A modernizing institutional reform carried out from July 1894 to February 1896 by enlightenment-faction officials, including the Kim Hong-jip cabinet. Although it was a groundbreaking reform that abolished the status system and the civil service examination system, it was carried out under Japanese
Start~End Jul 27, 1894 ~ Feb 11, 1896Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Gabo Reforms (Korean Hanja: 甲午改革) was a modernizing reform carried out from July 27, 1894 (June 25 of the lunar calendar)1 to July 6, 1895 (intercalary fifth month, 14th day of the lunar calendar)2, and was also called the Gabo Reform Movement (Korean Hanja: 甲午更張)3. In modern date notation, the first phase is written as the 7.27 Reform (7.27 改革) and the second phase as the 12.17 Reform (12.17 改革).
Divided according to changes in the cabinet into the First Gabo Reform and the Second Gabo Reform, it led to the Eulmi Reforms (Third Gabo Reform). Its main contents included the abolition of the status system (slavery), the silver standard, the unification of tax payment in cash, the prohibition of human trafficking, the prohibition of child marriage, the permission of remarriage for widows, and the abolition of torture and guilt by association.4
In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out, and Qing China dispatched troops to Joseon. Japan also dispatched troops to Joseon, citing the Treaty of Tianjin. As Japan, which had infiltrated Joseon under the pretext of the Treaty of Tianjin, revealed its desire to dominate Joseon, the Joseon government newly established a reform body called the Gyojeongcheong under the Treaty of Jeonju concluded with the Donghak peasant army, and made efforts to carry out autonomous reform. However, Japan did not tolerate this, dissolved the Gyojeongcheong, and established an organ called the . Although the reform pursued in this way reflected the internal reform demands of Joseon society seeking to resolve the problems of feudal society, and made important progress in modern institutional reform such as abolishing the status system, it had limitations: because the reform was promoted mainly by some forces relying on the power of the , it failed to gain broad public support, and it neglected military reform. In addition, it lost its momentum rapidly when it lost its power due to the by , , and . Believing that cooperating with Russia through the was a way to drive Japan out of Joseon, the Joseon government came to establish a pro-Russian regime. Feeling a sense of crisis, Japan, in order to regain the initiative, staged the and assassinated . Feeling insecure about his safety, King Gojong then fled to the Russian legation, which led to the . As a result, forces backed by the power of Russia gained the upper hand, and key figures of the Gabo Reforms, such as , were killed by the people or fled or went into exile in Japan, so the goal of the reform, establishing a modern state, was not realized.
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After Heungseon Daewongun, who had been pushed out of politics, tried to use the Imo Incident as an opportunity for a comeback on July 23, 1882 but was blocked by the Qing dynasty and failed, the Joseon court, reorganized around the Min clan, sought to carry out modern reform by emulating the Self-Strengthening Movement of the Qing. Government-led modern reform required large amounts of finance, but Joseon's finances were already shaken to their roots by Corruption of the three administrative systems, and were worsening due to the trade deficit with Japan, the trade deficit with Qing China, and the various concession plunders by the great powers. Moreover, government finances and royal finances were not even separated, and contradictions such as tax exemption for the yangban and the monopoly of state monopoly enterprises by the royal kin remained unchanged. To make matters worse, Paul Georg von Möllendorff and others dispatched by Qing China caused the issuance of the Dangojeon, driving the already difficult Joseon economy to the brink of collapse. As the exchange rate rose, the trade deficit deepened further, and local officials collected taxes in the Sangpyeong tongbo, the currency then in circulation, but paid taxes to the central government at the face value of the Dangojeon, which was worth only one-fifth of it, and pocketed the difference, so the chaos reached its peak.
In response, the Radical Progressives such as Kim Ok-gyun, Park Yong-hyo, and Seo Jae-pil advocated Japanese-style Westernization, which earned the resentment of the Min clan. Their reform efforts moved Gojong, and various opportunities were given to them, but each time the conservative faction, including the Min clan, obstructed the progressives. Thereupon, the progressives staged the Gapsin Coup in 1884. However, with Qing intervention, Japanese withdrawal, and Gojong's support leaving the progressives, the revolt ended in failure after three days, and those who died, or the few who survived, took the road of exile on a Japanese ship. Most, except Seo Jae-pil, continued their exile life in Japan, and Qing China and Japan constantly clashed diplomatically over the presence of the exiles and hegemony over the Korean Peninsula. In the following year, 1885, the two countries agreed to the Treaty of Tianjin and simultaneously withdrew their troops from the Korean Peninsula.
In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Movement broke out, and peasant unrest in the three southern provinces spread nationwide. The Min clan, already allied with Qing China, requested reinforcements from the Qing, and in response, Qing China moved its troops stationed in Manchuria southward. The Donghak peasant army concluded the Treaty of Jeonju with the Joseon government, and afterward the Gyojeongcheong was established at the central level, and at the local level the Jipgangso, a peasant self-governing body in which peasants could participate in important trials, was set up, and the Gabo Reforms began. The Qing troops advancing southward under the Treaty of Jeonju withdrew, and the Japanese troops, who had lost the justification for dispatching troops under the Treaty of Tianjin, landed on the Korean Peninsula and attacked Gyeongbokgung (the Gabo Japanese Invasion), seizing the central government organs of Joseon. Then they immediately formed a pro-Japanese cabinet, abolished the Gyojeongcheong, established the Gunguk Gimucheo, and interfered with the Gabo Reforms that had been set up by the Treaty of Jeonju. Afterward, they competitively massacred the peasant army.
The First Sino-Japanese War, whose outcome was thought difficult to predict easily, quickly tilted toward the Japanese army, and Qing China was soon expelled from the Korean Peninsula. After losing control of the sea with the defeat in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the key points of the East China Sea, such as Port Arthur in Liaodong, Weihaiwei on the Shandong Peninsula, and Taiwan, all fell into Japanese hands immediately. Qing China's attempt to prolong the fighting and, through the mediation of Western powers, conclude the war on less unfavorable terms was quickly thwarted by the overwhelmingly rapid Japanese advance. With the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the First Sino-Japanese War ended in Japanese victory, and the progressives who had been in exile in Japan all returned to Joseon. Relying on the power of Japan, they tried to transplant Japanese-style reforms into Joseon, and this was the Gabo Reforms.
Gabo Reforms
First Gabo Reform
From July 27, 1894 (June 25 of the lunar calendar) to December 17, 1894 (November 21 of the lunar calendar)5, it was carried out under the leadership of the Gunguk Gimucheo, centered on the Kim Hong-jip cabinet.
The Gunguk Gimucheo, established by the Kim Hong-jip cabinet after abolishing the Gyojeongcheong, was a provisional deliberative body composed of 17 members, including Kim Hong-jip, Kim Yun-sik, and Kim Ka-jin, and carried out reforms of political institutions as well as matters spanning various premodern problems in administration, the judiciary, education, and society. The chairman of the Gunguk Gimucheo's deliberations was the Chief State Councillor Kim Hong-jip. In particular, it used the Gaeguk reign era ("era of national founding") to show an equal relationship with Qing, and separated the central administration into the Uijeongbu and the Gungnaebu, reorganizing Joseon's existing Six Ministries system into eight offices (八衙門: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Military Affairs, Justice, Education, and Public Works and Agriculture/Commerce), which were placed directly under the Uijeongbu.
The Gungnaebu, unlike before, played a role in separating royal affairs from government affairs; the Takji Office unified finances, abolished the civil service examination system, implemented the silver standard monetary system, unified weights and measures, and implemented the payment of taxes in cash. In addition, the Gyeongmucheong was established, and the police system was implemented.
Regent Heungseon Daewongun served as regent for a little over a month from July to August, but was forced to retire due to differences with Japan.
5. Derive the historical lessons provided by the efforts to establish an independent nation of your choice, connect them to concrete problems of modern society, and describe your own thoughts.
Second Gabo Reform
The Second Gabo Reform was carried out from December 17, 1894 (November 21 of the lunar calendar)5 to July 6, 1895 (intercalary fifth month, 14th day of the lunar calendar)2 by a coalition cabinet of Kim Hong-jip and Park Yong-hyo.
The Gunguk Gimucheo, the body in charge of the First Reform, was abolished, the Uijeongbu was renamed the cabinet and became a cabinet system, and under it seven ministries were established, reorganized from the eight offices. Gojong promulgated the Hongbeom 14 Articles, which announced the reform guidelines. In personnel, the civil and military officials were reorganized, a monthly salary system was established, and the prime minister and the ministers of each office were given the power to appoint officials.
In addition, the administrative system was reorganized from the eight provinces into 23 bu, and through reform of the status system, the distinction between civil and military and between yangban and commoners was abolished, the judicial power that had been exercised by local administrators was abolished and an independent court was established, and military authority was further subordinated to the center, establishing a modern bureaucratic system. The bu, mok, gun, and hyeon placed under the eight provinces in the Joseon period were unified into gun, and 337 gun were divided under the 23 bu.6
Third Gabo Reform (Eulmi Reforms)
The Third Gabo Reform (Eulmi Reforms) was carried out by the Third Kim Hong-jip cabinet from October 8, 1895 (August 20 of the lunar calendar), immediately after the Eulmi Incident7, until February 11, 1896 (December 28 of the lunar calendar of 1895), just before the Gojong's flight to the Russian Legation. It was a reform led by a cabinet formed by pro-Japanese forces and had the strongest pro-Japanese tendency.
At this time, the solar calendar was introduced, and November 17 of the lunar calendar in 1895 was set as January 1, 1896; in commemoration of this, the era name was changed to Geonyang. The topknot-cutting order was carried out, and smallpox vaccination was implemented under government leadership (inoculation with human or cowpox at private clinics had already taken place before that). In addition, the Post Office was established to introduce a modern postal system.
The forceful implementation of the topknot-cutting order ignited the anti-Japanese and anti-government sentiments of ordinary people, who were already incensed by the Eulmi Incident, and spread to a large-scale anti-Japanese righteous army movement. This movement is also called the Eulmi Righteous Army.
Conclusion of the Reforms
Due to dissatisfaction with the direction of the reforms on the Japanese side and attacks by Gojong and Empress Myeongseong, Park Yong-hyo went into exile in Japan, and the content of the reforms weakened. Although it is said that the reforms continued under the Kim Hong-jip cabinet, in reality the reforms ended due to problems such as the assassination of Empress Myeongseong and, after the Gojong's flight to the Russian Legation, the killing of cabinet officials.
Significance and Limitations of the Reforms
The Gabo Reforms had the character of modern reform led by Japan. In particular, there were many efforts to transform the Confucian social order into a modern one. First, they transformed Joseon's traditional status system by abolishing class hierarchy, appointing talent regardless of family pedigree, and prohibiting the sale of slaves. After this period, status discrimination rapidly disappeared. Next, they abolished irrational punishments such as torture of criminals and guilt by association. Finally, they reformed unreasonable premodern systems such as the prohibition of child marriage, the voluntary remarriage of widows, the revision of adoption systems, and the simplification of clothing systems.
The modern societies of Europe went through a process of radical modernization through cultural innovation and scientific progress, such as the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, and the French Revolution after the Renaissance. In the case of Joseon, however, the Silhak movement and the Donghak Revolution failed to bring about enlightenment because of the entrenched closedness of the feudal dynasty, and the country was forced, by an external and heteronomous power, into the Western modernization process built by foreign capitalism through the Gabo Reforms. Therefore, the Confucian formal logic of the feudal dynasty, the exploitative taxation by yangban officials, and the reclusive policy of isolation promoted Japan's colonization of Korea, and were too overwhelming to allow it to independently accept and overcome the modern currents that flooded in like a tide. Thus, in culture and way of life as well, the influence of Western civilization penetrated directly and indirectly, causing people to mistakenly believe that the slogan of modernization lay precisely in enlightenment. Popular at the time were distinctive names such as "enlightenment cane (開化杖), enlightenment party (開化黨), enlightenment bag, and enlightenment army," reflecting the consciousness of the enlightenment period. "Enlightenment" referred to "civilizational enlightenment (文明開化)," which means breaking away from the culture and way of life of the old era, absorbing the culture of the new era, and transforming and assimilating into new ways of living. In other words, enlightenment meant assimilating to Western civilization that entered through Japan, that is, Westernizing, and also included the meaning of modernizing through a change in the consciousness of the times.8
Although the Gabo Reforms were passive institutional reforms driven by external forces, it is true that they became a groundbreaking opportunity that promoted Korea's modernization. First, in the political sphere, they marked the transition from aristocratic politics to popular politics, and clarified sovereign independence from a position of dependence on foreign countries; second, in the social sphere, the use of the reign era of national founding, the eradication of family pedigree and status classes, the abolition of the superiority-inferiority system between civil and military officials, the abolition of guilt by association and the nobi system, the prohibition of child marriage, and the freedom of widows to remarry were guaranteed; third, in the economic sphere, the silver-standard currency system, the implementation of the cash tax system, the revision of weights and measures, and the establishment of banks and companies were introduced, along with more than two hundred other reform items. However, the Joseon government lacked the self-reliant capacity to implement these reforms independently, depended only on foreign powers, and the existing feudal forces that opposed these new reforms were strong, so unfortunately it cannot be said that substantial major results were achieved. Meanwhile, from this time on, in late Joseon society, the ideas of enlightenment and civilization began to sprout, aiming to free people from the bonds of custom and tradition, spread free knowledge, and lift the general populace out of ignorance. This refers to a consciousness of the times that sought to destroy the old bad habits clinging to Confucian customs and traditions, to break free from those shackles, to awaken the self, and to acquire new knowledge based on scientific civilization. Therefore, in this enlightenment period, the desire to escape from the old took precedence over the will to create something new, everything was opposed as new (新) versus old (舊), and the old had to go through a stage of primary negation. Also, the Hongbeom 14 Articles, which the coalition cabinet of Kim Hong-jip and Park Yong-hyo forced Gojong to proclaim, can be regarded as the first law with the character of a constitution in Korea.
Meanwhile, from Japan's standpoint, although Japan urged reform, it was not reform for Joseon's sake. Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu (陸奥宗光) said of the Gabo Reforms: "It should be limited to taking our country's (Japan's) interests as the main aim, and there is no need to dare sacrifice our interests."9
It was a heteronomous reform that directly reflected Japan's intention to invade the Korean Peninsula. Reforms of the military system were applied only at a minimal level to facilitate the military aggression of the Empire of Japan, and opposition from conservative forces was intense. Moreover, reform of the economic system was largely advantageous to economic aggression by the Empire of Japan and the Western powers. Therefore, the Korean people, who harbored strong resentment toward Japan, strongly reacted against the content of the reforms, and this resentment led to the anti-Japanese righteous army movement during the Eulmi Reforms after the Eulmi Incident.
References
This article contains content based on articles distributed under the GFDL or CC-SA license by Daum Communications (now Kakao) in the Global World Encyclopedia.
Gyeongjang (更張): means retuning the strings of a geomungo (zither). It carries the sense of reforming old things that have grown lax. In politics and society, it means reforming old institutions. -Source: 'Gyeongjang' Naver Korean Dictionary↩
National History Compilation Committee; National Textbook Compilation Committee (March 1, 2004). 《고등학교 국사》. Seoul: Doosan. p. 336. ↩
Im Jong-guk (February 1, 1991). 《실록 친일파》. Edited by the Committee for the Study of Anti-National Problems. Seoul: Dolbegae. pp. 56–57. ISBN 89-7199-036-8. ↩
Gabo Reforms (Korean Hanja: 甲午改革) was a modernizing reform carried out from July 27, 1894 (June 25 of the lunar calendar)1 to July 6, 1895 (intercalary fifth month, 14th day of the lunar calendar)2, and was also called the Gabo Reform Movement (Korean Hanja: 甲午更張)3. In modern date notation, the first phase is written as the 7.27 Reform (7.27 改革) and the second phase as the 12.17 Reform (12.17 改革).
Divided according to changes in the cabinet into the First Gabo Reform and the Second Gabo Reform, it led to the Eulmi Reforms (Third Gabo Reform). Its main contents included the abolition of the status system (slavery), the silver standard, the unification of tax payment in cash, the prohibition of human trafficking, the prohibition of child marriage, the permission of remarriage for widows, and the abolition of torture and guilt by association.4
In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out, and Qing China dispatched troops to Joseon. Japan also dispatched troops to Joseon, citing the Treaty of Tianjin. As Japan, which had infiltrated Joseon under the pretext of the Treaty of Tianjin, revealed its desire to dominate Joseon, the Joseon government newly established a reform body called the Gyojeongcheong under the Treaty of Jeonju concluded with the Donghak peasant army, and made efforts to carry out autonomous reform. However, Japan did not tolerate this, dissolved the , and established an organ called the . Although the reform pursued in this way reflected the internal reform demands of Joseon society seeking to resolve the problems of feudal society, and made important progress in modern institutional reform such as abolishing the status system, it had limitations: because the reform was promoted mainly by some forces relying on the power of the , it failed to gain broad public support, and it neglected military reform. In addition, it lost its momentum rapidly when it lost its power due to the by , , and . Believing that cooperating with Russia through the was a way to drive Japan out of Joseon, the Joseon government came to establish a pro-Russian regime. Feeling a sense of crisis, Japan, in order to regain the initiative, staged the and assassinated . Feeling insecure about his safety, King Gojong then fled to the Russian legation, which led to the . As a result, forces backed by the power of Russia gained the upper hand, and key figures of the Gabo Reforms, such as , were killed by the people or fled or went into exile in Japan, so the goal of the reform, establishing a modern state, was not realized.
After Heungseon Daewongun, who had been pushed out of politics, tried to use the Imo Incident as an opportunity for a comeback on July 23, 1882 but was blocked by the Qing dynasty and failed, the Joseon court, reorganized around the Min clan, sought to carry out modern reform by emulating the Self-Strengthening Movement of the Qing. Government-led modern reform required large amounts of finance, but Joseon's finances were already shaken to their roots by Corruption of the three administrative systems, and were worsening due to the trade deficit with Japan, the trade deficit with Qing China, and the various concession plunders by the great powers. Moreover, government finances and royal finances were not even separated, and contradictions such as tax exemption for the yangban and the monopoly of state monopoly enterprises by the royal kin remained unchanged. To make matters worse, Paul Georg von Möllendorff and others dispatched by Qing China caused the issuance of the Dangojeon, driving the already difficult Joseon economy to the brink of collapse. As the exchange rate rose, the trade deficit deepened further, and local officials collected taxes in the Sangpyeong tongbo, the currency then in circulation, but paid taxes to the central government at the face value of the Dangojeon, which was worth only one-fifth of it, and pocketed the difference, so the chaos reached its peak.
In response, the Radical Progressives such as Kim Ok-gyun, Park Yong-hyo, and Seo Jae-pil advocated Japanese-style Westernization, which earned the resentment of the Min clan. Their reform efforts moved Gojong, and various opportunities were given to them, but each time the conservative faction, including the Min clan, obstructed the progressives. Thereupon, the progressives staged the Gapsin Coup in 1884. However, with Qing intervention, Japanese withdrawal, and Gojong's support leaving the progressives, the revolt ended in failure after three days, and those who died, or the few who survived, took the road of exile on a Japanese ship. Most, except Seo Jae-pil, continued their exile life in Japan, and Qing China and Japan constantly clashed diplomatically over the presence of the exiles and hegemony over the Korean Peninsula. In the following year, 1885, the two countries agreed to the Treaty of Tianjin and simultaneously withdrew their troops from the Korean Peninsula.
In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Movement broke out, and peasant unrest in the three southern provinces spread nationwide. The Min clan, already allied with Qing China, requested reinforcements from the Qing, and in response, Qing China moved its troops stationed in Manchuria southward. The Donghak peasant army concluded the Treaty of Jeonju with the Joseon government, and afterward the Gyojeongcheong was established at the central level, and at the local level the Jipgangso, a peasant self-governing body in which peasants could participate in important trials, was set up, and the Gabo Reforms began. The Qing troops advancing southward under the Treaty of Jeonju withdrew, and the Japanese troops, who had lost the justification for dispatching troops under the Treaty of Tianjin, landed on the Korean Peninsula and attacked Gyeongbokgung (the Gabo Japanese Invasion), seizing the central government organs of Joseon. Then they immediately formed a pro-Japanese cabinet, abolished the Gyojeongcheong, established the Gunguk Gimucheo, and interfered with the Gabo Reforms that had been set up by the Treaty of Jeonju. Afterward, they competitively massacred the peasant army.
The First Sino-Japanese War, whose outcome was thought difficult to predict easily, quickly tilted toward the Japanese army, and Qing China was soon expelled from the Korean Peninsula. After losing control of the sea with the defeat in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the key points of the East China Sea, such as Port Arthur in Liaodong, Weihaiwei on the Shandong Peninsula, and Taiwan, all fell into Japanese hands immediately. Qing China's attempt to prolong the fighting and, through the mediation of Western powers, conclude the war on less unfavorable terms was quickly thwarted by the overwhelmingly rapid Japanese advance. With the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the First Sino-Japanese War ended in Japanese victory, and the progressives who had been in exile in Japan all returned to Joseon. Relying on the power of Japan, they tried to transplant Japanese-style reforms into Joseon, and this was the Gabo Reforms.
Gabo Reforms
First Gabo Reform
From July 27, 1894 (June 25 of the lunar calendar) to December 17, 1894 (November 21 of the lunar calendar)5, it was carried out under the leadership of the Gunguk Gimucheo, centered on the Kim Hong-jip cabinet.
The Gunguk Gimucheo, established by the Kim Hong-jip cabinet after abolishing the Gyojeongcheong, was a provisional deliberative body composed of 17 members, including Kim Hong-jip, Kim Yun-sik, and Kim Ka-jin, and carried out reforms of political institutions as well as matters spanning various premodern problems in administration, the judiciary, education, and society. The chairman of the Gunguk Gimucheo's deliberations was the Chief State Councillor Kim Hong-jip. In particular, it used the Gaeguk reign era ("era of national founding") to show an equal relationship with Qing, and separated the central administration into the Uijeongbu and the Gungnaebu, reorganizing Joseon's existing Six Ministries system into eight offices (八衙門: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Military Affairs, Justice, Education, and Public Works and Agriculture/Commerce), which were placed directly under the Uijeongbu.
The Gungnaebu, unlike before, played a role in separating royal affairs from government affairs; the Takji Office unified finances, abolished the civil service examination system, implemented the silver standard monetary system, unified weights and measures, and implemented the payment of taxes in cash. In addition, the Gyeongmucheong was established, and the police system was implemented.
Regent Heungseon Daewongun served as regent for a little over a month from July to August, but was forced to retire due to differences with Japan.
5. Derive the historical lessons provided by the efforts to establish an independent nation of your choice, connect them to concrete problems of modern society, and describe your own thoughts.
Second Gabo Reform
The Second Gabo Reform was carried out from December 17, 1894 (November 21 of the lunar calendar)5 to July 6, 1895 (intercalary fifth month, 14th day of the lunar calendar)2 by a coalition cabinet of Kim Hong-jip and Park Yong-hyo.
The Gunguk Gimucheo, the body in charge of the First Reform, was abolished, the Uijeongbu was renamed the cabinet and became a cabinet system, and under it seven ministries were established, reorganized from the eight offices. Gojong promulgated the Hongbeom 14 Articles, which announced the reform guidelines. In personnel, the civil and military officials were reorganized, a monthly salary system was established, and the prime minister and the ministers of each office were given the power to appoint officials.
In addition, the administrative system was reorganized from the eight provinces into 23 bu, and through reform of the status system, the distinction between civil and military and between yangban and commoners was abolished, the judicial power that had been exercised by local administrators was abolished and an independent court was established, and military authority was further subordinated to the center, establishing a modern bureaucratic system. The bu, mok, gun, and hyeon placed under the eight provinces in the Joseon period were unified into gun, and 337 gun were divided under the 23 bu.6
Third Gabo Reform (Eulmi Reforms)
The Third Gabo Reform (Eulmi Reforms) was carried out by the Third Kim Hong-jip cabinet from October 8, 1895 (August 20 of the lunar calendar), immediately after the Eulmi Incident7, until February 11, 1896 (December 28 of the lunar calendar of 1895), just before the Gojong's flight to the Russian Legation. It was a reform led by a cabinet formed by pro-Japanese forces and had the strongest pro-Japanese tendency.
At this time, the solar calendar was introduced, and November 17 of the lunar calendar in 1895 was set as January 1, 1896; in commemoration of this, the era name was changed to Geonyang. The topknot-cutting order was carried out, and smallpox vaccination was implemented under government leadership (inoculation with human or cowpox at private clinics had already taken place before that). In addition, the Post Office was established to introduce a modern postal system.
The forceful implementation of the topknot-cutting order ignited the anti-Japanese and anti-government sentiments of ordinary people, who were already incensed by the Eulmi Incident, and spread to a large-scale anti-Japanese righteous army movement. This movement is also called the Eulmi Righteous Army.
Conclusion of the Reforms
Due to dissatisfaction with the direction of the reforms on the Japanese side and attacks by Gojong and Empress Myeongseong, Park Yong-hyo went into exile in Japan, and the content of the reforms weakened. Although it is said that the reforms continued under the Kim Hong-jip cabinet, in reality the reforms ended due to problems such as the assassination of Empress Myeongseong and, after the Gojong's flight to the Russian Legation, the killing of cabinet officials.
Significance and Limitations of the Reforms
The Gabo Reforms had the character of modern reform led by Japan. In particular, there were many efforts to transform the Confucian social order into a modern one. First, they transformed Joseon's traditional status system by abolishing class hierarchy, appointing talent regardless of family pedigree, and prohibiting the sale of slaves. After this period, status discrimination rapidly disappeared. Next, they abolished irrational punishments such as torture of criminals and guilt by association. Finally, they reformed unreasonable premodern systems such as the prohibition of child marriage, the voluntary remarriage of widows, the revision of adoption systems, and the simplification of clothing systems.
The modern societies of Europe went through a process of radical modernization through cultural innovation and scientific progress, such as the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, and the French Revolution after the Renaissance. In the case of Joseon, however, the Silhak movement and the Donghak Revolution failed to bring about enlightenment because of the entrenched closedness of the feudal dynasty, and the country was forced, by an external and heteronomous power, into the Western modernization process built by foreign capitalism through the Gabo Reforms. Therefore, the Confucian formal logic of the feudal dynasty, the exploitative taxation by yangban officials, and the reclusive policy of isolation promoted Japan's colonization of Korea, and were too overwhelming to allow it to independently accept and overcome the modern currents that flooded in like a tide. Thus, in culture and way of life as well, the influence of Western civilization penetrated directly and indirectly, causing people to mistakenly believe that the slogan of modernization lay precisely in enlightenment. Popular at the time were distinctive names such as "enlightenment cane (開化杖), enlightenment party (開化黨), enlightenment bag, and enlightenment army," reflecting the consciousness of the enlightenment period. "Enlightenment" referred to "civilizational enlightenment (文明開化)," which means breaking away from the culture and way of life of the old era, absorbing the culture of the new era, and transforming and assimilating into new ways of living. In other words, enlightenment meant assimilating to Western civilization that entered through Japan, that is, Westernizing, and also included the meaning of modernizing through a change in the consciousness of the times.8
Although the Gabo Reforms were passive institutional reforms driven by external forces, it is true that they became a groundbreaking opportunity that promoted Korea's modernization. First, in the political sphere, they marked the transition from aristocratic politics to popular politics, and clarified sovereign independence from a position of dependence on foreign countries; second, in the social sphere, the use of the reign era of national founding, the eradication of family pedigree and status classes, the abolition of the superiority-inferiority system between civil and military officials, the abolition of guilt by association and the nobi system, the prohibition of child marriage, and the freedom of widows to remarry were guaranteed; third, in the economic sphere, the silver-standard currency system, the implementation of the cash tax system, the revision of weights and measures, and the establishment of banks and companies were introduced, along with more than two hundred other reform items. However, the Joseon government lacked the self-reliant capacity to implement these reforms independently, depended only on foreign powers, and the existing feudal forces that opposed these new reforms were strong, so unfortunately it cannot be said that substantial major results were achieved. Meanwhile, from this time on, in late Joseon society, the ideas of enlightenment and civilization began to sprout, aiming to free people from the bonds of custom and tradition, spread free knowledge, and lift the general populace out of ignorance. This refers to a consciousness of the times that sought to destroy the old bad habits clinging to Confucian customs and traditions, to break free from those shackles, to awaken the self, and to acquire new knowledge based on scientific civilization. Therefore, in this enlightenment period, the desire to escape from the old took precedence over the will to create something new, everything was opposed as new (新) versus old (舊), and the old had to go through a stage of primary negation. Also, the Hongbeom 14 Articles, which the coalition cabinet of Kim Hong-jip and Park Yong-hyo forced Gojong to proclaim, can be regarded as the first law with the character of a constitution in Korea.
Meanwhile, from Japan's standpoint, although Japan urged reform, it was not reform for Joseon's sake. Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu (陸奥宗光) said of the Gabo Reforms: "It should be limited to taking our country's (Japan's) interests as the main aim, and there is no need to dare sacrifice our interests."9
It was a heteronomous reform that directly reflected Japan's intention to invade the Korean Peninsula. Reforms of the military system were applied only at a minimal level to facilitate the military aggression of the Empire of Japan, and opposition from conservative forces was intense. Moreover, reform of the economic system was largely advantageous to economic aggression by the Empire of Japan and the Western powers. Therefore, the Korean people, who harbored strong resentment toward Japan, strongly reacted against the content of the reforms, and this resentment led to the anti-Japanese righteous army movement during the Eulmi Reforms after the Eulmi Incident.
References
This article contains content based on articles distributed under the GFDL or CC-SA license by Daum Communications (now Kakao) in the Global World Encyclopedia.
Gyeongjang (更張): means retuning the strings of a geomungo (zither). It carries the sense of reforming old things that have grown lax. In politics and society, it means reforming old institutions. -Source: 'Gyeongjang' Naver Korean Dictionary↩
National History Compilation Committee; National Textbook Compilation Committee (March 1, 2004). 《고등학교 국사》. Seoul: Doosan. p. 336. ↩
Im Jong-guk (February 1, 1991). 《실록 친일파》. Edited by the Committee for the Study of Anti-National Problems. Seoul: Dolbegae. pp. 56–57. ISBN 89-7199-036-8. ↩