Seoul Uprising of 1882

a popular, antifeudal national liberation uprising in Korea.

As feudal exploitation grew and as Japan and other colonial powers penetrated the country in the 1870’s and 1880’s, class contradictions came to a head. On July 23, 1882, after drought and famine had taken their toll, the soldiers of the Seoul garrison rebelled in protest over the bad rice issued them. They were joined by peasants from the surrounding areas and by the urban poor. The insurgents were headed by the soldier Song Song-gil.

After capturing Seoul, the rebels distributed grain from the government warehouses to the hungry, killed several Japanese military instructors, and set fire to the Japanese mission. Korean and Chinese troops, called in by the authorities, crushed the rebellion; ten insurgent leaders, including Song Song-gil, were executed. In August 1882, Japan imposed on the Korean government the humiliating Treaty of Inchon, which permitted the permanent stationing of Japanese troops in Seoul.