Interest in the late Joseon dynasty remains perennially high in Korea, fueled by historical dramas and ongoing national conversations about Japanese colonialism and the fall of the Korean empire. Posts revisiting the personal lives of historical figures like Emperor Gojong consistently attract massive engagement on Korean community boards.
Korean history lovers on the internet are buzzing about the two royal concubines who rose to prominence in the Joseon court after the brutal assassination of Empress Myeongseong in 1895 — one of the most traumatic events in Korean history. With historical dramas and documentaries keeping this era in the spotlight, netizens have been digging into the lesser-known women who stood beside Emperor Gojong during the twilight years of the Joseon dynasty.
The first is **Eom Sunheon (귀비 엄씨)**, who is widely considered the most powerful and influential of Gojong's concubines after the empress's death. She had actually served in the palace since she was young, but was banished after a scandal involving Gojong. She was recalled to the palace following the empress's assassination, and quickly became Gojong's most trusted companion. She gave birth to Crown Prince Yeong (영친왕), which cemented her status and political influence. She was known as an ambitious and sharp woman who actively tried to protect the royal family's interests during the Japanese colonial encroachment — earning both admiration and controversy from historians.
The second is **Yang Chungi (광화당 이씨 / 삼축당 김씨)**, a lesser-known figure who also received Gojong's affection during this turbulent period. While she didn't wield the same political clout as Eom Sunheon, she was a quiet but steady presence in the emperor's inner circle during some of the darkest years of the Korean empire.
What makes this topic so compelling to Korean netizens is the tragic backdrop: Empress Myeongseong was assassinated by Japanese agents and Korean traitors who stormed the Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Gojong — already a figure seen as weak and indecisive by many historians — was left to navigate the collapse of his dynasty largely alone. The women around him during this period offer a fascinating and humanizing lens into an era of enormous national pain. Korean internet culture has a deep, almost obsessive love for the late Joseon period, and posts like this consistently go viral.