1 Yang Gwang Mu

The Korean Empire was proclaimed in October 1897, when Gojong elevated his title from king to emperor partly to assert independence from Chinese suzerainty following the First Sino-Japanese War. This coin belongs to the first year of substantive imperial coinage under that new political order. Japan's growing financial influence over the peninsula meant the window for genuinely autonomous Korean monetary policy was already narrowing by the time these were struck.

The Gwang Mu era ran only until 1907, when Gojong was forced to abdicate under Japanese pressure. Full annexation followed in 1910.