While the two hundred[hundred] men who were being drilled at the Ha-do-gam were being plentifully fed and clothed by the government, the 3,700 troops, called the Hul lyŭn To-gam, the former Royal Guard, were being badly neglected. Their pay was two or three months in arrears and for a similar period they had not received a grain of rice. They were naturally incensed and there were angry mutterings against the two hundred men who were being treated so much better than they. When the king was made aware of this he ordered that a month’s allowance of rice be given out to these discontented troops. This work was put into the hands of Min Kyŭm-ho the overseer of the government finances, and he in turn handed the matter over to his major-domo who, it appears, sold the good rice and with the proceeds bought a large quantity of the poorest quality which he mixed with sand and doled out to the hungry troops. The result may be imagined. They congregated in various places and determined that since they must die in any event they would rather die fighting than starving. They strengthened the feeble-hearted among their own number by threats of death in case any proved unfaithful and refused to assist in the work in hand. On the night of the ninth of the sixth moon, in the midst of heavily falling rain, they arose en masse and proceeded to their general’s house, where they announced that they were going to take revenge on those who had wronged them. That they not only did not attack him but that they even had the courtesy to go and tell him what they were about to do shows clearly that he was in no wise to blame for the ill-treatment they had received. They also sent a messenger to the ex-Regent, but the purport of the message is not known. They then hastened to the residence of Min Kyŭm-ho, but he had heard of the trouble and had fled to the royal presence for protection. The infuriated soldiery vented their rage on the property by tearing down the house and destroying the furniture. They seized the dishonest major-domo and beat him to death upon the spot. The sight of this aroused all their worst instincts and, separating into bands of two or three hundred, they hastened to different parts of the town to complete what had been begun. Some ran to the prisons and liberated the inmates who naturally joined the ranks of the rioters. One of these prisoners was Păk Nak-kwan who had memorialized the throne in favor of the ex-Regent. They took him on their shoulders and rushed through the streets shouting “Păk Chung-sin” or “Păk the patriot.” For this, a few months later he was torn to pieces by bullocks outside the West Gate. Part of the mob went to the Ha-do-gam, but on their approach the Japanese military instructor took to his heels and made for the Japanese Legation. But he was overtaken and cut down in the streets. Another detachment hastened to the Japanese Legation itself, but found the gates shut and barred. Within were nine Japanese. In order to make it light enough to carry on their dastardly work the assaulting mob threw firebrands over the wall and thus illuminated the place, for it was night. The little company of Japanese soon became aware that they could not hope to stand a siege and that their only hope lay in a bold dash. Suddenly the gates flew open and the nine determined men rushed out brandishing their swords and firing their revolvers straight into the crowd. The Koreans were taken wholly by surprise and beat a hasty retreat. In their headlong flight many of them fell into the lotus pond adjoining. As the Japanese hurried along to the governor’s yamen which was not far away, they cut down a few of the mob. They found that the governor had gone to the palace and so they turned their faces toward Chemulpo and hastened away. Another party of the insurgents went outside the city to various monasteries which they burned to the ground. The most important of these was the Sin-heung Monastery outside the Northeast Gate. This move was dictated by hate of the Min faction whose patroness was known to be very well affected toward Buddhism and to have made friends with the monks.
Other parties scattered over the city carrying the torch to the door of every member of the Min faction. The houses of Min Kyŭm-ho, Min T’ă-ho, Min Yŭng-ik, Min Yŭng-so, Min Yŭng-jun, Min Yŭng-ju,[Min Yŭng-ju,] Min Ch’ang-sik, Prince Heung-in, Kim Po-hyŭn and Yun Chă-dŭk were torn down by the use of long ropes. The furniture was piled in a great heap in the street and burned. The only member of the Min clan however that was seized that night was Min Ch’ang-sik who lived at Kon-dang-kol. He had the unenviable reputation of having taken large sums of money from the people by indirection. When he was seized he cried “I am not a Min; my name is Păk.” They bound him and carried him through the streets shouting “Is this a Min or a Păk?” The populace answered fiercely “He is a Min.” So they took him down to the big bell and stabbed him in a hundred places with their swords and cut his mouth from ear to ear.
When the morning of the tenth broke Seoul was in a terrible condition. Bands of frenzied soldiery were ranging through the streets. The people either huddled about their fireplaces with barred doors or else sought safety in flight from the city. At last the mob rendezvoused in front of the palace gate and finding no opposition they boldly entered. Rushing into the inner court of the king’s private apartments they found themselves face to face with His Majesty. About him stood a few of the officials who had not fled the city. There were Min Kyŭm-ho, Kim Po-hyŭn, Cho Ryŭng-ha and Prince Heung-in. Rushing forward the soldiers struck their swords against the floor and the door-posts and demanded that these men be handed over to them. It was quite evident that there was no escape and that by refusal they would only endanger the king’s life. So these men made obeisance to His Majesty and then stepped down into the hands of the soldiers. Min Kyŭm-ho and Kim Po-hyŭn were instantly struck down and hacked in pieces before the very eyes of the king. Of Kim nothing remained but the trunk of his body. Cho Ryŭng-ha was spared but Prince Heung-in died the same day for he was mashed to a jelly by the gun-stocks of the soldiers.
This done, the soldiers demanded the person of the queen. The king sternly demanded how they dared ask of him the person of his Queen. Without answering they rushed away to her private apartments. Seizing palace women by the hair they dragged them about demanding where their mistress was. But while this was going on one of the palace guard named Hong Cha-heui entered the Queen’s presence and said that she was in danger and that her only hope of escape lay in getting on his back and being carried out. This she instantly did. A skirt was hastily thrown over her head and the heroic man took her straight out through the midst of the infuriated soldiery. Some of them seized hold of him and demanded whom he was carrying. He replied that it was one of the palace women, his sister, whom he was conveying to a place of safety. His heroism was rewarded by seeing her safely outside the palace and comfortably housed at the residence of Yun T‘ă-jŭn to the west of the palace. The next day she was taken in a closed chair toward the village of Chang-wŭn in the district of Ch‘ung-ju in Ch’ung ch‘ŭng Province, where she arrived several days later. In that place she found refuge in the house of Min Eung-sik. This journey was made not along the main road but along by-paths among the mountains, and it is said that Hong Cha-heui lost several of his toes as a result of this terrible march, for shoes could not be procured.
But we must return to the palace. The ex-Regent appeared on the scene while the solders were still raging through the palace in search of the Queen. He gave the signal to stop, and instantly the soldiers obeyed and quietly left the palace. That these soldiers, worked up as they were to a perfect frenzy, should have obeyed the commands of the Prince Tai-wŭn so instantly and implicitly would seem to argue a closer connection with this outbreak than any overt act on his part would give us warrant to affirm.
The ex-Regent was now in power again. He supposed that the Queen had been killed, and on the next day he summoned the officials and said that though the Queen was dead yet her body had not been found; they must therefore take some of her clothing and perform the funeral rites with them instead. The proclamation went forth, and from the middle of the sixth moon the people went into mourning for their Queen.
Chapter XVI.
A panic.... Japanese envoy.... a counter demand.... Chinese troops arrive.... rioters captured.... the Regent kidnapped.... the Queen returns.... Foreign Office.... von Mollendorf.... minting.... American Minister.... various innovations.... special envoy to the United States.... the American farm.... treaties.... liberal and conservative parties drift further apart.... Pak Yŭng-hyo’s attempted reforms.... school for interpreters.... fears of the progressive party.... a crisis imminent.... understanding with the Japanese.... the dinner at the Post Office.... attempted assassination.... confusion.... Liberal leaders hasten to the palace.... Japanese called in.... conservative leaders put to death.... official changes.... Chinese demands.... the fight in the palace.... the king goes over to the Chinese.... liberals killed.... the Japanese retire to Chemulpo.... indemnity.... executions.... Japanese terms.... hospital.... missions.... Tientsin convention.... corruption.... von Mollendorf dismissed.... China takes over the customs.... Judge Denny engaged as adviser.... obstacles put in his way.... government English School.... mission schools.... Minister to the United States.... the “baby war.”
A few days after the flight of the Queen a rumor was circulated to the effect that a large body of men belonging to the peddlar’s guild had congregated outside the East Gate and were about to enter and loot the city. A panic seized the people, and men, women and children might be seen flying in all directions, some out into the neighboring country and some up the steep sides of the surrounding mountains. The gates being all locked the people forced the South Gate and the two West gates and thus made good their escape. The king himself was affected by the rumor and leaving the palace sought safety at the house of Yi Che-wan. But the panic ceased as quickly as it had begun, and within three hours the people were returning to their homes again. The extreme haste with which the people tried to get away is illustrated in the case of one old man who seized his little grand-son, as he supposed by the hand, and fled up a mountain but found to his dismay that he had taken the boy by the leg rather than by the hand and that the little fellow had succumbed to this harsh treatment.
On the fifth of the seventh moon Count Inouye arrived in Chemulpo as Japanese envoy and immediately sent word to have a high Korean official sent to Chemulpo to discuss the situation. Kim Hong-jip was sent, and as a result the Korean government was asked to pay an indemnity for the lives of the Japanese who had been killed. It appears that besides the Japanese military instructor five or six others had been killed, also a considerable amount of Japanese money had been seized and destroyed at the Japanese headquarters. The indemnity was placed at a million cash apiece for the Japanese who had fallen. This amounted to something like $2,500 each, a ridiculously small sum, but perhaps all the Japanese thought they could get. The ex-Regent replied that if the Japanese demanded this indemnity the Korean government would feel obliged to levy a tax upon all Japanese merchants doing business in Korea. This was practically a refusal to pay the indemnity and the envoy took his departure.