Donghak Peasant Army's Awareness and Orientation toward Japan and the Qing Dynasty

For a systematic understanding of the Donghak Peasant War, which is an important watershed in Korean modern history, it is one of the important tasks to grasp their perception and response to foreign powers shown throughout the struggle. This is because the diplomatic interference and military intervention of the neighboring powers of the Qing Dynasty and Japan were the most decisive factors limiting the condensed transformation ideology and movement power within Joseon society. This study is about the foreign power perception of the Donghak Peasant War and related activities of the Donghak Peasant Army before and after the Donghak Peasant War. As Donghak's ideology emerged and expanded afterwards, it was confirmed that it maintained the exclusion of the West and Japan until the Donghak Peasant War. As the issue of “Western exclusion” decreased and the target was narrowed down to Japan and China, there was a big difference in perception and orientation according to the difference between the region and the leadership. Such contents were conceptualized as the gathering of anti-Japanese volunteer soldiers of the Jeolla-do Peasant Army, the expulsion of Japanese troops of the leadership of the denomination centered on Chungcheong-do, the new government initiative of the Hwanghae-do Peasant Army, which started late, and the historical meaning of each were analyzed.