Conflict1895 – 1896

Eulmi Righteous Armies

Enraged by the queen’s murder and the topknot decree, Confucian scholars such as Yu In-seok and Yi So-eung raised righteous armies; most disbanded after Gojong urged them to in 1896.

Led by scholars of the Wijeong cheoksa school, they were joined by peasants and survivors of the Donghak armies. Yu In-seok rose at Jecheon and took Chungju, and Yi So-eung rose at Chuncheon, attacking pro-Japanese officials and Japanese troops.

When the king’s flight to the Russian legation toppled the pro-Japanese cabinet and the topknot decree was withdrawn, most units disbanded at the royal command; some carried on as armed bands such as the Hwalbindang. It was the start of the anti-Japanese righteous army movement continued in 1905 and 1907.

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The map in 1895

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States and rulers at the time: Joseon — Gojong
Japan · belligerent — Emperor Meiji

People

Yu In-seok1842 – 1915
militia leader · Confucian loyalist who raised the 1895 righteous army at Jecheon and later led the Thirteen-Province Army in the Russian Maritime Province
Gojong1852 – 1919
related figure · Twenty-sixth king of Joseon and first emperor of the Korean Empire

Before and after

Earlier: 1894 First Sino-Japanese War
Later: 1895 The 23 Bu and the 13 Provinces

Themes that include this event

ChungjuAD 450 – 1895
From the Goguryeo stele to Tangeumdae — Jungwon, the middle of the Namhan River route that the Three Kingdoms fought over