Korea — challenges to the monarchy and opening up
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Question
What was Sedo politics?
Answer
A system in early-to-mid 19th century Korea where powerful in-law clans (families married into the royal family), especially the Andong Kim clan, controlled the government instead of the king.
Question
Who founded Donghak, and when?
Answer
Choe Je-u founded Donghak ('Eastern Learning') in 1860, blending Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist and shamanist ideas.
Question
What was the core radical teaching of Donghak?
Answer
'Innaecheon' — the idea that all people carry heaven within them and are equal before heaven, a direct challenge to Korea's rigid class hierarchy.
Question
What happened to Choe Je-u?
Answer
He was arrested and executed by the state in 1864 for spreading what officials saw as dangerous heterodox teaching, but Donghak survived among peasants.
Question
Who was the Daewongun and when did he rule?
Answer
Yi Ha-eung, father of the boy-king Gojong; he ruled as regent from 1863 to 1873.
Question
Name three domestic reforms of the Daewongun.
Answer
Broke the in-law clans' grip on government posts, reduced yangban tax exemptions, and closed about 600 of Korea's 700 seowon (private academies).
Question
What foreign incursions did the Daewongun repel, and when?
Answer
French forces in the Byeong-in yangyo (1866) and American forces in the Shinmiyangyo (1871), earning Korea the nickname 'Hermit Kingdom'.
Question
What triggered the Treaty of Ganghwa?
Answer
In 1875 the Japanese warship Unyo deliberately provoked Korean coastal defences near Ganghwa Island; Korea's return fire gave Japan its pretext to force a treaty in 1876.
Question
What did the Treaty of Ganghwa (1876) require?
Answer
Korea opened three ports to Japanese trade, granted Japanese citizens extraterritoriality, had no tariff control over Japanese goods, and was declared 'independent' (undermining Qing suzerainty claims).
Question
Compare the Daewongun's and Queen Min's approach to foreign powers.
Answer
The Daewongun pursued strict isolation and rejected all foreign contact; Queen Min's faction, once in power, favoured cautious reform while maintaining close ties to Qing China ('Sadae').
Question
Who led the Gapsin Coup and what did it demand?
Answer
Kim Ok-gyun led the pro-Japanese 'Enlightenment Party' reformers in December 1884; their 14-point programme demanded abolishing class privilege, tax reform, and cutting tribute ties to Qing China.
Question
Why did the Gapsin Coup fail, and what was the result?
Answer
It lasted only three days before Qing troops garrisoned in Seoul crushed it; the result was tightened Qing control over Korea for the next decade and worsened Korea-Japan relations.
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Topic 12.5 hub
Korea (1840–1945)
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