The Gabo Reform, also known as the Kabo Reform, describes a series of sweeping reforms suggested to the government of Korea, beginning in 1894 and ending in 1896 during the reign of Gojong of Korea in response to the Donghak Peasant Revolution. Historians debate the degree of Japanese influence in this program, as well as its effect in encouraging modernization.
The name Gabo () comes from the name of the year 1894 in the traditional sexagenary cycle.
Background
The disarray and blatant corruption in the Korean government, particularly in the three main areas of revenues – land tax, military service, and the state granary system – weighed heavily on the Korean peasantry.
Of special note is the corruption of the local functionaries (Hyangi) who could purchase an appointment as administrators and cloak their predations on the farmers with an aura of officialdom. Yangban families, formerly well-respected for their status as a noble class, were increasingly seen as little more than commoners who were unwilling to meet their responsibilities to their communities.
Faced with increasing corruption in the government, brigandage of the disenfranchised (such as the mounted fire brigands, or Hwajok, and the boat-borne water brigands or Sujok) as well as abuse by the military, many poor villagers sought to pool their resources such as land, tools, and production skills in order to survive.
Despite the government abolishing slavery and burning the records in 1801, increasing numbers of peasants and farmers become involved in "mutual assistance associations". Institutions such as the Catholic and Protestant missions, with the egalitarian nature of their teachings garnered followings among the Yangban, though commonly in the more urban areas.
Arguably of greater influence were the religious teachings of Choe Je-u, (최제우, 崔濟愚, 1824–1864) called Donghak or "Eastern Learning" which became especially popular in rural areas. Themes of exclusionism (of foreign influences), nationalism, salvation, and social consciousness were promoted to allow illiterate farmers to understand the concepts and accept them more readily.
Choi, like many Koreans, was alarmed by the intrusion of Christianity and the Anglo-French occupation of Beijing during the Second Opium War. He believed that the best way to counter foreign influence in Korea was to introduce democratic and human rights reforms internally. Nationalism and social reform struck a chord among the peasant guerrillas, and Donghak spread all across Korea. Progressive revolutionaries organized the peasants into a cohesive structure. Arrested in 1863 following the Chinju Uprising led by Yu Kye-cheun, Choi was charged with "misleading the people and sowing discord in society". Choi was beheaded in 1864, sending many of his followers into hiding in the mountains and leaving the Korean populace to continue to suffer.
King Gojong (r. 1864–1910), enthroned at the age of twelve, succeeded King Cheolchong (r. 1849 – 1863). King Gojong's father, Heungseon Daewongun (Yi Ha-Ung; 1820–1898), ruled as the de facto regent and inaugurated far-ranging reform to strengthen the central administration. Among his targeted reforms was addressing the inherited rule by a few elite ruling families by the adoption of a merit system for official appointments.
In addition, Seowon (private academies), which threatened to develop a parallel system to the corrupt government and enjoyed special privileges and large land-holdings, were repressed through taxes despite bitter opposition from Confucian scholars. The decision to rebuild palace buildings and finance it through additional levies on the population caused Heungseon Daewongun's attempted reforms to antagonize the three largest constituencies supporting the government: the ruling elite, the Confucian scholars, and the general population. Heungseon Daewongun was impeached in 1873 and forced into retirement by the supporters of Empress Myeongseong.
On 27 February 1876, the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, also known in Japan as the Japanese-Korean Treaty of Amity (, ) was signed. It was designed to open up Korea to Japanese trade, and the rights granted to Japan under the treaty were similar to those granted to European powers in Japan following the visit of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. However, the treaty ended Korea's status as a protectorate of China, forced open three Korean ports to Japanese trade, granted extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens, and was an unequal treaty signed under duress of the Unyo Incident of 1875 (gunboat diplomacy).