King Gojong and His Secret Gate

A picture of the stone walls and gate secretively used by the King Gojong for a year after the “Agwanpacheon” in February 1896 (when King Gojong and prince left Gyeongungung and stayed in the Russian legation) was discovered for the first time yesterday. The photo shows the route from Deoksugung to the Russian official residence and will greatly aid historians who are restoring cultural relics in this area.

Professor Lee Don-su of Myungji University discovered the picture in the July 24, 1897 edition of Harper’s Weekly, an American weekly magazine, and revealed it on Monday. The picture was titled “The Russian legation” and was taken by William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), a famous American photographer, in 1896 when he was visiting Korea.

This was close shot from the American legation (the site where the current U.S. Embassy is), facing the east side of the Russian residence. The stone wall and small gate in the picture were located at the conjunction of the northern part of the American legation, Deoksugung Seonwonjeon (a place where the portraits of the kings of Chosun dynasty are enshrined the at northwestern part of the palace located where Kyounggi Girls’ High School used be) and the eastern part of the Russian legation (currently only the tower of the building remains).

This route and gate were also found on a map of Deoksugung made in the early 1900s. It has come to light that King Gojong used these to come and go between the Russian legation and Deoksugung, but it was the first time that the actual scene was discovered. Previously in 2003, a cornerstone of the stone wall was found. Some say that King Gojong used this route to move to the Russian official residence from Gyeongbokgung during the Agwanpacheon.

Kim Jeong-dong, a professor at Mokwon University and an expert in cultural properties, said, “This picture is very detailed, illustrating the east side of the Russian legation and the stone wall of Deoksugung right next to it, so it will provide important information in studying and restoring Deoksugung and the Russian legation.”

kplee@donga.com