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cillor Inouye. These three persons returned to Corea after having seen something of Japan and formed acquaintance with the Japanese statesmen; but instead of taking orders from Kin-giok-kin and Boku-ei-ko, they went over to a section of the Bin party consisting of Bin-tai-ko, his son Bin-ei-yoku, Ko-ei-shoku, and his friends, who introduced the priest Li-to-jin to the King, and made him report on all that he had seen in Japan to the Sovereign. Hereupon the King decided to send a party of ten men to Japan on a mission of observation and study, and the Japanese Government gladly showed to the Coreans all that they had to show, from the interior of the Government offices, banks, and schools, down to post and telegraphic bureaux and astronomical and meteorological observatories. Thus, the King and a portion of the Bin family began to be Japanized, but the body of the Queen’s family being still opposed to the idea, they banished Kin-giok-kin to a distant province, and caused the priest Li-to-jin to be assassinated.
In 1881, the Government of the Queen’s family having become very unpopular on account of the exactions and oppressive measures of the officials belonging to it, Kin-giok-kin was recalled from his banishment, and, in concert with Boku-ei-ko and Jo-ko-han, tried to introduce reforms into the Government. Feeling their power too weak for the task, however, Kin-giok-kin and Jo-ko-han managed through Bin-ei-yoku to be sent on a semi-official mission to Japan, in order to confer in person with our statesmen on the means of reforming Corea under the guidance of Japan. The two Coreans arrived in Tokyo in the month of January, 1882, and from this time dates the attempt on the part of some politicians and statesmen in Japan to become the tutors of Corea, even with regard to her purely internal affairs.
Thus, in the beginning of 1882 three distinct factions were clearly visible in the Corean Court: the Tai-in-kun party, then out of power, but in touch with the soldiery and all reactionary elements in the people; the body of the Queen’s party, relying on China; and the party of Kin-giok-kin, Boku-ei-ko, Jo-ko-han, with a portion of the Bin family as their patron, trying to find new source of power in Japan.
The calm was broken by the Tai-in-kun party, who cleverly utilized the discontent of the soldiery and the people in effecting the coup d’état of July, 1882, directed against both the rival parties. One of the Queen’s party, Binken-ko, who held in his hands the finances of the Corean army, had pocketed the salaries of the soldiers for several months, and when he paid a portion of the arrears his subordinates lessened the sum by further pocketing. The angry soldiery attacked the subordinate pay-