A History of Korea (63 page)

This hodgepodge of elements in the Deliberative Assembly, however, soon developed into one of the most significant forces in Korean history. Thus what began as an uprising against local corruption soon engulfed the country in a region-wide confrontation and helped to usher in a new age in Korea, a process driven by the elite admirers of foreign ways as much as by the peasant followers of the native Tonghak religion. Over the long term, therefore, one could argue indeed that the Tonghak rebellion led to the downfall of the Chos
n dynasty, or at least of Korea’s long-established sociopolitical system.

THE TONGHAK SPARK

In the summer of 1894, the ill will from the Tonghak uprising was still festering in the countryside, for the end of the rebellion’s fiercest battles earlier in the spring had not brought an end to the underlying troubles that had touched off the uprising in the first place. Venality by local officials had been a constant problem in the nineteenth century, but the exploitation practiced by the magistrate of Kobu county in Ch
lla province, in the form of debilitating local taxes, appears to have come at a particularly sensitive moment. The local followers of the Tonghak religion had been unhappy with deteriorating economic conditions, local corruption, and foreign, especially Japanese, commercial influence. They were also upset at the difficulties of rehabilitating the reputation of their martyred founder, Ch’oe Cheu (
Chapter 13
). When their grievances about excessive local taxes went unheard, these Tonghak villagers, led by their local religious leader Ch
n Pongjun, swiftly
ransacked the Kobu county office and redistributed the ill-gotten grain taxes to the people. The rebellion thereafter spread like wildfire through the southwest, and within a few weeks, many county governments in this region had been seized. The battles against government troops, now supplemented by Chinese reinforcements, abated in the early summer of 1894 through a settlement, only to revive in the fall in protest against the Japanese occupation of Seoul. The bloody confrontations that ensued between the Tonghak followers and the joint Japanese–Korean force ended the rebellion in the winter, but not before costing the lives of tens of thousands of peasants.

Interpretations of the Tonghak rebellion and its historical significance have tended to focus either on the systemic ills of the late Chos
n state, or on the suffering of the common people besieged by a stifling social hierarchy, government exploitation, and poor economic conditions. The former perspective tends to view the Tonghak rebellion as the culmination of a gradual decay in the central government over the course of the nineteenth century. By contrast, the latter historical perspective, which accentuates the plight of the people, establishes the Tonghak rebellion as the basis and inspiration for the modern struggles against domestic oppression and foreign domination. The manifestos, declarations, and demands that the Tonghak leaders issued in 1894 do indeed appear somewhat forward-looking: calls for an end to hereditary social discrimination, for an expulsion of seedy foreign influences, and even for the redistribution of property seem, upon first glance, not merely progressive but revolutionary. While both historical viewpoints concerning the Tonghak movement are somewhat problematic when examining the sources, especially regarding the claims for economic redistribution (likely an embellishment added later), on the whole there are also strong merits to both perspectives. The implications for Korean history, furthermore, were not limited to internal developments. The Tonghak rebellion’s most widespread impact, in fact, might have come from serving as a trigger to events that overturned the millennia-long regional order in East Asia.

A SHRIMP CAUGHT IN A WHALE FIGHT

The Japanese incursion into Korea following the Treaty of Kanghwa in 1876 would not go unmet by the Chinese, who understandably were not keen on allowing any challenge to their special supremacy in Korea. (This was, after all, a relationship that had endured, for the most part, since a unified state came into existence on the peninsula in the seventh century.) Thus in the 1880s Korea became entangled in the growing feud between China and Japan over dominance in northeast Asia, a situation that Koreans referred to proverbially as “the breaking of a shrimp’s back when caught between fighting whales.” This rivalry took many forms—in the availability of intellectual and institutional models, in diplomatic influence, and in competition among merchants—and twice grew into military skirmishes in Seoul. In 1882, a group of common Korean soldiers, unhappy with their treatment compared to the new crack unit trained by Japanese advisors, rose up in revolt against the Korean government’s growing ties to foreign influence. Taking the
Taew
n’gun
as their inspiration and leader, the soldiers instigated attacks on Japanese compounds and threatened members of the royal family. Although the initial target was the Japanese presence, the Chinese military was dispatched to put down this rebellion, which it quickly did. With the staunchest anti-foreign activist, the
Taew
n’gun
, seized by the Chinese and taken to China, the pro-reform elements in the Korean elite circles, favorably disposed to following the Japanese model, were emboldened. In 1884 a particularly brazen group of young radicals, impatient with the slow pace of change despite the signing of treaties with Western powers (beginning with the US in 1882), killed conservative high ministers and took over key government buildings. Despite the tacit support of the Japanese officials, as in 1882, this putsch, known as the Kapsin Coup (“Coup of 1884”), met its end at the hands of the Chinese military. The coup plotters able to escape the backlash fled all the way to Japan.

Gaining the firm upper hand through this event, the Chinese established preeminent influence over the Korean government for the next decade through a “residency” headed by the powerful Chinese
official Yuan Shikai. While scholars have termed this a “dark period,” characterized by stifling Chinese intervention and commercial exploitation, a languid pace of Korean institutional reforms, and the house arrest of enlightenment activists such as Yu Kilchun, the Chinese impact was not so clear-cut. Qing China in fact played a central role in the establishment of the first Korean telegraph lines, the Korean Customs Service, and even formal diplomatic relations with Western governments. Furthermore, Korea’s government restructuring efforts continued, the enlightenment movement grew further through publication and educational activities, and moderate reformers in government remained in power, supported by a sympathetic monarch often hemmed in by his queen’s ties to the Chinese. These tendencies might have produced an interesting result had the Tonghak uprising not triggered a clause in a treaty, signed in 1885 by the Chinese and Japanese, acknowledging each other’s interests in Korea.

This treaty had called for the notification of the other side if ever there was a cause for dispatching troops to Korea. And this is exactly what happened in June of 1894, when the Korean government turned to China, almost reflexively, to help put down the Tonghak rebellion. The influx of Chinese troops was met by a quick Japanese response likewise, and before long this powder keg was lit. Under the pretext of protecting the Japanese consulate and other possessions, Japanese soldiers filled the Seoul streets. They provided support for the diplomatic pressure exerted by envoy Otori, who demanded fundamental government reforms at self-strengthening that would ensure a Korean buffer against Chinese threats to Japan. When these troops chased away the conservative pro-Chinese government leaders, the Japanese orchestrated the creation of the Deliberative Assembly (
Kun’guk kimuch’
 
), which would henceforth act as the highest governing body.