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영어

Although Donghak was continually suppressed by the government after the foundation, it made a remarkable growth after the middle of the 1880's. As a result, it developed to a force in Korean society enough to resist to the oppression of the government and the local officials. From the beginning of the 1890's, Donghak led a chain of the movements to clear the name of the founder of false charges and to stop the maltreatment toward Donghak believers particularly in the Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces, where the number of the believers was on the sharp rise. The move was very systematic, tinged with definitely political overtones, and involved with the earnest request of the people.
Donghak believers got together at Gongju in October 1892, and at Boun and Kumgu in 1893. They asked for the remission of the founder and the ban on the maltreatment toward the believers and the repulse of the Japanese and Western people. While the former two were a religious movement and at the same time the struggle for the right to live, the latter was a political struggle which insisted national independence against the foreign powers, speaking for the current emotions of the people. The attempt of the remission failed, but with the grant of the maltreatment prohibition from the government, it gave the believers great confidence, so Donghak movement to repel the foreign powers could have solidarity with the general public.
Generally speaking, Donghak peasantry revolution is divided into two periods, with the first uprising as the struggle against the feudalism, and the second as the war against the foreign invasion. But in my opinion, even from the times of the remission, a slogan "Driving out the Japanese and Western people" appeared.
And also the first uprising displayed a slogan “Liquidate the Japanese barbarians”all over the surface, while the second uprising was a war against Japan to save the country. Therefore the repulse of the Japanese and Western people was one of the major issues from the beginning to the end of the Donghak peasantry revolution. Through the current of the times, Donghak got to have great capability on the wholesale, and its combination with the people became a motive to ignite the peasantry revolution in 1894.