two sects Chu-ja and Yuk-sang-san. When Kim Hong-jip brought this manuscript and placed it in the hands of the king it created a profound sensation, and awakened the bitterest opposition. Many advised that he be killed as an introducer of Christianity. The most violent of all were Yi Man-son, Hong Chă-hak and Păk Nak-kwan who memorialized the throne urging the execution of Kim and the overthrow of all Christian work in the peninsula. This met with the severest censure from the king, not because it was in itself seditious but because it was an attempt to reinstate the policy of the Regency. Yi Man-son was banished, Hong Chă-hak was executed and Păk Nak-kwan was imprisoned. This put an end to anti-Christian talk for the time being and it was never again seriously raised.
By the fourth moon of 1881 the progressive tendencies of the new regime had made such headway that the king determined to send a commission to Japan to look about and see something of the world, from which Korea had been so carefully secluded. For this purpose His Majesty selected Cho Chun-Yŭng, Pak Chöng-yang, Sim Sang hak, Cho Pyŭng-jik, Min Chong-muk. O Yun jung, Om Se-yŭng, Kang Mun-hŭng, Hong Yŭng-sik, Yi Wŭn-whe, and Yi Pong-eui. These men immediately took passage for Japan. At the same time a party of young men was sent to Tientsin under the chaperonage of Kim Yun-sik on a similar errand.
Late in this year, 1881, four of the adherents of the ex-Regent conspired to overthrow the government, dethrone the king and put in his place Yi Chă-sŭn, a son of the ex-Regent by a concubine. The ex-Regent was then to be brought back to power. The last day of the eighth moon was set for the consummation of this plot. But on the day before, Nam-Myŭng sŭn and Yi P’ung-nă divulged the whole scheme to the favorite Min T’ă-ho, and as a result the four arch-conspirators were seized on the morning of the day set for the culmination of the plot and within a few days eleven others were taken. In the eleventh moon they were all beheaded, and at the same time Yi Chă-sŭn was given poison and expired.
By this time a real liberal party had begun to form. Its leading spirits were Kim Ok-kyun, Pak Yŭng-hyo, So Kwang-bom, Hong Yŭng-sik, Yi To-jă, Sin Keui-sŭn and Pak Yŭng-kyo. These were all men of very high family and held important positions under the government. They were in favor of the immediate opening of Korea to intercourse with foreign powers and the establishment of reforms such as had been effected in Japan. The king was largely influenced by the progressive policy mapped out by these men and an era of rapid advancement seemed to be dawning. A special department was established called the Ki-mu or Machinery Bureau which was to take charge of the introduction of foreign machinery and implements of all kinds.
It is important to note the position of the Min faction at this point. It was with the downfall of the Regent that, through the queen’s influence, the Min faction sprang to life. With the utmost celerity all government positions were filled with them or their sympathizers and it seemed sure that they would have a long lease of official life. The extreme opposition of the Regent to all reforms and to the opening of the country to foreign intercourse naturally inclined his rivals in that very direction and it was directly through the Min faction that the policy of non-seclusion was inaugurated. The queen likewise was in favor of opening up the country to the civilizing influences of the West. But with the Min faction, as a whole, the question of national policy were entirely secondary to the one main idea of preserving the ascendency which they had gained. Here is the key to all that followed. The Mins were not at that time facing China-ward and they never would have been had it not become necessary in order to preserve the enviable position they occupied. As we have seen, a number of high officials who had imbibed something of the spirit of reform which had permeated Japan were filling the ear of the king and queen with plans for reform. They were meeting with a favorable hearing and in proportion as they succeeded, the power of the Mins must wane; not because the latter disliked the idea of opening up Korea but because it was another faction that had the work in hand, and that faction would naturally attain more and more power at court as success crowned their efforts. It was just here that the difficulty began. If the liberal leaders had been willing to put the working out of the plan into the hands of the Min faction all might have gone along smoothly and Korea might have realized some of the hopes of the would-be reformers. But such self-abnegation could scarcely be expected from men who saw in the carrying out of their brilliant scheme not only rewards for themselves but the advancement of the country. The personal element was present in full force and this was the rock on which the reformation of Korea split. We may believe that it was at this point that the Min faction determined its policy, a policy that led it straight into the arms of China. From this point it became not the progressive party but the conservative party. Its leading members were Min T’ă-ho, Min Yŭng-muk, Min Tu-ho, Han Kyu-jik and Cho Ryŭng-ha. There was one of the Mins however who held with the liberal party, for a time at least. This was Min Yŭng-ik, nephew to the queen, adopted son of Min Seung-ho who had been killed by the infernal machine in 1874. That this man took his stand at first with the liberals is shown by the fact that in the spring of 1882 he joined Kim Hong-jip, Kim Ok-kyun, Hong Yŭng-sik and other liberal leaders in advising the king to select 200 young men and engage a Japanese instructor to drill them in military tactics. The advice was followed, and Lieutenant Isobayachi was employed for that purpose. Without delay he began work at the Ha-do-gam near the East Gate. At the same time a number of young men were sent to Japan to study military matters. Among these the most prominent was Sŭ Chă-p’il who was intimately connected with the liberal movement, though at that time he was too young to take a prominent part.
The first regularly appointed Minister to the Japanese was Pak Yŭng-hyo the liberal leader. In the early part of 1882 he departed on his mission. It was at Chemulpo on board the little Japanese steamer that the Korean flag was first designed. Pak Yŭng-hyo, Kim Ok-kyun, Sŭ Kwang-bom and Sŭ Chă-p’il were all present when it was hoisted for the first time in honor of the first Minister to Japan.