Assassination of Em MyeongseongThereafter, Joseon suffered while imperialist nationscarried out their stiff rivalry for overseas expansion,
among them Japan, Russia anoven the Qing Dynasty.
Joseon was like a fish in a sea of much larger sharks,
but internal issues destabilized the country too.
The common people disliked corrupt Confucianbureaucrats and politicians as much as they didforeign forces, particularly Japanese ones, as amplydemonstrated by the Donghak Peasant Revolutionin 1894. Donghak, which literally means "Easternlearning," sought to suppress the influence of "Westernlearning."
Enraged by a county leader who exploited locals,
peasants - led by Jeon Bong-jun and others - staged aseries of uprisings beginning in the southwestern partof the Korean Peninsula, later expanding up to thecentral regions.
Ironically, the anti-feudalism campaign, which alsorejected foreign influence in Korea, ended up drawingoverseas forces from China and Japan to suppressgrowing peasant army.
theUnder the stewardship of Empress Myeongseong, thewife of King Gojong, the government asked for help94