Jeonju Armistice

Overview

The Jeonju Armistice was an agreement reached between the Donghak Peasant Army and the government troops led by Chocheonsa Hong Gye-hoon, who had been facing each other across the fortress after the Capture of Jeonju Fortress, in the face of a new crisis brought on by the dispatch of troops from China and Japan. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture gives the date of conclusion as June 11, 1894 (May 8 by the lunar calendar), although some accounts place it on May 7 by the lunar calendar (June 10).

Background

After the peasant army took Jeonju Fortress, the government requested reinforcements from Qing China, and Qing troops landed at Asan while Japanese troops landed at Incheon. The entry of foreign troops was a burden for both the government and the peasant army. The government needed to end the situation as quickly as possible to remove any pretext for foreign forces to remain, and the peasant army had suffered heavy losses in two attacks on the fortress and the farming season was approaching.

Contents and Course of Events

The peasant army presented a list of reforms and demanded that they be submitted to the king and implemented; Hong Gye-hoon concluded the armistice in a form that accepted them. The exact original text of the reform proposals demanded by the peasant army has not survived. Oh Ji-young's Donghaksa contains twelve articles, including the punishment of corrupt officials, the burning of slave registers, the improvement of discrimination against the seven lowly classes, permission for widows to remarry, the abolition of miscellaneous taxes, the abolition of family-status privilege and the appointment of talented people, the punishment of those who collaborated with Japan, the nullification of public and private debts, and the equal redistribution of land; however, this list was compiled later, and there is controversy over its original form. There is also an account that the peasant army's petition (原情) recorded at the time contained twenty-seven articles.

After the armistice, the peasant army withdrew from Jeonju Fortress with their weapons and returned to their respective counties.

Jipgangso

After the armistice, Jipgangso, the self-governing bodies of the peasant army, were established in the 53 counties of Jeolla Province. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Yangho Sunbyeonsa Lee Won-hoe issued a proclamation on June 22 instructing each county to establish a jipgang (執綱). Jeon Bong-jun took control of the western region based in Geumgu and Wonpyeong, and Kim Gae-nam took control of the eastern region based in Namwon. After the Japanese army occupied Gyeongbok Palace in July, Jeolla Governor Kim Hak-jin and Jeon Bong-jun met in Jeonju, agreed on the principle of mutual harmony between officials and people (官民相和), and set up a Daedodso (大都所) in the Jeolla Provincial Office to direct the Jipgangso. The Jipgangso punished corrupt officials and domineering yangban and wealthy households, and carried out reforms of abuses such as burning slave registers.