1. The Lee (or Yi) Royal Family Museum

Art Museums
Their History, Present Situation and Vision:

the case of the Republic of Korea : through historical survey, the case studies of private art museums and the "Mo-am Collection"

 

이왕가박물관

 

1. The Lee (or Yi) Royal Family Museum
The first modern museum of Korea was the Lee (or Yi) Royal Family Museum

(the Changduk Palace Museum), which was founded in 1909２６. The museum had several names, including “the Royal Museum,” “the Changduk Palace Museum,” “the Ueo-won Museum (the Palace Garden Museum)” and “the Changkyung won” (the Changkyung Amusement Park). For the name of the museum, it might be necessary to select one representative name２７. In order to solve this term discrepancy, it is crucial to examine the original document of the museum. Because the museum was located in the Changduk Palace, some people called the museum “the Changduk Palace Museum”. The museum was founded with the Lee Royal Family’s Art Collection, so naturally it was called “the Lee Royal Family Museum”, and it was also called “the Changkyung Won２８” due to its broader setting as an amusement park, the site also included several gardens, a zoo, and a museum.

The treaty with Japan in 1905 was surely not Korea’s wish, nor the King Kojong’s. In 1907, when the Second Hague Peace Conference was about to be held, Cho-sun King Kojong dispatched a group of delegates including Chun Lee, Sang-sol Lee and Wi-jong Lee to the Hague in the Netherlands in order to declare the injustice done to Korea by Japan. The King Kojong also tried to appeal against the Ul-sa joyak２９ (the treaty of 1905) that contained very unfair regulations３０ because it was made under the forceful pressure of Japan. However, this effort failed. Due to their loss of diplomatic relations, the Korean envoys were denied entry to the conference by the president of the conference. The envoys protested that the treaty of 1905 was invalid because of the absence of the king’s seal in the mutual agreement missive, but, unfortunately, in the end, their inquiry to participate in the conference was denied. Simultaneously in the Hague there was an international meeting of journalists. However, at this meeting an unnamed journalist offered the opportunity to one of Korea’s envoys, Mr. Wi-jong Lee, to publicly air the question of Japanese aggression in Korea. Mr. Lee publicly identified the need to restore Korean sovereignty in front of journalists from around the world. Unfortunately, however, their efforts also failed. one of the three delegates, Chun Lee, killed himself at The Hague in protest３１. Even though the King Kojong’s secret mission to The Hague failed, most countries all over the world were getting to know and understand Korea’s situation and started to publicly consider it an international issue.

On the pretext of this event, Japan isolated the King Kojong. Japan secluded and made strong efforts to further strengthen its domination on Korea. In 1907, in the responsibility of the event at The Hague, after all, the King Kojong descended from his

throne by Japanese force. The King Kojong yielded the throne to the crowned prince, Sunjong, the second son of the King Kojong. Sunjong became the last king of the Cho-sun dynasty in Korea. Being a king of the Cho-sun dynasty, Sunjong moved his locale from the Kyung-un Palace to the Changduk Palace. As the king, Sunjong departed for his new place, the Changduk Palace, with this unpleasant event and memory. The Japanese government made a development plan for consolation and amusement of the King Sunjong which was to re-create the palace to the garden (amusing) park, which had a zoo, plant garden and museum. Accordingly, a museum plan was just a part of the Changduk Palace development project under the political reasons by Japan.

The museum project was started in January of 1908 and was completed in 1911. In 1908, the O-won-sa-mu-kuk３２ (office) of the Changduk Palace started to purchase a variety of animals for the zoo in the palace. Originally, this palace was designed just for the members of the Lee Royal Family, but based upon the King Sunjong’s request, the ‘museum’ with a garden and a zoo, opened to the public from the collection of Lee Royal Family’s private art collection on November 1st, 1909. After opening the museum, Japan built two new Japanese style museum buildings, and the museum with its name “The (Changkyung Palace) Lee Royal Family Museum” was officially opened in 1911.

ⓒ 모암문고 www.moamcollection.org