The Donghak Peasant Revolution, also known
as the Donghak Peasant Movement, was an anti-government, anti-feudal and anti-foreign uprising in 1894 in
southern Korea which was the catalyst for the First Sino-Japanese War.
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The uprising
started in Gobu during February 1894, with the peasant class protesting against the political corruption of local government officials. The
revolution was named after Donghak,
a Korean religion stressing "the equality of all human beings". The Joseon
government forces failed in their attempt to suppress the revolt, with initial
skirmishes giving way to major battles. Korean court asked Qing China for
military assistance to "quell the domestic unrest." When Japanese
officials discovered three thousand Chinese troops had disembarked near Seoul
in June, Japan's policy makers met to decide how to respond to China's
violation of the Convention by
"dispatching forces without informing Tokyo.”
Even before foreign intervention and the opening of Korea to the
world, the peasants of the Korean
Peninsula had become
disillusioned with the rule of the upper yangban
classes. During the 19th century, drought and floods alternately struck the
rice fields and farms of Korea and caused great famines. Making matters worse,
the Joseon rulers increased taxes on farm crops and imposed more unpaid labor
on the starving peasants. Anti-government and anti-landlord sentiment boiled
over into violent uprisings.
In 1812 Hong Gyeong-nae led the peasants of Gasan in the
northern part of Korea into an armed rebellion and occupied the region for
several months. An army was sent to quell the rebellion and the revolt was only
put down after a savage scorched-earth campaign. All over Korea, all the way to
Jeju Island, peasants continued to defy the king in Seoul, the local nobility
and wealthy landlords.
In 1862 half a
century after the peasant rebellion led by Hong Gyeong-nae was put down, a
group of farmers in Jinju, Gyeongs , province rose up against their oppressive
provincial officials and the wealthy landowners. This uprising was the result
of the exploitation of destitute farmers by the local ruler.
The rebels
killed local government officials and set fire to government buildings. In
order to appease the rebels, the government hastily revised the land, military
and grain lending systems. It was an ineffectual attempt at reform, as many
yangban in the central government were themselves deeply involved in such
corruption.
The revolt in
Jinju triggered peasant uprisings elsewhere all over Korea; groups of farmers
rose up with arms and attacked government offices in principal towns. Many
government officials were executed.
The uprisings
were generally crushed by government troops. In 1862 the peasants of San-nam
and surrounding villages took up arms against the elite, but were brutally
butchered by troops. In subsequent years, peasants rose up in small groups all
across Korea until 1892.
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The birth of the
Donghak religion
Choe Je-u established the ideology of Donghak (Eastern Learning) in April
1860 with the intention of helping farmers suffering from poverty, unrest and
of restoring political and social stability.
The Donghak ideology was a mixture of elements from Korean Confucianism, Buddhism
and shamanism, modern humanistic, class-struggle ideas that today may be
considered Marxist. It resembled a religion as well as a political ideology. A
rhetoric of exclusionism (from foreign influences) and an early form of
nationalism were also incorporated.
Donghak themes were set to music so that illiterate farmers could understand
and accept them more readily, and systematized as a message of salvation to
farmers in distress. His ideas rapidly gained acceptance among the peasantry.
Choe, as well as many Koreans, was also alarmed by the intrusion of
Christianity and the Anglo-French occupation of Beijing during the Second Opium
War. He believed that the best way to counter foreign influence in Korea was to
introduce democratic and human rights reforms internally.
Nationalism and social reform struck a chord among the peasant guerrillas,
and Donghak spread all across Korea. Progressive revolutionaries organized the
peasants into a cohesive structure. Donghak was organized into 'Jeob' and 'Po'.
A 'Jeobju' administered a 'Jeob'. For example, Jeon Bongjun, the leader of the
revolution, was Jeobju of Gobu. Under a Jeobju was a 'Myeonjeobju'. In large
towns (such as Taein or Jeonju) were a 'Great Jeobju', as Kim Kaenam was the
Great Jeobju of Taein. Various Jeobs were organized into a 'Po', and a 'Poju'
led a Po. The 'Gyoju' led the whole Donghak religion.
The
First Revolution
The Donghak Peasant Revolution, or
the 1894 Peasant War (Nongmin Jeonjaeng), witnessed poor farmers in
large numbers rise up against the landlords and the ruling elite. The peasants
demanded land redistribution, tax reduction, democracy and human rights. Taxes
were so high that most farmers were forced to sell their ancestral homesteads
to rich landowners at bargain prices. Landlords sold rice to the Japanese and
sent their children to Japan to study. As a result, the peasant class developed
intense anti-Japanese and anti-yangban sentiments. The rebellion's immediate
cause was the conduct of Jo Byong-gap (1844–1911), a government official. Jo
promised that if the villagers settled in deserted farmlands, he would exempt
them from taxes. Jo did not keep that promise. Jo also forced the villagers to
build a reservoir called Manseokbo, although there was a reservoir in Gobu.
Jo's purpose was to get rich from water taxes.
Progressive-minded yangbans,
scholars and nationalists also joined the movement. On January 11, 1894, the
rebels, led by Jeon Bong-jun, defeated the
government forces at the battle of Go-bu and distributed Jo's properties to the
peasants.
The revolution expanded quickly
until March 13, 1894. Its army was eventually crushed by government troops led
by Yi Yong-tae, who killed and captured peasant guerrillas, burned villages and
confiscated the peasants' properties in Go-bu.
The peasant army regrouped and
started a new rebellion, as news of the government's actions in Go-bu helped
increased support among the peasants. The central figures were Jeon Bong-jun, Kim
Gae-nam and Son Hwa-jung.
With new impetus, the peasant army
defeated one government garrison after another and closed in on Seoul. The
peasants' objectives were institutional land reform, social reform, the
overthrow of the Joseon government (or at least the removal of corrupt
officials) and the expulsion of foreign influence from Korea.
The peasants' marching orders were
the following:
- "Do not kill or take the peasants'
properties"
- "Protect the peasants' rights"
- "Drive out the Japanese and Western people and
purify our sacred land"
- "March to Seoul and purge the government"
At the beginning of May, the peasant
army occupied a palace in Jeonju.
The Korean government asked the
Chinese government for assistance in ending the revolt. The Chinese sent troops
into Korea, however, their government failed to notify the Japanese in
accordance with the Convention of Tientsin.
China initially did not wish to go to war with Japan, but Japan viewed the
China's action as a threat to its national security and sent its own troops to
Korea.
With the presence of some 3,000
Chinese troops, the government authorities proposed a negotiated truce with the
rebels. With the end of the rebellion would come increasing tensions between
Qing and Japan as neither wanted to evacuate Korea earlier than the other. The
resulting tensions would lead to the First Sino-Japanese War.
The Second Revolution
While hostilities between China and Japan were beginning, a second uprising
erupted in the Korean countryside against a new pro-Japanese government
established in Seoul.
In late June 1894 the pro-Japanese forces hatched a plan to wipe out the
peasant army in co-operation with the Japanese troops stationed in Incheon and Seoul.
On October 16 the peasant army moved toward Gongju for the final battle, which
was a trap. The Japanese and the pro-Japanese government troops were in fact
waiting for them inside.
The Donghak Army was defeated in the Battle of Ugeumchi. The Japanese had
cannon and other modern weapons, whereas the Korean peasants were armed only
with bows and arrows, spears, swords and some flintlock muskets.
The vigorous battle started on October 22, 1894, and lasted until November
10, 1894. The poorly-armed peasants stormed the well-entrenched Japanese, but
they were beaten back and suffered heavy losses. The remnants fled to various
bases. The Japanese pursued the army and eventually wiped it out. Jeon
Bong-jun, the Donghak commander, was captured in March 1895. The execution of
Choe Si-hyeong followed in 1898.
Aftermath
The rebellion failed, but many grievances of the peasants would later be
addressed through the Gabo Reform. The Korean Empire was established in 1897 as
a result of the First Sino-Japanese War. Foreign influence would still be a
major aspect, with Japan and Russia later competing over exclusive rights in
Korea.
In the coming years Korea would fall increasingly under exclusive Japanese
influence, and after the Russo-Japanese War, Russian influence would no longer
be a factor in Korea. The Korean Empire would in effect (de facto)
become a Japanese autonomous protectorate and would later be annexed by Japan
in 1910. It was due to this revolution that armies of both China and Japan
arrived in Korea, the Japanese did not leave until 1945. It is likely that
without this rebellion, Japan would not have had a raison d'etre to enter Korea
militarily. As such, some see this rebellion as the first step to the loss of
Korean national independence.
Although the revolution failed, it made a significant contribution to Korean
modernization that resulted from the peasants' demands for democracy, the
expulsion of foreign influence and an end to feudalism. The ideas of the
movement lived on in the Cheondogyo religious movement.
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sources: "Encyclopedia of Korean History>Joseon>Gyoju Shinwon Movement". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
"Encyclopedia of Korean History>Joseon>Jeob.Po". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
James L. McClain, Japan A Modern History, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2002, Pg. 297
