Re-Examination of the Religious Identity of Tonghak: A Focused Analysis of Ch’oe Cheu’s Awareness of Problems

The purpose of this article is to re-examine the religious identity of Tonghak 東學 by analyzing Ch’oe Cheu’s awareness of the problems found in nineteenth-century Korean society. Previous studies have not fairly assessed the religious identity of Tonghak. They have often regarded it either as a mere syncretism, a religion constructed to confront Sŏhak 西學, or a sect subordinate to Confucianism. To begin with, it is necessary to analyze the name “Tonghak,” which can be divided into the characters “tong” 東 (east) and “hak” 學 (learning). It is a common understanding that the tong is presented as a contrast with “sŏ” 西 (west). However, the tong here references “Tongguk” 東國, another name for Chosŏn 朝鮮, the ruling dynasty of Korea at the time. Thus, a proper translation of “Tonghak” would not be “Eastern Learning,” but the “Learning of Tongguk (Chosŏn).” As such, the name Tonghak was chosen to differentiate the religion from Chinese Confucianism as well as from Sŏhak (i.e., Catholicism). Meanwhile, Ch’oe Cheu called his awakening Ch’ŏndo 天道 or mugŭk taedo 無極大道. Ch’ŏndo was a pre-existing concept developed by ancient thinkers in East Asia. Translated literally it means “Heavenly Way” and refers to how its followers should revere ch’ŏnmyŏng 天命 (will/mandate of Heaven) and obey ch’ŏlli 天理 (principle of Heaven). By inheriting and restoring this Heavenly Way, Ch’oe Cheu was attempting to rescue the people of his time, who he believed were indulging in kakcha wisim 各自爲心 (selfishness with no concern for others). However, Ch’oe added an element of newness in restoring the ancient Ch’ŏndo. This novelty, a result of his decisive religious experience, may be summarized with the ideas of sich’ŏnju 侍天主 (God is immanent in everyone), muwi ihwa 無爲而化 (natural becoming without any artificial effort), and susim chŏnggi 守心正氣 (preserving the original mind and rectifying the vital force or ki). Thus, Ch’oe Cheu’s Tonghak secured the specificity of the learning of Tongguk (Chosŏn) and the universality of the modern succession of Ch’ŏndo, while securing the singularity of Tonghak through sich’ŏnju, muwi ihwa, and susim chŏnggi. As a result, while completely recovering a life separated from Heaven, he opened a new path, which differed from Catholicism and Confucianism, by saying that God is not outside us but is present in everyone (both transcendent and immanent).