The Tonghak rebellion
Causes and Consequences
Causes?
Religious
• Desire to posthumously exonerate leaders of the cult
• Demands of the followers
Peasant discontent
• High taxes
• Lack of justice
Japanese and Chinese presence in Korea
• Resentment by Koreans
• Japanese and Chinese vie for control of Korea
What was the Chinese response to the
rebellion?
• Support to Korean ruler and Yuan Shih Kai tried
to put down the rebellion
What was the Japanese response?
• Opposed China
• Tried to reinstate theTaewongun
• Japanese intervention because it claimed
China’s actions violated treaty of Tientsin led
directly to Sino Japanese war
Why did Japan win in the war?
• Better trained troops
• Planned attack.
• The Japanese were ready for a war and the
Tonghak rebellion gave them the excuse to
attack
Why did China lose?
• Poor tactics
• Lack of interest in defending Korea against
Japan?
• Southern Chinese governors did not want to get
involved for they saw it as Li’s misadventure and
no more
• What it did achieve was: made it clear that
China’s self strengthening movement had failed
Treaty of Shimonoseki
Korea’s losses
• China gave up its suzerainty over Korea which
was now regarded as an independent state
• How did this term affect Korea?
Impact of the treaty of Shimonoseki
• Marked the end of an era. Chinese dominance of
East Asia over
• While it did not yet see the rise of Japan, it was
clear who would take over
• Japan’s dominant position in East Asia would
remain until 1945
• For Korea it meant that Korea was now a puppet
regime controlled by the enlightened clique who
wanted more contacts with Japan
How far did the treaty of Shimonoseki
have an impact on Korea?
• It allowed Japan a freer hand in Korea
• It gave Japan greater control over the Korean
economy
• It also allowed Russia to get involved in Korea
and for a time, King Kojong turned to the
Russians for help against the Japanese
Historiography
• Read Ki Baik Lee’s assessment
What according to him are the main reasons for
the Tonghak rebellion ?
How according to Dr Lee, is the situation a Korea
a cause for a show down between Japan and
Korea.
Read the historiography sheet. Which two
historians see the Tonghak rebellion as a catalyst
for the Sino Japanese war?
Which two historians see a similarity with the
Taiping rebellion?