Person1827 – 1898

Choe Si-hyeong

Second leader of Donghak who organized its scriptures and, in the second uprising of 1894, joined the Northern Assembly to the Southern

After Choe Je-u's execution he went into hiding and expanded the Donghak organisation through its network of local units. He compiled Choe Je-u's writings as the Donggyeong daejeon and the Yongdam yusa. He taught that one should "serve people as one serves Heaven." He led the 1892–1893 campaign to clear the founder's name, including the rallies at Samnye and Boeun. When Jeon Bong-jun's Southern Assembly rose again in 1894, he at first objected but soon had Son Byong-hi lead the Northern Assembly's forces to join them. He was captured and executed in 1898.

Where they went

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2 related events

  1. 1

    Donghak followers held rallies at Gongju and Samnye, petitioned at the palace gate and gathered at Boeun to clear the name of their executed founder Choe Je-u and win recognition for Donghak. At Boeun they raised the banner "Repel the Japanese and Westerners, raise righteousness".

  2. 2

    Risen again to drive out Japan, the combined Southern and Northern Donghak armies were crushed by government and Japanese troops at Ugeumchi near Gongju; Jeon Bong-jun was captured at Sunchang.

People who appear alongside

  • Son Byong-hi1861 – 1922

    Third leader of Donghak and founder of Cheondogyo; head of the 33 national representatives of 1919

  • Choe Je-u1824 – 1864

    Founder of Donghak at Yongdamjeong in Gyeongju; executed in Daegu

  • Jeon Bong-jun1855 – 1895

    Leader of the Donghak peasant army, nicknamed the 'Mung Bean General'

Themes this person appears in

  • GongjuAD 475 – 1894

    From Ungjin, Baekje’s second capital, to Ugeumchi — the town on the Geum River that became the heart of Chungcheong