“The Kingdom of [Joseon] came to a quiet end October 12th, 1897. Not with the tramp of the invader, not with the shout of the traitor did this change take place; no boom of cannon resounded [through] these hills, neither did the lurid flame of the torch light up the streets of the Capital.” It was, according to the editors of The Korean Repository (a monthly English magazine published in Seoul), through the coronation of King Gojong as emperor.