고려대학교

초록/요약

With the Musical Empress Myeongseong put on Korean Broadway circuits, a very positive view of the figure began to spread inside Korea. Popular media kept highlighting her demise as that of a historic figure who resisted –bravely as well as gracefully- the Japanese aggression to the very end. This kind of image was sealed into the minds of the public which accepted (or consumed) her (her image to be exact) as an icon of ultimate sacrifice for the good of the people and her country. All previous criticism on her was regarded as a result of the Japanese aggressors’ intentional distortion of her actions, as they were the ones who assassinated her in the first place. In this day and age, in which the public is always thirsty for more historical contents, is this kind of blatantly positive approach to this figure really accurate and adequate? In this article, it is examined how the Koreans who actually lived this period -right after Joseon ports were officially opened and until Korea was liberated by Japanese occupation- thought of this very person and evaluated her, so that we could have a clue to the answer for this question. Although there are not that many historical records to examine, it sure seems like all these records we have today definitely shaped either positive or negative views on this historical individual.