Religious and ideological background
Korean history in the late 19th century was a period of change.
Externally, it was necessary to prevent the political and economic aggression of Western imperialist countries, including Japan and China, on the Korean Peninsula and to protect the country’s sovereignty. Domestically, it was necessary to liquidate the limiting feudal ruling system of the Joseon Dynasty and establish a modern nation-state.
Therefore, it was a time when various transformational movements were carried out for the defense of national sovereignty and modern reform.
However, the defense of sovereignty and the movement for modern transformation failed, and in 1910, it fell into a complete colony of Japan. Neo-Confucianism, which was the guiding ideology of the Joseon Dynasty for 500 years, reached its ideological limit at this time and needed a new idea corresponding to the new era.
Efforts to overcome Neo-Confucianism had already been raised in the 18th century as Silhak thought and Bukhak thought, but due to the conservative and reactionary nature of the system in the 19th century, it was frustrated by political oppression against progressive forces using Western learning as an excuse. By the middle of the 19th century, Cheoksawijeong thought, Gaehwa thought, and Donghak thought emerged and became the guiding ideology leading the revolutionary movement of this period.
However, Christianity and Buddhism did not develop as the guiding ideology of the transformation movement, but focused on obtaining freedom of faith from the royal family through education and medical projects.
On the other hand, the deepening contradiction of the feudal system in the 19th century caused the peasants to reach the limit of their ability to pay taxes due to the strengthening of exploitation by the ruling power, and the people’s lives reached the point of collapse. Since the late Joseon Dynasty, the ideal world in which people can overcome their temporal suffering has mainly appeared as Maitreya faith or Jeonggamrok faith.
Also, it can be said that Yuldo-guk in <Honggildongjeon> and Byeonsan uninhabited island in <Heosaengjeon> were in the same context. In the middle of the 19th century, Donghak Thought (=地上仙境) presented the answer to the hardships of the people’s life and the people’s hope for a utopia as an alternative to overcome foreign aggression and systemic contradictions.
After the execution of Choi Su-un, Donghak spread to the peasant class and became the driving force behind the anti-feudal, anti-foreign national peasant war in 1894. However, due to the suppression of the Peasants’ War by foreign forces, Donghak was branded as a group of traitors by the state. From the frustration of the Peasants’ War to the 1920s, many new religions appeared in Korean society.
However, they had different views on the national issue. Rather, after colonization, there is a tendency to avoid the ethnic problem by emphasizing the universal purpose of religion.
It was the same in Buddhism and Christianity.
It can be said that the principle of political division was the result of compromise with the government-general.
Won Buddhism was founded by a young man named Park Jung-bin (Sotaesan, 1891-1943) in this atmosphere of the 1910s.
