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Political Upheaval of 1884
The conclusion of a series of commercial treaties between Joseon and foreign countries intensified the encroachment of capitalist powers. A group of reformists denounced the leading politicians for their reliance on foreign influence and tried to introduce reforms that would improve social conditions, enrich the people and strengthen national power. The main concern of Kim Okgyun (1851-1894) and Hong Yeongsik (1855-1884) was to set modern reform in motion. The Min family's heavy reliance on China in the wake of the army revolt had resulted in the occupation of the capital by Chinese forces.
At the outbreak of war between China and France (1883-1885), Japanese Minister to Korea Takezoe Shinichiro talked with these reformists about plans for a coup d'etat. Although China had withdrawn part of its expeditionary forces from Korea, the Chinese maintained far superior military strength over the Japanese.
The reformists planned the assassination of prominent politicians affiliated with China at a reception to be given on December 4, 1884, but the plot was not fully carried out. The reformists first called on King Gojong (r.1863-1907) at the royal palace and pressed for his sanction of their reform plan. On December 5, they assassinated military commanders and ministers inside the palace on their way to a royal audience. The reformists were forced to flee, however, without proclaiming their comprehensive 14-point Reform Decree. Kim Okgyun and Seo Jaepil (1866-1951) escaped to Incheon, where they boarded a Japanese ship for asylum in Japan.
Japan settled pending problems with China by concluding the Tianjin Treaty, in which the two sides agreed to: (a) pull their expeditionary forces out of Korea simultaneously; (b) not send military instructors for the training of the Korean army; and (c) notify the other side beforehand should one decide to send troops to Korea. However, Yuan Shih-kai remained in Seoul interfering in Korea's internal affairs, while Japan, not to be outdone, was ready to pounce upon any suitable opportunity for encroachment.
Japan had already consolidated its bases for economic aggression on the peninsula. The Japanese looked to Korea's agricultural production to meet demands for rice and soy beans, which was soaring commensurately with Japan's population growth. Korean rice, which was superior in quality to Japanese rice, was used as a usurious tools to exploit Korean peasants by making them dependent upon Japanese capital. Through branch offices in Incheon, Japan also made bargain purchases of cowhide for military use, as well as Korean gold which was used as a reserve fund for the Bank of Japan.
Japanese exports to Korea consisted, in the initial period, mainly of the resale of European, especially English, and American commodities. Japan later kept these European commodities for home consumption, gradually replacing export goods with Japanese products of low quality, mostly sundry merchandise for daily use.
There developed a great outflow of grain which eventually devastated the life of the Korean peasants. In 1889 and 1891, when the farmers of Hamgyeong-do and Hwanghae-do Province suffered crop failure, the Japanese government exacted exorbitant indemnities for losses allegedly suffered by Japanese merchants. Consequently, most farmers were impoverished, and their indignation was directed at Korea's ruling class responsible for their plight. The only recourse was to revolt, and during the period of 1884-1894, farmers struggles broke out repeatedly in all provinces.
