In the early months of 1894, the Donghak Rebellion broke out in southern Korea and soon spread throughout the rest of the country, threatening the Korean capital, Seoul, itself.

From the beginning of May, the Chinese had taken steps to prepare for the mobilization of their forces in the provinces of Zhili, Shandong and in Manchuria, as a result of the tense situation on the Korean peninsula.

As a result, soon after learning of the Korean government's request for Chinese military help, all Japanese warships in the vicinity were immediately ordered to Pusan and Chemulpo.

[2] A formation of 420 sailors, selected from the crews of the Japanese warships anchored in Chempulo, was immediately dispatched to Seoul and managed to enter the city the same day.

Consequently, General Oshima in Seoul and commanders of the Japanese warships in Korean waters received orders to initiate military operations if any more Chinese troops were sent to Korea.

[4] He decided, therefore, to reinforce General Ye's forces in Asan with an additional 2,500 troops, who were embarked at Dagu on board three chartered means of transport.

The first two of these, Irene and Fei Ching, carried a total of 1,300 troops and arrived at Asan on the night of July 23–24, escorted in Korean waters by the cruiser Jiyuan and the torpedo gunboat Kwang-yi.

At the same time, in the early morning of July 23, the Japanese had taken control of the Royal Palace in Seoul and imprisoned King Gojong, forcing him to renounce ties with China.

[5] Planning to strengthen their forces in Korea, the Imperial Japanese Navy redeployed the main component of the Combined Fleet to Korean waters, since the ships stationed there at the time, Yaeyama, Musashi and Ōshima, were considered insufficient to prevent Chinese reinforcements from landing at Asan,[6] and, in the event of hostilities breaking out, would not be able to provide support to Japanese troops on the Korean peninsula.

Consequently, on July 23, fifteen major warships and seven torpedo boats, under the command of Vice-Admiral Itō, left Sasebo and headed for Gunsan on the western coast of Korea.

[6] With tensions increasing over the situation on the Peninsula, the Chinese government chartered three British steamers to carry reinforcements to Korea in late July to bolster their position there.

Fang Boqian decided to remain at Asan Bay along with the cruiser Jiyuan and the torpedo gunboat Kwang-Yi to await the last of the transports, Kowshing, which left Dagu on July 23 with 1,200 Chinese troops and 12 pieces of artillery on board.

[5] However, to prevent the Japanese from perceiving the Chinese actions as a sign of weakness, Li Hongzhang decided to send reinforcements to Korea – though they were to be stationed in the north, at Pyongyang.

For the Chinese, this move would allow for the potential withdrawal of General Ye's forces from Asan while expressing goodwill as far as peaceful settlement of the conflict was concerned.

During the early morning of July 25, Rear-Admiral Tsuboi's squadron arrived at the rendezvous point near Pungdo island without sighting Yaeyama or Ōshima.

Approaching Pungdo at 6.30 am, the Japanese vessels spotted two warships heading south-west; they turned out to be the Chinese cruiser Jiyuan and the torpedo gunboat Kwang-yi.

Noticing the Chinese maneuver, the Japanese cruisers in turn increased their speed to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), in line ahead formation with Yoshino leading Naniwa and Akitsushima.

[10] Furthermore, the hail of Japanese shelling started numerous fires in the midship section, which, though relatively minor, caused panic among the Chinese gun crews on the upper deck.

[10] After getting the situation under control, Jiyuan managed to escape to the open sea; its crew soon repaired the steering mechanism, which allowed the cruiser to regain her manoeuvrability.

[11] After a failed attempt to join Chinese troops at Asan, they were taken on board the Royal Navy torpedo cruisers Archer and Porpoise at the end of July and transported to Chefoo.

It later turned out that they were the transport ship Kowshing, which had sailed from Taku carrying Chinese troops, and the gunboat Tsao-Kiang, which had departed from Weihaiwei with mail and orders.

[12] Tsuboi had correctly suspected that Kowshing was carrying reinforcements for the Chinese forces at Asan, the prevention of which was the Flying Squadron's main objective.

After four hours of negotiation, when the Beiyang troops were momentarily distracted, Galsworthy and the British crew jumped overboard and attempted to swim to Naniwa, but were fired upon by the Chinese.

[13] Yoshino and Akitsushima, along with the captured gunboat Tsao-Kiang, returned to the vicinity of Pungdo Island, where they made rendezvous with Naniwa and Yaeyama, Musashi and Ōshima, which had just arrived from Chemulpo.

[14] Later that day, Rear Admiral Tsuboi ordered Yaeyama, Musashi and Ōshima, along with Akitsushima andTsao-Kiang, to join the main fleet at Kunsan under Vice-Admiral Itō.

The response of the British public to Japan having fired upon a vessel flying the Red Ensign was negative, and the sinking almost led to a diplomatic incident between the two nations.

However, calls for Japan to pay an indemnity quickly ceased after British jurists ruled that the action was in conformity with international law regarding the treatment of mutineers.