PART 6: THE MEANING OF LIFE AND SHIT
The chaos was far from over, however. Runners from the various garrisons had been swiftly moving south to spread the news of a "successful restoration"; quickly realising the situation was futile for the Conventional Army, the late Regent had already fled west to Inchon, where he would take a steamship to Tienstin. Most importantly, however, the Korean leadership was in vacuum, and the Reform Party was far from establishing any sort of control over the kingdom; there was no guarantee the Korean people, and particularly the bureaucracy, would listen at all to any of the orders that were issued by the new government; while a much lesser concern at the time, there also was the possibility that the Japanese and the Chinese would use the situation as justification for outright invasion and occupation - precipitating a crisis beyond the peninsula.Japanese Chargé d'affairs Hanabusa Yoshitada; My Experiences in Korea said:The stench could be smelled from 10 ri away; death filled every street. From blood and corpses of its enemies was borne the Republic of Korea.
The discussions that arose amidst and after the battle between Reform Party members included such topics and much more in the ad hoc conference held with more than 200 members(the Reform Party had grown to more than 50,000 by 1884) at the courtyard of Kyunghee Palace; contrary to popular opinion, however, no Japanese authorities were present during the meeting, as the Japanese embassy was busy requesting more troops from Tokyo while ordering all forces in Korea to immediately begin a "suppression operation"(討伐作戰 Tōbatsu Sakusen). Leading the debate was Kim Yun-sik and Yoo Dae-chi. While there was bipartisan agreement over a republican form of government, a state funeral for deceased members of the royal family, and requesting only Japanese support for suppressing the insurgents, debate over largely cut the Reform Party into two factions of relatively equal size: those who argued to support Lee Chae-myon as figurehead, along with a more moderate form of reform towards enacting the Three Principles of the Self(Triegoism); and those who supported a Reform Party-dominated government and legislature, along with immediate implementation of the Three Principles for swift modernisation. Although it was clear the Reform Party was already struggling with internal party struggles, it is clear that agreement on more pressing issues coagulated the consensus within the party enough to lead other 'centres of power' - namely, the bureaucracy and rural aristocrats - one step towards modernity.
Also unlike popular understanding, not all major members of the Reform Party were present during the Kyunghee Palace Declaration; as a matter of fact, most were going back to their hometowns with Japanese escorts, preparing to persuade and calm the rural conservative elites and local bureaucracy. For example, while leaders Kim Hong-jip and Kim Yun-sik stayed behind to draft and streamline the declaration, leaders Min Tae-ho and Yun Ong-ryul(Yun Chi-ho's father) were on their way to the south to meet with influential relatives and calm the situation while the Japanese continued with their operation. However, with the discussions over and all topics to be conferred exhausted hours before the first draft, those left in Seoul were able to represent all opinions throughout their drafts.
The Kyunghee Palace Declaration was made at noon of the 27th, nearly two full days since the beginning of the armed uprising. The Declaration, signed by Kim Yun-sik and Lee Choi-eung, represented both the direction the Republic was determined to take and the legitimacy it gained from all relevant factions of the Joseon dynasty. The Declaration summarised the justification for the change in government, along with outlining the new form of government Korea was to take and the steps necessary to achieve Triegoism. While many translated versions of the document exist, particularly in English, the most well-known is that written by United States Counsul-General to Joseon George C. Foulk. Foulk's version reads as follows:
"Kyunghee Palace Declaration, First Year of the Republic(1884), June 25.
- "For four millennia the Korean people have resided upon this peninsula - glorious, resolute, eternal. Since the days of Dangun the Korean people served merrily under the kings while the latter faithfully served their people, this heritage only being strengthened under Confucianism and the Joseon dynasty. The state and survival of the fatherland, however, was incessantly put in jeopardy by foreign armies beyond our borders, from both land and sea, from all four directions. Yet we have held fast. For the past one-thousand years the dynasties of Goryeo and Joseon have served the Korean people well in defending us from total annihilation, with generals Kang Gam-chan and Yi Sun-shin symbolising the strength of the Korean people against barbaric invaders. It is clear that if we become as determined and honourable as our forefathers our Korea will continuously grow and prosper.
- "In light of the rise of 'White barbarians' and their utilisation of wondrous machines and weapons in infiltrating our borders and sucking up our wealth, it is clear that new troubles must be met with new solutions. The late King Gojong, being aware of such situations, not only singlehandedly attempted to modernise Joseon but also publicly endorsed the Reform Party in its efforts to understand the West and to use them to the fullest advantage of the Korean people. The Reform Party owes its significance in history to the late king and thus its sincerest thanks.
- "The goals Gojong and thus the Reform Party wished to achieve were intuitive and innate in human nature. He wished to lead Korea to a new level of greatness, achieving far beyond other countries in the fields of military and economy. He wished to improve upon Confucianism to fit the needs of the new era, and he wished to make Korea great again. He therefore fully believed in the Three Principles of the Self and the Eight Stages of World Harmony, in the reciprocal nature between individual liberty and societal unity, the necessity of universal suffrage and steps toward modernity, and Korea's role in leading the world towards total harmony. He wished to see such ideologies be fully realised during his lifetime, and thus always acted in the best interests of the Reform Party.
- "Yesterday at a most inauspicious hour an insurgent force, two thousand in number, neither understanding nor willing to comprehend the king's virtuous ambitions, plotted treachery and treason that would uproot all of Gojong's plans to modernise Korea. They swarmed through our streets like rats and locusts, threatening the peace and killing innocent civilians at the wake. They threatened to put the fatherland at the mercy of foreign wars and revolutions, and push Korea into a river of death and terror. And the vile men took the one who was most dear to us.
- "King Gojong, who was most righteous and virtuous, willingly spilt his blood for us at the altar of fate for us to continue his will without him. We must bring his death to justice, and fulfil his goals to the utmost - for this war is not for a mere faction or another to rise to power, but is aimed for the advantage of every and all parts of the Korean people; it is a national war, a holy war, a war the object of which is to conquer our own weaknesses and obstacles and bring Korea again to great heights, to keep our rights and liberties safe from tyrannies foreign and at home. We must achieve these things to avenge king Gojong's death.
- "We - the Reform Party - must now oversee the establishment of a Republic form of government over Korea. To fight against those who wish to usurp the will of the late king, and to oversee a continued advancement towards modernisation, we will establish a democratic form of a people's assembly, a policy to abolish traditions and custom(sic) that force us away from our individual liberties, and a movement final and irrevocable away from weaknesses that made Korea open to barbarian occupation. We must ring the Liberty Bell which will awaken the Korean people from their docile slumber and prepare them for the dawn of a new era.
- "From this day onwards the old Joseon shall be called Korea, reflective of a wish to return to old glories; our flag shall be a red and blue Taeguk in the centre, surrounded by four black trigrams of the Four Directions, on a white background, reflective of our tranquility and purity as a people; the government declares continuity from the old Joseon dynasty, and will honour its previous customs and relations, particularly the tributary relationship between itself and the Qing empire. Treaties ratified by the earlier dynasty shall also be honoured and followed respectively.
- "Korea shall be a Republic, with democracy being one of the foundational principles of the government.
- "Korea shall be led by a President, elected by the Central Assembly. The President appoints members of the Cabinet, which includes the Vice President, the State Council, and the Mayor of Seoul; he also appoints the member list of the Senior Council of the 'Leader Party', and withholds veto rights against any legislature passed by the Assembly.
- "The 'Leader Party' shall be led by the Chairman, chosen by the Senior Council by consensus. The Chairman appoints all members of the Provisional Revolutionary Board, and after the first election one-third of the Central Assembly; he also approves the President's appointment of the Chief Justice. His chief role, however, is to advise the President on all matters concerning the Three Principles of the Self, along with filling ceremonial roles originally done by the king of Joseon. The first Leader Party shall be the Reform Party, and will continue to do so until two-thirds of the Central Assembly elect another political party.
- "The Leader Party shall be elected by the Central Assembly, which is to exist once the first nationwide elections are held. Until that time the Board appoints the Reform Party to act as the 'Leader Party'. The 'Leader Party' elects the Senior Council from its members, and approves members of the Cabinet appointed by the President.
- "The Central Assembly shall be one-third appointed by the Chairman, one-third elected by all adults of non-Seoul Korea, and one-third elected by all adult(sic) of Seoul and possibly other urban regions. The Central Assembly drafts and passes all legislations on domestic and foreign matters, until matters of state emergency forces the Assembly to be dissolved and the Senior Council acts in its place. It also votes on a member list of the Senior Council, chosen by the President. Until the first elections are held, the Provisional Revolutionary Board stands in place for the Assembly.
- "The original Six Ministries of the State Council shall be reorganised as the following: Department of Personnel; Department of the Treasury; the State Department; the War Department; Department of the Interior; Department of Justice; the Post Office and Communications Department; Department of Public Works and Industry; Department of Education; the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
- "The Constitution of Korea shall be drafted before the first anniversary of the Founding of the Republic, which is to be declared before the first elections of the Vice President and members of the Central Assembly.
- "All Articles of this Declaration are binding and are to be enforced immediately. Let there be no delay nor mistake.
[Seal in red by the House of Lee] [Lee Choi-eung's signature] An announcement upon the whole of Korea."
The Document was the first government-sanctioned document to use only Hangul script. Five pressing machines were used over a period of 26 hours for mass-printing of the Declaration. Distribution was done by Reform Party members, with assistance from Japanese volunteers. With the Kyunghee Palace Declaration the Gapsin Coup was officially over, ushering in a new era of Korean history.
2.1 The Gapsin Coup naming controversy
See Also: Korea-Japan Relations#History, "The Eastern Question" (Korea)
There exists an ongoing, politically charged dispute over whether the overthrowing of the Joseon government on June 25 1884 should be referred to as a "coup d'eat"(Hangul: 정변; hanja: 政變), a "revolution"(Hangul: 혁명; hanja: 革命), or "incident"(Hangul: 사태; hanja: 事態). While the Reform Party called it the "Gapsin Revolution", foreign newspapers of the time other than ones in Japan reported a "coup d'eat" that "toppled an ancient kingdom"; Japanese newspapers, on the other hand, heralded the "just coup d'eat" as it was to bring a supposedly pro-Japanese faction to power. There were also certain periods in Korean history, most notably between 1946 and 1970, when the government began calling June 25th "Gapsin Incident Day" mainly due to tense Inter-Strait Relations. At present, however, the standard term in Korean for the historic affair is "Gapsin Coup d'eat" as determined by the Ministry of Education and Research, while "Gapsin Revolution" is primarily used within Anglophone contexts; "625 Coup" is also widely used in colloquial or informal contexts.