In the early 1890s, Jo Byeong-gap [ko], nominated magistrate of the gun in 1892, enforced harsh, oppressive policies upon the local peasant population.

Correspondingly, in March 1894, a group of peasants led by Jeon Bong-jun and Kim Gae-nam began an uprising against local authorities.

[6][7] The Donghak conversion rite, in which hundreds of people gathered in an open place and knelt before a cup of clean water, was partly influenced by the Christian baptism ritual.

[11] This made Donghak potentially dangerous to the Joseon Dynasty, which banned the religion and executed Choe in 1864 for 'Tricking and Lying to the Foolish People.

[17] Seo Inju and the Southern Jeob independently held a petition to free imprisoned Donghak believers and to restore the honor of Choe Je-u, which was not easily granted.

Meanwhile, Seo Inju and the Southern Jeob were threatening Westerners and Japanese with bodily harm, saying, "If you do not flee by March the seventh, we shall all kill you.

This was attached to American, French, and Japanese legations, Christian churches and schools, and districts with a large number of foreigners taking residence.

The requests were: Northern Jeob leaders, such as Choe Sihyeong and Son Byong-hi, feared that the government would execute Donghak believers and stopped the petition within three days.

Suddenly, the rebels, moving under the cover of fog, emerged from the mountains and attacked the governmental forces, killing a thousand soldiers.

Jeon Bong-jun established the Jeollajwaudo Daedoso (Great Capital of the Two Jeolla Provinces) in Jeonju and built Jibgangso in most towns.

To escape the forced marriage, fathers often found another suitable young man and made the daughter marry him within three days in secret.

[49] Posa, tiger hunters who served effectively as soldiers, cooperated with the Seongchal and Dongmong to fight against the Yangban resistance.

[54][55] On 24 and 25 October, the Battle of Ung Pass, or Ungchi, occurred between rebels and a coalition army of Japanese soldiers, governmental forces, and anti-rebel guerrillas.

[60] In Jindo, the third largest island of Korea (after Jeju and Geoje), Na Chihyeon of Naju converted the population to Donghak in January 1892.

In July, Son Haenggwon assaulted Susseonggun bases, taking matchlock rifles, swords, bullets, gunpowder, and tridents.

The rebels held flags signaling their Po and Jeob and spread manifestos titled To the People of the Towns of Gyeongsang throughout nearby villages.

On 9 October, before the Council of Samrye had reached its conclusion, there was a minor skirmish in Daejeon, at the time a small village called Hanbat, between rebels and governmental forces.

By 22 March, rebels of Hoenggang, Yeongdeung, Cheongsan, Boeun, Okcheon, Jinjam, Muneui, Goesan, and Yeongpung were already giving the wealth of the rich to the poor, and beat and castrated corrupt Yangban.

The rebels included the great Northern leader Son Byeonghui, whose family lived near Jonggok, and the patriarch of Donghak, Choe Sihyeong.

[69] With the guidance of the officials of Haeju, the Japanese defeated hundreds of rebels in the hour-long Battle of Gohyeonjang, killing "tens of thieves."

Also, there were only two Jeobju for all of Pyongan, compared with seven for Hwanghae and Gyeonggi, ten for Gangwon, seventeen for Chungcheong, nineteen for Gyeongsang, and twenty-five for Jeolla.

On 2 December, Jeon Bong-jun was also captured in a village called Pinori in modern Sunchang (see left), betrayed by his lieutenant Kim Gyeongcheon.

On 7 December, the Japanese finally killed Kim Inbae, the Great Jeobju of Geumgu, who had aided the Jinju rebels in the Battle of Gwangyang Fortress.

As the 800 Japanese soldiers moved through Yeongam, Gangjin, Haenam, and Jindo Island, they engaged in a scorched-earth strategy, killing 600 civilians and burning villages and sacks of rice.

In his testimony, Jeon emphasized that Donghak believers formed only a small fragment of the rebels, the majority being peasants seeking vengeance.

[76] The artist Suh Yong-sun drew a work titled Donghak Peasant Revolution on canvas using acrylic paint.

[citation needed]In A History of Donghak, Oh Jiyeong claims that the Great Regent attempted a massacre of pro-Japanese politicians in August 1894, simultaneous with the time when Jeon had planned an attack on Seoul.

[81] The Japanese historian Seito argued that the Donghak Peasant Revolution had been backed by a Samurai group named Genyōsha, who landed in Busan on 27 June 1894.

Additionally, Seito records that an alliance of rebels and Genyosha defeated governmental forces from June to August, in which Jeon would install Jibgangso agencies.

Nokdu Flower, a historical drama of SBS in 2019, directed and written by Shin Kyung-soo, Jung Hyun-Min, tells about Baek Yi-kang (this is an unreal character in history) join in Donghak Peasant Revolution.