The government of Meiji Japan considered Queen Min an obstacle to its overseas expansion. Efforts to remove her from the political arena, orchestrated through failed rebellions prompted by the father of King Gojong, the Heungseon Daewongun (an influential regent working with the Japanese), influenced her to take a harsher stand against Japanese influence.

After Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, Queen Min advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea, which was represented by the Daewongun.

In the early morning of 8 October 1895, the Hullyeondae Regiment, loyal to the Daewongun, accompanied by a group of Japanese assassains, attacked the Joseon Royal Palace, overpowering its Royal Guards. Upon entering the Queen's quarters, the assassins murdered Queen Min, burned her corpse in a pine forest, and then dispersed the ashes. She was 43 years old.