Donghak movement

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Korean spelling
Korean alphabet : 동학 운동
Hanja : 東 學
Revised Romanization : Donghak Undong
McCune-Reischauer : Tonghak Undong

The Donghak movement , ( Korean called 동학 운동 donghak undong ) was a religious and social movement of the Korean rural population in Joseon from 1860 to 1894 , which came to an end in 1894 after the Donghak uprising and its suppression. The uprising is considered the trigger for the Sino-Japanese War .

Emergence

The Donghak movement had its roots in the religious teachings of Choe Je-u ( 최제우 ) (1824–1864), who founded Donghak ( 동학 ) in 1860 and taught his faith until his execution in 1864. Donghak can be translated as "Eastern teaching" or "Eastern knowledge". Choe Je-u believed that humans and God were one and that God existed in the minds of humans. Therefore, according to his ideas, there could be no differences between people in terms of their social status. His point of view was also directed against Western teachings and influences. Above all , he opposed the Catholicism that emerged in Joseon in the 18th century and formulated a doctrine that was largely based on Confucianism , Buddhism , Taoism and shamanism .

While the Catholic faith resonated mainly in the capital's Yangban ( 양반 ) society , it was mainly the rural population who were open to Choe Je-u's teachings and the message of human equality. In addition, religious practices such as reciting shamanic verses of prayer and worshiping mountain deities were welcomed by the common people. Donghak was a religious and a social movement at the same time, as it stood up for the interests of the peasantry and their living conditions. In addition to improving the living conditions of the rural population, the movement also called for an end to corruption in administration and government.

Choe Je-us execution

The increasing influence and spread of the Donghak belief and the political demands of its followers led the government to arrest and try Cheo Je-u in 1863 on charges of stirring up discord and unrest among the people. A year later, in March 1864, he was executed in Daegu ( 대구 64 ) for these allegations . His followers went into hiding or temporarily fled to the mountains.

Further development of the movement

After the death of the religious leader of the movement, the movement reorganized in the rural population. While the movement began to found churches all over the country and a six-part hierarchical structure was established, the farmers organized themselves into self-help ( 계 , gye ) in order to be able to survive. However, bad harvests repeatedly led to famine and to farmers leaving their villages and wandering around the country. Many began to make the country unsafe in raids and organized themselves into gangs. To the distress of the farmers, Japanese businessmen offered them loans against their crops as collateral and then later demanded usurious interest on the loans at harvest time. In the ports of Incheon , Busan and Wŏnsan the majority of the shops and companies were in Japanese hands.

Anti-Japanese sentiments, nationalism, dissatisfaction with their own government, frustration at the injustice in the country and the further decline of the peasantry into bitter poverty led to unrest and uprisings in the early 1890s. In 1892 tens of thousands of supporters of the Donghak movement gathered in Samnye ( 삼례 ) in Jeolla-do ( 전라도 ) province and asked the governor to rehabilitate their spiritual leader Choe Je-u. In Seoul, around 40 members of the movement tried unsuccessfully to hand over a petition to the king calling for the expulsion of Japanese and people from Western countries, and 50,000 supporters demonstrated for the same in Boeun ( 보은 ) in Chungcheong-do Province ( 충청도 ) Demand to punish officials for persecuting supporters of the Donghak movement.

Donghak uprising

After the movement continued to be unheard of by those in power, tensions increased and all that was needed was one incident for open rebellion. This incident occurred in Gobu ( 고부 ) in Jeolla-do Province when the peasants rebelled against the corrupt exploitative measures of the local magistrate Jo Byeonggap ( 조병갑 , 趙秉 甲 ). They armed themselves, occupied the district office on January 11, 1894, and distributed the illegally collected rice, which was used as a tax, to the poor.

When the government arrested leading members of the movement in Gobu and had some executed, the peasants rallied again and the armed uprising began in February 1894. The farmers organized themselves quickly and more were added from the surrounding provinces. After defeating the government troops sent to Gobu, they set out for Jeonju ( 전주시 ) and took the city on May 31, 1894. The government panicked, asked China for military help, and negotiated a ceasefire with the insurgents. Jeon Bong-jun, the leader of the uprising believed in the government's willingness to negotiate, handed over a 12-point manifesto and agreed to disband his troops.

As the farmers returned to their villages, China sent 3,000 soldiers to aid the government, but also to increase its influence in Joseon. Japan also saw its chance to gain more influence over Joseon with the dispatch of 7,000 soldiers. After realizing that there was nothing left to pacify, Japan wanted to use its influence in Joseon against China's ideas and reform the Korean administration. But after Japan occupied the king's residence, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out .

After Jeon Bong-jun and his followers learned that the Japanese army had occupied the royal palace, he called his followers together and formed a new peasant army, which set out on October 16, 1894 in Gongju ( 공주 ) to drive out the Japanese invaders. The first battle took place on October 22, 1894. On November 10, the poorly equipped peasant army in relation to the Japanese soldiers and pro-Japanese government troops were defeated and defeated. Survivors fled and tried to protect themselves from persecution. Their leader Jeon Bong-jun was captured in March 1895.

Donghak Peasants Revolution Memorial Hall

The Donghak Peasants Revolution Memorial Hall was opened on May 11, 2004 in Jeongeup ( 정읍 ), Jeollabuk-do Province ( 전라북도 ) near the battlefield where the peasant army of the Donghak movement rose against the corrupt government. In the Hall of Remembrance, weapons and objects of the peasant army are displayed, as well as photos of the fight against the government troops. Furthermore, the development of the revolution is explained using documents in the exhibition.

literature

  • Ki-baik Lee : A New History of Korea . Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Massachusetts 1984, ISBN 0-674-61576-X (English).
    • Lee : A New History of Korea . Chapter 13. Growth of the Forces of Enlightenment - 3. The Revolutionary Uprising of the Tonghak Peasant Army , p. 281-290 .
  • Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . In: Heinrich P. Kelz (Hrsg.): Languages ​​and language learning . tape 204 . Asgard-Verlag, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 .
    • Kim : Korean history . Chapter 10: Disorder in the Dynasty and the Land in Danger (1800–1873) - 10.3 - Ideologies of Change and Moments of Resistance, p. 176-181 .
  • Hyun-hee Lee, Sung-soo Park, Nae-hyun Yoon : New History of Korea . In: Korean Studies Series . No. 30 . Jimoondang , Paju-si 2005, ISBN 89-88095-85-5 (English).
    • Lee, Park, Yoon : New History of Korea . Part 9 - Modern Society - Chapter 2 - Donghak Revolutionary Movement and Reform Policy , p. 491-501 .
  • Park, Albert L .: Building a Heaven on Earth: Religion, Activism, and Protest in Japanese Occupied Korea . University of Hawai'i Press , Honolulu, Hawai'i 2015, ISBN 978-0-8248-3965-9 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . 2004, p.  178 f .
  2. ^ A b c The Tonghak peasant revolution . Association for Asian Research ( AFAR ), January 2, 2004, accessed May 3, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . 2004, p.  179 .
  4. ↑ a b Lee, Park, Yoon : New History of Korea . 2005, p.  491 .
  5. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  282 .
  6. ↑ Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . 2004, p.  206 .
  7. ^ Lee, Park, Yoon : New History of Korea . 2005, p.  492 .
  8. ↑ Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . 2004, p.  207 .
  9. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  285-287 .
  10. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  288-289 .
  11. ↑ Donghak Peasants Revolution Memorial Hall . Visit Korea , accessed May 3, 2015 .