Jeon Bong-jun

Jeon Bong-jun (December 3, 1855 – April 24, 1895) was a Korean peasant revolutionary who was a prominent leader of the Donghak movement. During the Donghak Peasant Revolution, he led the initial revolt in Gobu and later led the Southern Jeob rebels. After his defeat at the Battle of Ugeumchi, he was captured and was later executed in April 1895. Due to his short physical stature, he was called "Nokdu Janggun" (녹두장군, General mung bean).

Early Life
Jeon Bong-jun was born on December 3, 1855, in Jeolla Province(now North Jeolla Province), as a member of the Cheonan Jeon clan. Previously, Korean historians have suggested various places, including Wanju, Jeongeup, and Gochang as his specific place of birth. However, following the discovery of compelling evidence from a genealogy book of the Cheonan Jeon clan, many historians now agree that his exact place of birth was Dangchon village, Jukrim-ri, Gochang-eup, Gochang.

Jeon Bong-jun's father, Jeon Chang-hyuk, was a neo-Confucianist scholar who was a member of the Hyanggyo of Gobu. Jeon learned classical Chinese from his father, and occasionally wrote poetry. In 1940, writer Oh Ji-young, who had been an acquaintance of Jeon's, published a book containing a poem titled Baekgusi, which he claimed was written by Jeon when he was a child. However, this claim has been discredited by the historical community.

During his early adolescence, Jeon left Dangchon village with his father and migrated throughout multiple regions in Jeolla, probably in search of better livelihoods. During his late teenage years, Jeon migrated to a village in Donggok-ri, Taein, which was likely where he first met Kim Gae-nam. According to other local tales of his youth, Jeon lived in a village in Wonpyeong, Geumgu during his late adolescence years.

According to the aforementioned genealogy book, Jeon's first spouse was Lady Song of the Yeosan Clan, the daughter of Song Du-ok. When Song died in 1877, he remarried Lady Yi of the Nampyeong Clan, daughter of Yi Mun-ki. He had two daughters with Lady Song and two sons with Lady Yi. Recent studies on Jeon Bong-jun's family lineage have also suggested that Jeon may have been the brother-in-law of renowned Seon Buddhist monk Gyeongheo, whose father's name was also Song Du-ok. According to historian Hong Hyeon-ji, a letter, written and sent by Gyeongheo himself to Jeon Chang-hyuk, was discovered. The letter discussed matters over the marriage between his sister and Jeon.

Jeon made a living as a medicine seller, farmer, and village teacher. During an 1895 interrogation, Jeon recounted that he and his family had lived in poverty before his involvement in the revolt, and were barely able to "have rice as breakfast, and porridge as dinner."

Ideas of reform
Around the late 19th century, Joseon Korea was plagued with various social problems, including poverty, excessive taxation, and corruption. Outside of its borders, foreign powers, such as Japan, France, Germany, Russia, Qing China, and the United States all sought to expand their influence over Korea, often through unequal treaties and gunboat diplomacy. Joseon politics were split between pro-Russian, pro-Japanese, and pro-Qing factions, with little effort made to alleviate the burdens of the peasantry. These issues brought discontent and protest among peasants, and ideas of political and social reform among scholars. At some point around his late 20s to early 30s, Jeon acquired a copy of Jeong Yak-yong's Gyeongse Yupyo, which had previously been retained by seonbis from Haenam and Gangjin. Jeon became heavily influenced by Jeong's ideas. He exchanged ideas of reform with other thinkers, including Son Hwa-jung, Choi Gyeong-seon, and Kim Gae-nam.

Career as Regent Heungseon's retainer
In 1890, Jeon visited Unhyeongung palace to see regent Heungseon, who had been residing there since his return to the palace in August 1885. There, Jeon was appointed by Heungseon as his retainer. Jeon exchanged ideas of national reform with him during his career. In 1892, Jeon concluded his career as a retainer and returned to Gobu.

Involvement in Donghak
The Donghak movement, which was first created by Choe Je-u in 1860, had spread to the Jeolla region by the 1880s, gaining widespread support from the indignant peasantry through its ideas of universal equality and human welfare. Jeon Bong-jun joined Donghak between 1888 and 1891, presumably after moving to Gobu from Taein. Jeon interpreted the Donghak movement as a movement that promoted both personal spirituality and discipline along with social reform. According to the March 6, 1895 issue of the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, Jeon claimed in an interrogation that he was introduced to the Donghak movement by Kim Chi-do in 1892. He detailed that he participated in the movement as he was moved by its principles and wished to "achieve the goals" of "driving out corrupt officials" and "protecting the nation and bringing comfort to the people", rather than due to religious motives.

Jeon became a prominent figure of the movement through his active engagement during the Gyojo Shinwon movement. Among the three main goals of the movement, he is said to have participated most enthusiastically in the expulsion of Japanese and Western influence. Jeon participated in several mass protests and pleas against the Joseon government's suppression of Donghak. He took a leading role during the 1892 protests at Samrye and later gathered Donghak members in Wonpyeong in preparation for the February 1893 mass appeals at Gyeongbokgung and the subsequent March 1893 protests in Boeun. He was soon promoted as the regional leader of the movement of Gobu by Choe Si-hyeong.

Gobu Revolt
In December 1893, a group of Gobu peasants, who were enraged by the harsh policies enacted by Gobu magistrate Jo Byeong-Gap, pleaded the lifting of heavy taxes and the return of extorted property. Jeon acted as the head of the protesters, with his name cited on the head of the written complaint. This plea was rejected, and Jeon and the peasants were forcefully dismissed from the local Gwan-a. In response, Jeon gathered a group of 20 revolutionaries who pledged to gather forces and initiate a general revolt, with their names signed on the Sabal Tongmun code. On January 10, 1894, a total of 1000 peasants revolted and attacked the Gwan-a under Jeon Bong-jun's leadership.

The revolt was successful. The local rice storage was destroyed, and most of the illegally taxed rice was retrieved. Jo Byeon-gap fled to nearby Jeonju. The Joseon government appointed hyeongam of yong-an Pak Won-myeong as the new magistrate of Gobu, and ordered the investigation and management of the incident. Most of the rebels returned to their households following the successful revolt. However, Jeon took hold of his forces and relocated them to Baeksan Mountain.

End of revolution
On April 28, 1894, Jeon Bong Jun's revolution became anti-Western and anti-Japanese because of the oppressive and brutal actions of the Japanese army in punishing the Korean farmers. This revolution spread from town to county as the peasant army vowed to eradicate the entirety of the Korean ruling class and expel all Japanese and western parties. By September his peasant revolt came to a violent end as his army of farmers were decisively defeated by a well trained, better equipped Japanese military in the Battle of Ugeumchi. Jeon Bong-jun was arrested by the governor of Jeolla province, Yi Do-jae, and was executed by hanging on 24 April 1895.

Cultural depictions

 * Portrayed by Choi Moo-sung in the 2019 SBS TV series Nokdu Flower.
 * There is a statue of Jeon Bong Jun in Seoul, at the intersection of Jong-ro and Ujeongguk-ro.