Eastern Learning and the Heavenly Way: The Tonghak and Chondogyo Movements and the Twilight of Korean Independence

Chapter 2 A Time of Trouble, 1895–1900

31 ChaptEr 2 A Time of Trouble, 1895–1900 Although the 1894 rebellion failed, it unleashed events that dramatically changed the social, political, and intellectual scene in Korea. Japan’s victory in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 led to a brief period of Japanese ascendancy in Korea. Between 1894 and 1896, Japan sponsored a reformist Korean administration that implemented government reforms (known as the Kabo Reforms) similar to those undertaken by Japan in the Meiji Restoration. The reformists were influenced by new ideas coming from Japan and the West and aimed to revamp the structure of Korean government so it could better cope with the changes brought about by Western ideas, trade, and imperialism in East Asia. These reforms were opposed by the old aristocracy, which rightly saw them as a threat to their power. The fact that the reforms were supported by the Japanese made them even more unpopular among the Korean people. It was clear that Japan was the driving force behind these policies, especially with the overbearing presence of the Japanese representative , Count Inoue Kaoru, at cabinet meetings. Suspicion of the Japanese and the insensitivity to Korean tradition of some of the reforms led to a lack of popular support and a split among the governing reformers themselves over Japanese involvement. Japan’s position was further weakened by the Triple Intervention of Russia, Germany, and France in the peace settlement following the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 that forced Japan to relinquish some territorial concessions it had obtained from China. This emboldened Japan’s opponents, who aligned themselves with Russia, which was taking a growing interest in Korean affairs. Popular indignation over Japanese involvement in the murder in October 1895 of Queen Min, who was opposed to the Japanese presence, further undermined Japan’s position. This culminated in the overthrow of 32 Chapter 2 the reform administration in early 1896, when King Kojong took refuge in the Russian legation and declared ministers of the reform government traitors. Many of the reforms were undone and many people involved in the reform administration fled to Japan to escape arrest.1 After the overthrow of the Kabo Reform regime in early 1896, Russian influence was in the ascendancy up to early 1898. The aggressiveness of Russian representatives in Korea also created a popular backlash, and Russian influence eventually collapsed in March 1898 when the Korean government refused to permit the continued presence of Russian advisers. This came because of popular pressure from the increasingly influential Independence Club (Tongnip hyŏphoe) and because of declining interest within the Russian government in supporting its nationals’ Korean ventures. Although Japan maintained substantial economic interests, it was not ready at the time to confront Russia. The Nishi-Rosen agreement signed by Japan and Russia in April 1898 recognized Korean independence, established a moratorium on external meddling and the nomination of advisers without prior agreement, and guaranteed that Russia would not interfere with Japanese commercial interests. This started a period of uneasy peace between Japan and Russia and a temporary reprieve from foreign interference in Korean affairs.2 In subsequent years there was a seesaw rivalry between Japan and Russia over Korea and Manchuria that eventually led to the RussoJapanese War in 1904. Between 1896 and 1898, the Independence Club under Sŏ Chae-p’il and Yun Ch’i-ho demanded more democratization and greater independence from foreign powers, but this movement was finally suppressed.3 Even though the 1894 rebellion had been unsuccessful, it had helped set off the above chain of events that heralded a new phase in Korean history. It is for this reason that modern Korean historians, from communists to right-wing nationalists, have written so much on the 1894 Tonghak peasant revolutionary movement, each trying to incorporate it into their interpretation of Korean history. The struggle of oppressed peasants against a corrupt and exploitative regime and the rebels’ fight against the Japanese invaders is a great inspiration for present-day fights against injustice and threats to the nation. Many studies of the 1894 Tonghak rebellion are focused on its value as an example of a heroic A Time of Trouble 33 popular nationalist struggle. The present-day Ch’ŏndogyo religious authorities, whose movement arose from Tonghak, have also latched on to this mode of thinking, mainly to increase their profile in modern Korean society. Most of these studies, however, do not go on to investigate the...