Five Eulsa Traitors
Encyclopedia
The Five Eulsa Traitors refers to those officials serving under Emperor Gojong
who signed the Eulsa Treaty
of 1905 against Gojong's wishes, stripping the Korean Empire
of its sovereignty and making Korea a protectorate
of Japan
. The five officials were Education Minister Yi Wan-yong
, Army Minister Yi Geun-taek (ko), Interior Minister Yi Ji-yong (ko), Foreign Affairs Minister Pak Je-sun (ko), and Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry Minister Gwon Jung-hyeon (ko).
Opposition to the Treaty was made by Prime Minister Han Gyu-seol and by the ministers of finance and justice, but they and the politically weakened Gojong were unable to effectively resist the Five, even though the Emperor refused to sign the treaty himself, an act required to bring the treaty to conclusion under Korean law. The Japanese government forced Prime Minister Han to step down and installed Park in his place.
In 2005, the Research Center for National Issues (민족문제연구소) identified the names of the five officials responsible for the Eulsa Treaty, as part of its efforts to compile a directory of individual Koreans who had collaborated with the Japanese before and during its colonial rule
.
Gojong of Korea
Gojong , the Emperor Gwangmu was the twenty-sixth king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty and the first emperor of the Korean Empire.-King of the Joseon:Gojong took the throne in 1863 when still a child...
who signed the Eulsa Treaty
Eulsa Treaty
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 1905....
of 1905 against Gojong's wishes, stripping the Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
of its sovereignty and making Korea a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The five officials were Education Minister Yi Wan-yong
Lee Wan-Yong
Lee Wan-Yong was a pro-Japanese minister of Korea, who signed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, which placed Korea under Japanese rule in 1910....
, Army Minister Yi Geun-taek (ko), Interior Minister Yi Ji-yong (ko), Foreign Affairs Minister Pak Je-sun (ko), and Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry Minister Gwon Jung-hyeon (ko).
Opposition to the Treaty was made by Prime Minister Han Gyu-seol and by the ministers of finance and justice, but they and the politically weakened Gojong were unable to effectively resist the Five, even though the Emperor refused to sign the treaty himself, an act required to bring the treaty to conclusion under Korean law. The Japanese government forced Prime Minister Han to step down and installed Park in his place.
In 2005, the Research Center for National Issues (민족문제연구소) identified the names of the five officials responsible for the Eulsa Treaty, as part of its efforts to compile a directory of individual Koreans who had collaborated with the Japanese before and during its colonial rule
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
.
External links
- Research Center for National Issues (민족문제연구소) – Korean language site.
- Chosun-Japanese Treates, 1904–1910
- Book review of Korea and the Politics of Imperialism, 1876–1910, by C. I. Eugene Kim and Kim Han-kyo – James B. Palais, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 863–864.
- 민족문제연구소 – Wikipedia article in Korean
- "Watch How You Use 'Traitor'", JoongAng IlboJoongAng IlboJoongAng Ilbo is a conservative newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the "big three newspapers" in South Korea. It has a circulation of 1.96 million copies in South Korea . Its average page count per copy is around 52...
2001.08.30