Royalistdefender
Registered: 08/02/07
Posts: 470
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Reply with quote | #1 |
I am not sure whether to put this on the European Thread or the Asian Thread, or both, but I got an interesting newsletter about the Kaiser's letter to the Emperor of Korea!
http://joongangdail y.joins.com/ article/view. asp?aid=2911515
â??This reveals a crucial part of Gojongâ??s endeavors for independence.â?? October 21, 2009 | |  | | There are about 350 documents received or written by Emperor Gojong but the personal letter written by German Emperor Wilhelm II is the first one written by a head of state. |
More than a century after it was written, a letter composed by German Emperor Wilhelm II to Emperor Gojong (1852-1919) supporting Koreaâ??s independence has recently been discovered.
German Emperor Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Preussen (1888-1918) sealed the letter on July 20, 1902, with his personal signature. In it, he wishes his Korean counterpart well and expresses his hope that Gojongâ??s reign will continue and that the Korean Empire (1897-1910, successor to the Joseon Dynasty) will prosper. The letter also specifies that â??relations between Germany and the Korean Empire should become more solid,â? and ends with the German emperor calling Emperor Gojong â??a good friend.â?
In all, there are about 350 documents received or written by Emperor Gojong, but until now no letters from heads of state have been found, making this a significant discovery.
The existence of the new letter is expected to add weight to the theory that King Gojong actively tried to prevent Koreaâ??s annexation to Japan, which contradicts the work of some scholars who have portrayed the king as a weak ruler who relied too heavily on foreign powers.
â??The letter from the German emperor was meant to assure Gojong that Germany was supportive of the independence of the Korean Empire,â? explains Jeong Sang-su, a professor at Myongji University specializing in international studies. The professor discovered the letter within an archive holding political documents in Berlin, where he has been doing research since the end of 2007.
The letter was written in 1902, which is significant for Gojong, who was entering the 40th year of his reign. That was also the year the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed, which outlined a â??special understandingâ? regarding Japanâ??s interest in Korea. The agreement further solidified Japanâ??s grip on the Korean Peninsula, shrouding Koreaâ??s future in uncertainty. Moreover, the treaty distinguished Russia as a common enemy and set out conditions by which the two countries agreed to divide their interests in East Asia.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Ministry records show that a second letter from the German emperor to Gojong written with the same supportive tone was sent the following year and received by Korea. However, the whereabouts of this letter are unknown.
Although the first letter did not make it to Emperor Gojong, Jeong thinks that the Korean emperor was able to solidify Koreaâ??s relations with Germany through the second letter and that this is why Gojong opted to send a personal letter of his own to Wilhelm in 1906. The second letter outlined the forceful nature of the Eulsa Treaty, which effectively annexed Korea to Japan.
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