Government Victory Hong Gyeong-rae's Rebellion was a peasant revolt that occurred between 31 January 1812 and 29 May 1812 in Joseon.

It was led by Hong Gyeong-rae and the upperclass yangban of Pyeongan Province, who were unhappy with a tax regime based on government-administered high-interest loans.

Impoverished farmers joined them following a year of exceptionally poor harvest, when they were forced nonetheless to contribute to a "grain fund".

At its height, the rebels controlled most of the area north of the Cheongcheon River, including the town of Jeongju, which was fortified to withstand invasions from Manchuria (then part of Qing China).

The rebellion was put down a few months later, on 19 April, when the government forces breached the town wall with a gunpowder charge.

[1] Although it failed, Hong Gyeong-rae's rebellion may have provided momentum for other popular armed uprisings in different parts of Korea seeking a more just society.

Even when the slaves of powerful families saw men from (Pyeongan) Province, they always called them "the common rabble from (Pyongan).

He suggested that perhaps its primary purpose was to legitimize the rebellion and seek the support of those members of the educated elite that had not already joined the rebels.

[15] Hong Gyeong-rae (a geomancer) travelled extensively to find and create support for the rebellion, seeking for geomantically auspicious sites and to fully understand the discontent and to spread a revolutionary ideology.

[16] He relied on two basic arguments to gain supporters for the revolution: Wu Kun-cheok (U Kunch'ik) was a professional geomancer and used his knowledge of secret prophecies to recruit sympathizers to the rebel cause.

At the end of the rebellion, he escaped from Jeongju, where Hong Gyeong-rae and other rebels were besieged by government troops but were captured a few days later.

However, he failed to recognize the danger posed by the tunneling efforts of the government forces, which was used to place a gunpowder charge under the wall.

When the tide was turning against the rebels, he went on a mission to recruit help from sympathizers along the border region near the Amnok (Yalu) river.

After it appeared that the rebels had the upper hand, reinforcements led by Lee Young-sik assured victory for the regional force.

[27] December 1810 to January 1812: The material preparations for the rebellion appeared to have begun in 1810 when Hong Gyeong-rae and Wu Kun-cheok met again at the Blue Dragon Temple.

Hong Gyeong-rae also stated that thousands of Ming dynasty troops were secretly stationed in the area and would join the rebels once the rebellion began.

Hong Gyeong-rae moved his family there, including his mother, wife, sons, brothers, and nephews.

As noted above, two armies were constituted there and equipped with uniforms and weapons: one under the leadership of Kim Sar-yong and the other under Hong Chong-gak.

The starting date had been set for 1 February, but the campaign had to be launched on 31 January because district leaders had become suspicious.

The following day Hong's army moved to Bakcheon (Pakch'on) by way of the ferry station downstream and set up its basecamp there.

The dissidents had hoped to move swiftly to Anju, the walled city south of the Cheongcheon River before the government had a chance to prepare for an attack, but they never put their plan into action.

By 10 February, the rebels captured an important granary south of Guseong and the district seat at Cheolsan (Ch'ŏlsan).

[34] The walled town of Yeongbyeon (Yŏngby'ŏn), a natural fortress, was a notable exception to the success in the east.

[35] In addition, the failure to move swiftly to Anju allowed time for a regional force to be organized there.

The battle occurred at Pine Grove, about 10 ri (4 kilometers) north of Anju, where the rebels suffered a disastrous defeat on 11 February.

They witnessed the destruction of the regional force and arriving conscripts, and the population was committed to the defense; they presumably assumed they had no other choice.

Initially, morale was high, and the defenders repulsed many attempts by government troops to scale the walls or breach a gate.

Attacks on 16 March and 6 April included battle carts designed to allow soldiers to fire down on the defenders, but these also failed.

The army planned to dig two tunnels (on the east and north sides of the town) under the wall and plant gunpowder charges there.

These included: the cancelation of taxes until there was a good harvest, forgiveness of loans, and holding a provincial civil service examination to facilitate the advancement of scholars from the area.