It is a complete lie that Japan destroyed the Korean royal family. Japan respectfully protected the royal family.

Photo by Unknown author (licensed under CC0 1.0)

The king and koku system established by Japan

Korean people claim that Japan destroyed the Korean royal family, but is that true? The annexation of Japan and South Korea was made possible by a treaty signed by both countries. Japan treated Joseon's royal family, the Yi royal family, with respect, created the royal family system, and protected the Korean royal family even after the annexation.

Junso enjoyed playing billiards

Sunjong, the last emperor, lived in Changdeokgung Palace in Gyeongseong Prefecture and led a comfortable life. Susumune enjoyed playing billiards on weekdays and listening to the gramophone at night. It is said that he liked the French cuisine of Kaneyoshi Yoshikawa and his son, who served as the first head chef of the Imperial Hotel, and ate it almost every day.

Queen Masako of the royal family

Li Fangzi was born in １９０１ and is a former member of the Japanese imperial family. She was born as the first daughter of the Nashimotomiya family. Queen Bangja was married to Yi Eun, the seventh prince of Gojong of the former Korean Empire. In the lead-up to the marriage of Queen Fangzi and Li Yan, the question of how to handle the status of the Japanese imperial family and the royal family arose, but in the end, the Imperial House Law was amended and supplemented, and marriages between women of the imperial family and royal nobles were corrected. Accepted.

3.1 Independence movement

The wedding was scheduled for January ２５, １９１９, but just before that, Lee's father, Gojong, passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage. At this time, false rumors that he had been poisoned by a Japanese conspiracy were spread, leading to a large-scale riot known as the March １st Independence Movement.

The premise of the March １st Independence Movement is an incomprehensible false rumor that the Japanese side poisoned the father of a person married to a member of the Japanese Imperial Family. This led to the establishment of the provisional government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. A symbolic event of the current anti-Japanese movement is still held on March １st. With a royal marriage coming up, what is the benefit of Japan killing the father of the marriage partner?

In this sense, we can understand what the March １st independence movement that South Korea celebrates was like. Regarding the period of mourning, Emperor Taisho requested early marriage, and decided to mourn for one year, just like the members of the imperial family.

In １９２０, when the mourning period ended, Fangzi married Li Yuan. Gojong's ７th child, Li Yan, is Sunjong's half-brother. After the last emperor, Sunjong, ascends to the throne, he is elected crown prince. At Hirofumi Ito's suggestion, Li decided to study in Japan and entered Gakushuin University. Even after Japan and Korea were annexed, he remained the heir to the royal family.

Royal family who lost their nationality

After marrying Queen Fangzi of the Japanese imperial family, a son, Li Ku, was born. In other words, he is the successor of the Lee royal family. Later, due to Japan's defeat in the war, Japan and the Korean peninsula became separate countries, and the royal court system that had protected the Korean royal family was abolished, and Yi Yan and Bangko lost their status.

Li and Fangzi, who had lost their status, also lost their Japanese nationality under the San Francisco Peace Treaty. This is because they will be treated as Korean Peninsula residents and as renouncers of Japanese nationality as defined in the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

The Republic of Korea did not grant citizenship

The Republic of Korea, which was established after the end of the war, did not establish a royal family, let alone grant Korean nationality to the Lee couple. After the war, Lee went to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, but he was not able to officially receive a passport from the Republic of Korea. It was only later, in １９６２, that he received notice that he would be allowed to become a Korean citizen.

Eight years later, in １９７０, Li passed away at the age of ７２. His son Li Ku passed away in ２００５ at the age of ７３. What this means is that the Republic of Korea had no intention of restoring the honor of the Yi royal family.

Descendants of apartment life

Nowadays, there seems to be a person named Li Yuan as a descendant of the Yi royal family, and he seems to be the grandson of Sunjong's brother Li Seo. However, it is only the former royal family, and Lee Won currently seems to be living in an apartment in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. In other words, Japan carefully protected the royal family and the royal palace. After Japan's defeat in the war, by restoring the honor of the royal family, Korea was able to create a country with a royal family, like Britain and other European countries, and Thailand in Asia.

In other words, Korea did not do that. It seems that Japan is saying that the Korean royal family was destroyed, but Japan is the one that protected the Yi royal family.