Queen Min

The last queen of Korea, Empress Myongsong (1851-1895) was married to King Kojong, who reigned until 1907. Known by her subjects as Queen Min, she worked for Korean independence from the Japanese, whose presence continued to grow in the Korean peninsula. She supported Russian and Chinese interests in Korea primarily as forms of protection from Japanese occupation. Perceiving Queen Min to be a political threat, the Japanese brutally assassinated her and several of her ladies-in-waiting in 1895