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Korean b/w vintage postcard depicting the Emperor of Korea ( Empaier (!) of Korea).
Published in Japan. Fine condition.
Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897 to justify its independence from tributary status of China. He tried to promote the ultimately unsuccessful Gwangmu Reform.
The Japanese military consistently attained victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Following the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 between Korea and Japan, which stripped Korea of its rights as an independent nation, he sent representatives to the Hague Peace Convention of 1907 in order to try to re-assert his sovereignty over Korea. Although the Korean representatives were blocked by the Japanese delegates, they did not give up, and later held interviews with newspapers.
One representative warned forebodingly of Japanese ambitions in Asia: "The United States does not realize what Japan's policy in the Far East is and what it portends for the American people. The Japanese adopted a policy that in the end will give her complete control over commerce and industry in the Far East. Japan is bitter against the United States and against Great Britain. If the United States does not watch Japan closely she will force the Americans and the English out of the Far East."
As a result, Gojong was forced to abdicate by the Japanese and Gojong's son, Sunjong succeed to the throne.
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