Capture of Jeonju Fortress

Overview

The Capture of Jeonju Fortress was the peak of the first uprising of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, in which Jeon Bong-jun's peasant army entered Jeonju Fortress, seat of the Jeolla Provincial Office, without fighting on the 27th day of the 4th lunar month of 1894 (31 May by the solar calendar). Jeonju was the ancestral home of the Joseon royal house (where Gyeonggijeon and Jogyeongmyo are located) and the center of Jeolla Province's administration, so its fall caused a great shock to the court.

Course of Events

After winning the Battle of Hwangnyongchon, the peasant army advanced rapidly northward through Jeongeup, Taein, and Wonpyeong while the main body of Hong Gye-hun's Gyeongun (royal army) remained to the south. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, when the peasant army approached Jeonju Fortress, Governor Kim Mun-hyeon of Jeolla and Magistrate Min Yeong-seung abandoned the fortress and fled, and the peasant army entered without resistance. It is recorded that the peasant army slipped into the city from the West Gate among the crowds of a market day.

Hong Gye-hun's pursuing Gyeongun arrived outside Jeonju Fortress on 1 June by the solar calendar and encamped around Wansan, besieging the fortress. The Gyeongun bombarded the inside of the fortress from the heights outside the walls, and during this process Gyeonggijeon and other sites were threatened. The peasant army sallied out of the fortress to attack on 4 and 6 June by the solar calendar, but was pushed back by superior firepower and suffered heavy losses. Around this time, peasant army leaders including Kim Sun-myeong were killed, and there is a record that Jeon Bong-jun was also wounded.

Qing and Japanese Deployment

Upon receiving the report of the fall of Jeonju, the government judged that it could not suppress the uprising on its own and requested reinforcements from Yuan Shikai of the Qing. Li Hongzhang notified Japan of the dispatch of troops on 6 June under the Treaty of Tianjin, and sent 2,800 men led by Ye Zhichao (Sŏp Chi-cho in Korean reading) to Asan in Chungcheong Province (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, "Sino-Japanese War"). Japan, using the protection of its legation and residents as a pretext, also dispatched the mixed brigade of Major General Oshima Yoshimasa, which landed at Incheon on 9 June.

Outcome

With foreign troops entering the country, both the government and the peasant army needed to resolve the situation quickly. The peasant army concluded a truce with the government on the condition of political reforms and withdrew from Jeonju Fortress around 11 June by the solar calendar (8th day of the 5th lunar month) (Jeonju Truce). The period during which the peasant army held Jeonju was about ten days.