Donghak Peasant Revolution
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Template:Koreanname noimage The Donghak Peasant Revolution in Korea was the endpoint of a series of Japanese coups in Korea which brought the Joseon dynasty to an end. In a transitional economy, opened to uncontrollable foreign trade, Korean yangban scholars and peasants attempted to stop further Japanese incursions into Korea and maintain independence. In the chaos, Japan invaded, put in puppet administrators, and began a colonial empire that lasted til their unconditional surrender in 1945.
The question of whether the Donghak revolt was a provocation by Japan to create the circumstances for invasion which then became a true mass peasant uprising; or whether it was an intellectually headed revolt that gained speed amongst the peasant classes, and then was exploited by Japan as a pretext for invasion is constantly studied and debated by Korean historians. This article takes a neutral view.
The context of the revolt
The Treaty of Kanghwa forcibly opened Korea to foreign trade with little restraint from tariffs, and so rapid social, scientific, technological change occurred as foreign nations targeted essential Korean strategic resources, materiel, and the west saw opportunity to very quickly Christianize Korea through missionary activity. Japan sought increasingly to use Korea as a source of cheap if not free resources as China's protection for Korea weakened after Chinese naval defeats. Debate raged amongst the yangban class of scholars on how Korea could be modernized under western and Japanese threats while still keeping the Confucian Korean ethical structure, power matrices, and traditions. Queen Min's faction controlled the government with weakening Chinese support. It sought a slower course of modernization, covering the bases with sending students to Japan, and learning from western naval officers, and teachers; and unfortunately taking poor economic advice from Moellendorff which led to debasing Korean currency.
The pro-Japan faction, in secret contacts with the Japanese minister in Seoul, sought a coup d'etat, to replace Queen Min with a power structure that would allow Japan unlimited trade and looting of Korean resources to exploit Chinese weakness, and to build a base on the Korean peninsula for the invasion of China.
This so-called Independence Party encouraged Japanese technicians into Korea, who in increasing numbers, were discovered to be a mixture of underworld figures and trained soldiers who led an advance wedge to over-throw the Korean government. Reinforced by increasing numbers of well-armed Japanese underworld figures, and caches of weapons, a coup occurred, Queen Min was murdered and her body desecrated, and under threats of death, a new king was appointed by the Japanese, King Taewong'gun; and then elevated to emperor as a way of both insulting and eliminating Chinese relations.
Japan took a sideways restrained approach at this time, retreated from this Kapsin coup and awaited a further opportunity, while reinforcing more criminals and soldiers who were quietly infiltrated into Korea as merchants and technicians and fishermen for the next stage of the invasion; thus avoiding a confrontation with China's suzerainty, but at the same time seizing advantages, whilst heavily financing the Independence party quislings; and sponsoring burning and sacking of Chinese shops in Seoul; and their isolation in a Chinese quarters.
Japan began increasingly to foment trouble to eliminate Chinese trade with Korea, inserting more secret agents, and infiltrators to create the next set of circumstances to achieve control over Korea. By putting the government under an increasing number of threats, it would factionalize the Korean ruling class, and create a political vacuum in which once more Japan could seize greater power.
This was the so called Tonghak rebellion.
The figures of the revolt
The founder of Tonghak was Ch'oe Chu-u (1824-1864), who was executed as a criminal. He had his leadership continued after time by Ch'oe Si-hyong. Forty Tonghak leaders petitioned at the King's place in Seoul in April of 1893, were refused entry, told to go home, and left the city of Seoul in a panic.
Later on the most famous arrested leader was Chon Pong-jun who is best known for his confrontations with a corrupt district magistrate of Kobu, Cholla Province called Cho Pyong-gap. Cho had looted the region, over-taxed the farmers, run blackmail and extortion rings, and forced unpaid work on irrigation projects. A government inspector sent by Seoul took Cho's side against Chon, began arrests of Tonghak followers, had their houses razed, and left the province in ruins and further provoked more violence against officials.
The government in Seoul reacted, as expected, in a Confucian way by firing the governor of Cholla, and throwing the magistrate into prison. It began attempts to reform the corrupt official class, and the demonstrations ceased as both sides negotiated a way towards co-operative reform. Tonghak staffers were put in shadow positions in 53 districts in Cholla, minding government officials to prevent extortion and as historians write "to protect the farmers' interests". Cholla's unrest was easy, and social progress was made quickly.
Once this was done, the revolt moved to gaining more ground in a memorial of twelve items to safeguard farmer's interests, and most importantly to lessen the Japanese invasion which was threatening the Korean stability and workforce increasingly.