As soon as news of King Cheoljong's death reached Yi Ha-eung through his intricate network of spies in the palace, the hereditary royal seal required for the selection of a new monarch was taken to or by Grand Queen Dowager Hyoyu.

Within a few years, he was able to secure complete control of the court, and eventually receive the submission of the Pungyang Jos while successfully disposing of the last of the Andong Kims, whose corruption, he believed, was responsible for the country's decline in the 19th century.

Min Seung-ho [ko], the queen consort's adoptive older brother, along with court scholar Choe Ik-hyeon, devised a formal impeachment of Daewongun.

[31] When Heungseon Daewongun was ousted from politics, Japan renewed efforts to establish ties with Korea, but the Imperial envoy arriving at Dongnae in 1873 was turned away.

Meanwhile in September 1881, a plot was uncovered to overthrow the queen consort's faction, depose the King, and place Heungseon Daewongun's illegitimate (third) son, Yi Jae-seon (known posthumously as Prince Imperial Waneun) on the throne.

In October 1881, the queen consort arranged for 60 top Korean military students to be sent to Tientsin in Qing China where they were to study arms manufacturing and deployment.

These soldiers attacked police stations to free comrades who had been arrested and ransacked private estates and mansions belonging to relatives of the queen consort.

The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1882, signed on 10 August 1882 required the Koreans to pay 550,000 yen damages in respect of Japanese lives and property lost during the insurrection.

She also successfully requested that a Chinese commander, General Yuan Shih-kai, take control of the new military units and that a German adviser, Paul Georg von Möllendorff, head the Maritime Customs Service.

The mission dined in New York at the Fifth Avenue Hotel with President Chester A. Arthur, and discussed the growing threat of the Japanese and the possibility of U.S. investment in Korea.

We must take action, your Majesty, without hesitation, to further modernize this still ancient kingdom.Matters culminated in October 1883 with a royal request that the Americans send an adviser to Korea to the office of foreign affairs, and instructors for the army.

The arrival of Horace Newton Allen under invitation of the queen consort in September 1884 marked the formal introduction of Christianity, which spread rapidly in Joseon.

It can be assumed these advantages were seen as outweighing the potential loss of ancestor worship, which Catholic converts were well-known to have resisted in face of sustained persecution in the past.

In October 1883, American minister Lucius Foote arrived to take command of the modernisation of Joseon's older army units, which had not started to Westernise.

The publication of a Korean-language newspaper was a significant development, and the paper itself played an important role as a communication medium to the masses until it was abolished in 1888 under pressure from the Chinese government.

Underwood described her in the following way:[83] I wish I could give the public a true picture of the queen as she appeared at her best, but this would be impossible, even had she permitted a photograph to be taken, for her charming play of expression while in conversation, the character and intellect which were then revealed, were only half seen when the face was in repose.

Slightly pale and quite thin, with somewhat sharp features and brilliant piercing eyes, she did not strike me at first sight as being beautiful, but no one could help reading force, intellect and strength of character in that face...Isabella Bird Bishop, a well-known British travel writer and member of the Royal Geographical Society, described the queen consort's appearance as that of "...a very nice-looking slender woman, with glossy raven-black hair and a very pale skin, the pallor enhanced by the use of pearl powder" while meeting with her when Bishop traveled to Korea.

[84] Bishop had also mentioned Empress Myeongseong in her book, Korea and Her Neighbors: Her Majesty, who was then past forty, was a very nice-looking slender woman, with glossy raven-black hair and a very pale skin, the pallor enhanced by the use of pearl powder.

Her headdress was a crownless black silk cap edged with fur, pointed over the brow, with a coral rose and full red tassel in front, and jewelled aigrettes on either side.

She fought with all her charm, shrewdness, and sagacity for power, for the dignity and safety of her husband and son, and for the downfall of Tai-Won-Gun.Bishop described Jayeong as "clever and educated", and Gojong to be "kind" during the time she visited the palace.

The queen, who was genuinely concerned to understand affairs of state, immersed herself in philosophy, history, and science books of a kind normally reserved for yangban men.

Gojong was chosen to become King not because of his astuteness (lacking because he was never formally educated) or because of his bloodline (which was mixed with courtesan and common blood), but because the Pungyang Jo clan had wrongly assumed they could control him indefinitely through his father.

[94] The official degree of degradation issued against the dead queen was regarded as a fraud and was rescinded by the issuers not long afterwards, in the meantime having been rejected by the US and all legations bar one.

[99] After Gojong's father died in early 1898, he did not attend the funeral due to their strained relationship in consequence of the queen consort's murder and Daewongun's subsequent actions.

[104][103][105] On 13 October 1897, Gojong (with Russian support) regained his throne, and spent a fortune (70,000 dollars in United States money of the day[106]) to have his beloved queen's remains properly honored and entombed.

On 22 November 1897,[107] her mourning procession included 5,000 soldiers, 650 police, 4,000 lanterns, hundreds of scrolls honoring her, and giant wooden horses intended for her use in the afterlife.

By the time Gojong returned to the palace, the temporary ascendancy of Japanese interests (a pro-Japanese cabinet and the Japanese-instigated Gabo Reform) following the Sino-Japanese war and the assassination of the queen consort was over.

Shin Byong-ryong, a professor at Konkuk University, has stated his belief that the lack of photos of the queen consort derives from her constant fear of being recognizable to the public.

[118] In August 2017, a gallery exhibition held by Daboseong Ancient Art Museum in Central Seoul displayed a portrait of a woman said to be Empress Myeongseong.

[119] On 13 January 2005, history professor Lee Tae-jin (이태진; 李泰鎭) of Seoul National University unveiled an illustration from an old Japanese magazine he had found at an antique bookstore in Tokyo.