{"id":1097,"date":"2024-10-06T18:37:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T18:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2024-11-27T15:08:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T15:08:14","slug":"tonghak-did-the-religious-movement-play-a-positive-role-in-the-development-of-modern-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/2024\/10\/tonghak-did-the-religious-movement-play-a-positive-role-in-the-development-of-modern-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonghak: Did the religious movement play a positive role in the development of modern Korea?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young discusses the continuation of the Tonghak religious movement through its transformation into Ch\u2019\u014dndongyo in 1905, shortly after Korea became a protectorate regime to the Japanese state. This was a period of socio-political turbulence, as Koreans grappled with the slow decline of their national sovereignty till their annexation in 1910. Young emphasises
\nthe antagonistic role the Tonghak and Ch\u2019\u014dndongyo movements played in Korea\u2019s political dichotomy through the late 19th<\/sup> and early 20th<\/sup> century1<\/a><\/sup>. The Tonghak movement was evidently far more than a religious sensation, as it played a critical role in reshaping the socio-political order, contributing to the reshaping of Korean society during modernisation. However, by the 20th<\/sup> century it led to political diversions that ultimately hindered Korea\u2019s ability to unite to protect its culture as Japan began to impose its influence.<\/p>\n

Tonghak was founded in 1860 by Ch\u2019oe Cheu, who drew upon the roots of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism and local folk beliefs, as well as rejecting Western influences. One of the key elements of this new religion was that it offered an alternative to the Neo-Confucianist philosophy that were the foundations of the Ch\u014dson dynasty1<\/a><\/sup>. Confucianism stressed the consistent moral positioning of authority for the objective of social cohesion. The foundations of Tonghak as a movement that emphasised the strength and fundamental equality of all individuals regardless of their social class signified a clear desire to break from Korea\u2019s hierarchical practices.<\/p>\n

The worsening socio-economic conditions of the mid-19th<\/sup> century, from rural poverty and famine, to floods and outbreaks of cholera and smallpox, also provided the ideal setting for this new religious agenda2<\/a><\/sup>. The Tonghak movement utilised this upheaval to create an inclusive message, emphasising that these hardships were shared societal experiences, in order to build unity and reassure them for the future. Ch\u2019\u014dndongyo texts portray these growing societal challenges as evidence of the government\u2019s inability to navigate the complexities of modernity. Simultaneously, they presented the movement as being rooted in finding a solution for society to cope with the transition into a new era. They quote that \u201cDaesinsa [the title of Ch\u2019oe Cheu] made clear the fact that humankind has fallen into a state of confusion and degeneration and this has been a necessary situation to open the new era of Hucheon.\u201d3<\/a><\/sup>. Whilst the spiritual foundations of this movement are central to its growth, the political context of the period evidently played a significant role in shaping the movement, highlighting the interplay between religious reform and socio-political change in Korea\u2019s path to modernisation.<\/p>\n

The Tonghak movement\u2019s nationalist dimensions were treated on par with the Korean political movements of the late-19th<\/sup> century, such as the Kabo reforms (1894-1896), and the Independence Club, by the Ch\u014dson court as part of the attempt to build a new social order. Beyond this, Young goes on to examine the exploitation of the Tonghak in political movements, particularly Ilchinhoe, a pro-Japanese organisation whose advocacy to allow Japan to control Korea\u2019s affairs tied Tonghak much closer to the Japanese than he had ever advocated for. Ilchinhoe consistently relied on its roots from the Tonghak movement to justify its support for the Japanese, arguing that government resistance and reform were a part of their heritage4<\/a><\/sup>. Despite Son Py\u014dng-hui\u2019s decision to change the name of the religion from Tonghak to Ch\u2019\u014dndogyo to reassert itself from these political movements, it is clear that the political dimensions of the Ch\u2019\u014dndogyo had become so entrenched by the early 20th century that it was difficult to separate the religion from its new political context.<\/p>\n

In summary, the Tonghak and Ch\u2019\u014dndongyo movements played a vital role in reshaping Korean society by fostering a new critical engagement with its social order. Their influence was particularly notable in the empowerment of the southern peasant class, who began to perceive modernisation through a more critical lens. However, this success also left them vulnerable to political exploitation and foreign intervention, which ultimately contributed to the fragmentation of Korea\u2019s cultural and political identity.<\/p>\n

  1. Anderson, Emily. Belief and Practice in Imperial Japan and Colonial Korea<\/em>. Springer, 2016 Ch 5: Young., Carl. \u201cEastern Learning Divided: The Split in the Tonghak Religion and the Japanese Annexation of Korea, 1904\u20131910\u201d, p.80 [↩<\/a>]<\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. Kallander, George L. \u2018Salvation Through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea\u2019, University of Hawai\u02bbi Press<\/i>, 2013, p.25 [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. Ch’ondongyo Documents<\/a> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  4. Anderson, Emily. Belief and Practice in Imperial Japan and Colonial Korea<\/em>. Springer, 2016 Ch 5: Young., Carl. \u201cEastern Learning Divided: The Split in the Tonghak Religion and the Japanese Annexation of Korea, 1904\u20131910, p.93 [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Young discusses the continuation of the Tonghak religious movement through its transformation into Ch\u2019\u014dndongyo in 1905, shortly after Korea became a protectorate regime to the Japanese state. This was a period of socio-political turbulence, as Koreans grappled with the slow decline of their national sovereignty till their annexation in 1910. Young emphasises the antagonistic role … Continue reading “Tonghak: Did the religious movement play a positive role in the development of modern Korea?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1104,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions\/1104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}