The Ex-Regent.... The new Cabinet.... the _Tong-hak_ pacified....
The Tă-wŭn-kun retires.... Japan declares war.... Korea
abrogates all treaties with China.... Pak Yong-hyo returns....
his memorial.... he is pardoned.... Chinese excesses in the
north.... new Korean-Japanese treaty.... Marquis Saionji visits
Seoul...._Tong-hak_ in arms again.... Prince Eui-wha goes to
Japan.... Count Inouye comes.... amnesty to offenders of
1884.... Dr. Jaisohn comes.... Army reform.... the privy
Council.... the King’s Oath.
The Tă-wŭn-kun, the former Regent, was now a prominent factor in the
government and the well known strength of his personality did much to
give stability to the new regime. The Queen necessarily retired from
active participation in politics for the time being and there was
apparent promise of better days to come. The new cabinet chosen at this
time was a curious mixture of progressive and conservative men. It was
composed of Kim Hong-jip, Kim Yun-sik, O Yun-jung, Pak Chöng-yang and An
Kyöng-su representing the progressive wing and Min Yong-dal, Sŭ
Chŭng-sun, Yi Kyu-wŭn, Yun Yong-gu and Um Se-yŭng representing the
conservative wing. Among the secondary officials some were progressive
and some conservative. This apparent blending of the various factions
was a hopeful sign outwardly but it had no real significance. All were
appointed by permission of the Japanese and they worked together only
because it was useless to oppose. But the same intrinsic hostility
remained and only needed opportunity to manifest itself. It was the calm
of repression rather than of genuine reconciliation, and it helped to
prove that there is no hope for good government in Korea by Koreans
until the country has secured the benefit of genuine education.
These reforms that were proposed had the apparent sanction of His
Majesty, as is proved by the fact that after their proposal he called
all the high officials to the palace and made them a speech in which he
referred to this as a splendid opportunity to make a radical and
beneficent change in the government, and laid it as a sacred duty upon
the officials to carry out the reforms, and he declared that he, too,
would become a new king and do his part in bringing about the desired
renovation of the land.
In spite of the previous declaration that the _tong-hak_ uprising was at
an end there was much unrest especially in the south and the _tong-hak_
were really as ready as ever to take the offensive. For this reason the
king sent a high official to Kyüng-sang Province to make an attempt at
pacification and told the people that the trouble was because of his own
lack of virtue and begged them to be patient a little longer until the
reforms could be carried out. The people were pleased, especially with
the promise that slavery should be discontinued and that the barriers
between the classes should be broken down. The fact that this effort on
the part of the king was entirely successful shows that the _tong-hak_
were not anarchists or banditti but were merely desperate citizens who
required some assurance that certain changes would be made so that life
would be bearable.
A word is necessary as to the attitude of the Tă-wŭn-kun toward these
reforms. He had been called to the palace and put in a responsible
advisory position by the Japanese but he was not the sort of man to hold
an empty honor or to pose as a mere figure-head. Several of the proposed
reforms were distasteful to him but when he found that his objections
carried no weight he retired to his private house in disgust. It took
him only a few weeks to discover that his elevation had been merely a
formality.
The month of August was an anxious one in Korea. The battle of Asan had
been fought on the 28th and 29th of July and it was known that there
would be a decisive battle fought at P‘yŭng Yang in the near future.
Foreign opinion was divided as to the probabilities, some people
believing that the Japanese would sweep every thing before them and
others being equally sure that the Chinese would win.
But in spite of the state of anxiety and unrest the month of August saw
some important results accomplished in civil matters. The Commission on
Reforms were at work on their scheme until about the tenth of the month.
It was on August 1st that Japan formally declared war on China and a few
days later troops began to pour in by way of Chemulpo and join those
already here.
It was on August 16 that there occurred the formal act of casting off
Chinese suzerainty. On that day the Korean government declared all
treaties hitherto signed between itself and China to be abrogated and
all political connection between the two countries to be at an end. The
Japanese Minister had already on June 28th demanded from the government
an expression of its attitude toward China and had received the answer
that Korea considered herself an independent power. This was now
followed up by a definite diplomatic rupture between the two and,
probably forever, the question of Chinese political predominance in the
peninsula was disposed of.
It was about the 20th of August that Pak Yong-hyo, the refugee in Japan
since his participation in the attempted _coup_ of 1884, was brought to
Seoul _incognito_ by the Japanese. He had long since been declared an
arch-traitor by the Korean government, his house had been razed to the
ground and his family dispersed. For almost ten years he had enjoyed
asylum in Japan and had been treated with great consideration by the
Japanese who rightly saw in him a man of strong personality, settled
convictions and a genuine loyalty to the best interests of his native
land. His worst enemies would probably grant that he falls below none in
his desire to see Korea prosperous and enlightened. It was the methods
adopted that made all the trouble and drove him into exile.
At first he remained in hiding in the Japanese quarter but from that
point of vantage he sent a long memorial to the King relating the fact
of his high ancestry and the fact that it was purely in the interests of
Korea that he participated in the _emeute_ of 1884. He had been however,
unsuccessful and was branded as a traitor, compelled to fly the country
and see his house broken up. Now that the country had fallen upon such
critical times and the King had determined to effect a radical change in
affairs it was a cause of utmost rejoicing to him and he could not help
coming back even though it cost his life. He begged to see the King’s
face once more, to be allowed to collect and bury the bones of his
relatives and be given back his life which had been forfeited. If then
the King should wish to use him again he would be at the service of His
Majesty.
To this plea the King listened, whether from preference or out of
consideration for the Japanese, and replied that the petitioner was
forgiven and might resume his former status as a Korean citizen. A
number of memorials immediately poured into the palace urging that Pak
Yong-hyo be executed as a traitor, but as the decree of pardon had
already gone forth these memorials were ignored.
The fall of P’yŭng-yang before the victorious Japanese on September
15-17 and the flight of the Chinese inflicted great sufferings upon the
Koreans in the north. The Chinese followed their usual medieval tactics
and pillaged right and left. The local magistrates and governors fled to
places of safety and the people survived the best they could. The
government hastened to send a high official to the north to calm the
excitement and counteract the disintegrating effects of the Chinese
flight. At the same time the perfect orderliness of the Japanese army
began to be understood by the people, and between these two agencies the
northern province speedily settled down to its former status. The city
of P’yŭng-yang had been almost deserted by its 60,000 or more of people
and it was many months before the town resumed its normal status.
As August drew to an end the Japanese deemed the time ripe for
completing the purposed union with Korea and on the 26th there appeared
a provisional treaty between the two countries, which was not an
offensive and defensive alliance but one in which Japan guaranteed the
independence of Korea and Korea engaged to look to Japan for advice and
to aid her in every possible way. The nature of this agreement was
practically the same as that made between the same countries at the
opening of the Japan-Russia War in 1904. In it Japan once more
emphasized the independence of Korea which she had consistently
championed ever since the Japanese-Korean treaty was signed in 1876.
The month of September opened with the arrival of Marquis Saionji with
presents and a friendly message from the Emperor of Japan. The visit was
merely a complimentary one and seems to have been devoid of great
political significance.
It was evident that Japanese influence was overwhelmingly predominant in
Seoul and as the government had committed itself to the policy of
selecting advisers for its various departments there was reason to
believe that most of these places would be filled by Japanese and that
they would so predominate numerically as to seriously impair the
autonomy of the government. As foreign powers had concluded treaties
with Korea on the basis of equality, this possibility became a matter of
concern to them and through their representatives here they protested
against the employment of an undue number of assistants from any one
nationality. Whether there ever was any such danger as was anticipated
we cannot say, but this preventive measure was successful at any rate
and the apparent independence of the government was never shaken.
The month of October saw the Chinese driven across the Yalu and order
restored in a measure on Korean soil, but it also saw the resurgence of
the _tong-hak_ in the south. These malcontents had been temporarily
cowed by the coming of Chinese and Japanese troops but now they seem to
have discovered that the Chinese and Japanese were too busy with each
other to attend to the civil troubles in the interior of Korea. So they
broke out much worse than ever and the principal anxiety of the month in
Seoul was the putting down of the serious insurrection. Sin Chŭng-heui,
the highest Korean general, was sent south to Kong-ju with three
thousand Korean troops to meet a strong body of _tong-hak_ who were
reported to be marching on Seoul. A few days later there was a series of
fights at various points throughout the province, notably at Kong-ju,
Ung-jin, U-gum Hill, Yi-in village, Hyo Harbor, Sö-san and Hong-ju.
About two hundred Japanese troops aided the government forces and at
every point the government troops were successful. Some of the fights
were very severe. It is probable that there were some 20,000 _tong-hak_
in all, but they were a mere rabble compared with the well armed and at
least partially drilled government troops. A large number of the
_tong-hak_ leaders were captured and brought to Seoul. Many were also
executed in the country, for the generals were given the power of life
and death for the time being.
Having been thus dispersed the _tong-hak_ moved southward and took their
stand at various places in Chulla and southern Ch’ung-ch’ŭng Provinces.
Their main point was the town of No-sŭng where for eleven days they
continued to revile the government and put up placards defying the
government troops. The Korean troops moved on them and soon had them on
the retreat again. Other encounters took place at various points but by
this time the leading spirits in the _tong-hak_ movement had been
captured. Among these were Chŭn Nok-tu and Kim Kă-nam. They were brought
to Seoul and the latter was executed and the former is said to have been
taken to Japan, but there is some doubt as to his fate. Two _tong-hak_
leaders named Kim Chöng-hyŭn and Au Seung-gwan were beheaded at Su-wŭn
and their heads were raised high on poles and the people told to take
warning from them. This put an end to the _tong-hak_ except for some
small sporadic movements which amounted to nothing. But the _tong-hak_,
like the poor, we have ever with us,—_in posse_.
Prince Eui-wha was sent to Tokyo to return the visit of Marquis Saionji
and present the compliments of the King to the Emperor of Japan.
The Japanese government evidently realized the necessity of having an
exceptionally strong representation in Seoul, for Count Inouye arrived
on the 20th of October and assumed the duties of minister. He had more
than once helped to straighten out matters in Korea and he had the
confidence of the king and of the people as well. No better appointment
could have been made under the circumstances.
The end of October was signalized by the murder of Kim Hak-u, the
vice-Minister of Law, who was one of the strongest and best men that the
reform movement had brought to the front. He was stabbed at night in his
house.
The month of November witnessed some progress in the reconstruction of
the government. The pardon of Pak Yong-hyo had been the sign for a
general amnesty to all those who had forfeited their rights in 1884. Sŭ
Chă-p‘il, known better as Dr. Philip Jaisohn, who had been many years in
America and had become a naturalized citizen of that country, had come
back to Korea quietly and was awaiting an opportunity to make himself
useful. Sŭ Kwang-böm had also come back from exile in Japan and others
who had been kept sedulously in the background because of their liberal
tendencies all came forward and received recognition by the king and
were put again in line of political preferment. So rapid was the
progress of this movement that by the middle of December the king found
himself moved to form a new cabinet composed almost entirely of men who
had been foremost in the attempt of 1884, as the following list will
show. The Ministers were Kim Hong-jip, Yu Kil-jun, Pak Yong-hyo, Sŭ
Kwang-böm, Cho Heui-yŭn, Sin Keui-sŭn, Um Se-yŭng, O Yun-jung, Kim
Yun-sik, Pak Chong-yang and Yi Cha-myn. At the same time Dr. Jaisohn was
employed as adviser to the Privy Council for a term of ten years.
This era of change also affected the Korean Army. The various regiments
in Seoul, numbering five, had heretofore been under wholly independent
and separate commands but now they were all placed in the hands of the
War Department, their names were changed and many men were dropped
because of age and younger men were appointed in their places. The
tactics that had been taught were given up and the Japanese tactics were
introduced instead.
We have referred to the Privy Council. This was an advisory board or
council composed of some forty men whose business it was to take up and
discuss all important government matters, and it was supposed to have a
sort of veto power. It exercised this power for about three years but
lost it when the Independence Club was overthrown. The entire personnel
of this Council was progressive and pro-Japanese. There can be no
question that the machinery was now all complete whereby Korea could be
governed properly. There was no great obstacle in the way. All that was
needed was that no serious blunders should be made and that the Japanese
should act firmly but wisely. At the same time there was a strong
pressure being exerted behind the scenes in the opposite direction and,
as we shall see, not without effect. And so the year 1894 came to a
close and the new year opened with great promise of better things to
come. On the fifth of the new year the king went to the Ancestral Temple
and in the most solemn manner took an oath to carry out the reforms
already determined upon and partly inaugurated. It is unnecessary to
give this oath in full but only to enumerate the principal points. After
a long preamble in which the king declares his intention to uphold the
government as an independent one he guarantees specifically that—
(1) All thought of dependence on China shall be put away.
(2) The line of succession and rank in the Royal Family shall be clearly
marked.
(3) The King shall attend to public business in person and in
consultation with his ministers, and the Queen shall not interfere in
government matters.
(4) The affairs of the Royal Household shall be kept quite distinct from
the general government.
(5) The duties of Ministers and other officials shall be clearly
defined.
(6) Taxes shall be regulated by law and additions to them are forbidden.
(7) The assessment, collection and disbursement of the national revenue
shall be in the hands of the Finance Department.
(8) The expenses of the Royal Household shall be reduced, that the
example may become a law to the other departments.
(9) An annual budget shall be made out so as to regulate the management
of the revenue.
(10) The laws governing local officials shall be speedily revised in
order that their various functions may be differentiated.
(11) Intelligent young men shall be sent to foreign countries to study.
(12) A method for the instruction of military officers and a mode of
enlistment for soldiers shall be determined upon.
(13) Civil and criminal law must be clearly defined and strictly adhered
to and imprisonment and fines in excess of the law are prohibited.
(14) Men shall be employed irrespective of their origin. Ability alone
shall determine a man’s eligibility whether in Seoul or in the country.