종래 이범진(1853~1911)에 대한 연구는 특정 사건이나 시기를 중심으로 그의 생애와 활동을 다룸으로써, 궁정파 관료로서 그가 고종이 추진한 引俄保國 정책과 관련해 어떠한 활동을 전개했는지를 수미일관한 시각으로 究明하지 못했다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 개화기에 고종을 비롯한 왕실세력이 왕조의 생존을 위해 선택한 인아보국 정책의 수립 및 전개과정 및 그 정책의 실행자로서 궁정파 관료 이범진의 삶과 보국활동을 살핌으로써 다음과 같은 점을 밝혔다.
첫째, 고종과 궁정파 관료들은 일본과 청국이 유포한 공로증Russophobia에 감염되지 않고 오히려 그들이 두려워하는 러시아의 힘을 빌려 이 두 나라의 침략을 막으려 했다. 이들은 청일전쟁을 전후로 이전에는 인아거청 정책을, 이후에는 인아거일 정책을 추진했다.
둘째, 이범진은 서자라는 신분적 주변성을 왕실의 신임이 두터운 가문의 배경에 힘입어 넘어선 궁정파 관료였다. 그는 청일전쟁에서 아관파천으로 이어지는 격변의 시대에 초지일관 왕실을 옹위하는 최전선에 선 근왕세력의 핵심인물이었다.
셋째, 그는 아관파천 이후 일본의 미움을 샀고 러시아도 그의 존재를 불편해하는 상황이 벌어지자, 자의반 타의반으로 주미공사로 부임하였다. 주미공사 시절 그는 극히 의례적인 외교활동을 수행하는데 그쳤는데, 이는 미국의 대조선 불간섭정책이 주된 원인이었다.
넷째, 그는 1900년부터 1906년까지 러시아 주재공사로 보국외교 활동을 전개하였으며, 1911년 자결하기까지 러시아에서 고종의 서구열강에 대한 독립외교를 지원했다. 왕실과 밀착되었던 그 역시 망국의 책임에서 자유로울 수 없지만, 자기 정권의 과오를 죽음으로 속죄한 민영환에 비견되는 稀有의 책임 정치가였다는 점은 특기할 만하다.
Previous researches on Lee Bum Jin(1853~1911) focused mainly on his life vis－à－vis specific incidents or important historical events. These studies usually do not touch on his involvement as a court bureaucrat actively involved in Emperor Gojong’s Pro－Russian policy which induced Russia to consistently protect Korea. This study, therefore, aims to illuminate how members of the royal family, including Gojong, formulated policies for the protection of the Chosun Dynasty. In so doing, we will delve into the life and activities of the court bureaucrat, Lee Bum Jin, who was the core individual implementing the pro－Russian policy. Our study has yielded the following findings:
First, the King and his supporters sought to protect Korea against Japan and Qing China by using the power of Russia. This was a novel approach as it deviated from the Russophobia propagated by Japan and Qing China after Korea opened its borders to trade. The Pro－Russian policy of Gojong was used against Qing China to quell its invading forces, which were a serious threat after the Imo Mutiny of 1882. As a result, China withdrew from the Korean Peninsula following its defeat in the Sino－Japanese War. Similarly, Gojong’s Pro－Russian policy worked against Japan’s expansionist policy in the Korean Peninsula.
Secondly, Lee Bum Jin overcame his birth status to become a successful court bureaucrat feted by the royal family although he was the scion of a noble military family. He came to be in the favor of the royal family when he saved Empress Myeongseong in the Gapsin Coup. To honor his bravery in doing so, he was promoted the status of a court faction bureaucrat. Lee was also a skilled diplomat and adept in intrigue. In the period of social and political upheaval during the Sino－Japanese War, Tripartite Intervention, the assassination of Empress Myeongseong and the Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation where the different political factions at court repeatedly made pacts and betrayed foreign powers, Lee was the center of the court faction and unswervingly did all he could to safeguard the royal family.
Thirdly, he was posted to a legation in the United States of America (USA) after leaving local politics. This foreign posting was necessary because Lee had incurred Japan's disfavor when he stood at the vanguard to attack the pro－Japanese forces in the Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation. Likewise, Russian perception that Lee was an unwelcome presence in its attempt to compromise with Japan and maintain its power balance in the Korean Peninsula necessitated his departure to the USA. He served in the legation in America for 3 and half years, performing formal diplomatic activities. However, owing to the USA’s non－intervention policy vis－à－vis Chosun Korea, Lee’s diplomatic activities in America were limited.
Finally, Lee tried to prevent the ruination of Korea and saved the royal family through diplomatic activities. When the Korean－based Russian legation ceased functioning in 1900~1906, he spent those six years carrying out diplomatic activities as the Korean legate to Russia. In Russia, he supported Gojong’s diplomatic and foreign policies with the Western Powers until he killed himself in 1911. In spite of his diplomatic acumen, Lee Bum Jin's efforts to preserve the Chosun dynasty in Korea were ultimately doomed to failure. As a court faction bureaucrat closely linked to the royal family, he is partially culpable for the fall of the country in 1911 to imperialist Japan. However, it does not change the fact that he and Min Young Hwan (who also killed himself to atone for the mistakes made by his regime after the signing of the Eulsa Protection Treaty) were among the handful of responsible politicians in the Chosun Dynasty.
