The Independence Association (Korean: 독립협회; Hanja: 獨立協會) was an organization that advocated for Korean independence. It operated between July 2, 1896 and December 25, 1898, and was founded and led by the prominent Korean independence activist Soh Jaipil.
The group advocated for numerous reforms for both government and society, including democracy, public education, journalism, and language reform. The group also published a newspaper:Tongnip Sinmun ("The Independent").
Its advocacy for reforming the government into a constitutional monarchy brought it into conflict with the Korean monarch Gojong as well as conservatives in the court. The club was eventually ordered to disband in December 1898.
Background
A number of reform movements existed in the late Joseon and Korean Empire periods.[3]
Seo returned to Korea in early 1896 and soon afterward was offered a position as consultant to the Privy Council. Preferring to have greater freedom of action, he refused the position, but agreed to serve as an adviser to the throne, a position which broadened his contacts among prominent government leaders.
Formation
A number of political organizations came into being in Korea during the 1890s, each formed with the hope of securing the nation's independence and the rights of the people. Each group tackled the problem of national independence from a different direction. The most energetic of these organizations was also the first to form. On July 2, 1896, Seo Jae-pil and Yi Sang-jae, Yun Chi-ho formally inaugurated the Independence Club (Doklip-hyuphoe). Minister of War An Kyong-su served as the club's first president and Foreign Minister Yi Wan-yong served as its chairman.[4]
The Independence Club drew its early membership of about 30 men from other like-minded groups, from incumbent politicians and former government officials. Members came from the Chongdong Club, founded by Yun Chi-ho and Yi Sang-jae, both active in Korea's diplomatic affairs, and from the Konyang Club (a name that symbolized the end of Korea's suzerain relationship with China), founded by Yu Kil-chun and other leaders of the reforms of 1894. As criticism of the government and its policies mounted, a number of the higher level officials associated with the Independence Club thought it wise to resign their positions for political reasons. In their place came representatives of the new intelligentsia, men influenced by Western culture whose ideology developed from the Confucian reformist idea of "Eastern ways, Western machines."
The selection of officers and the conduct of club business was handled democratically. Matters of importance were decided by a simple majority of the members present. In time, the Independence Club expanded its network of members into the countryside. After sufficient branches had been established in provincial towns, one group in each province became the liaison group that maintained regular contact with the club's headquarters in Seoul.
Activities
As it became more of a citizen's assembly, the Independence Club moved beyond symbolic activities and began to initiate direct social and political action programs.
The first priority was to launch a campaign of public education. To this end, it established Tongnip Sinmun, the club's newspaper. One of the first projects undertaken by the paper was an attempt to establish some tangible symbol of Korean independence.
Seo proposed that Yeongeunmun ("Gate of Welcoming Grace"), long considered a symbol of Korean subservience to China, be torn down and replaced with a new gate.
Second, he proposed that the Mohwagwan (모화관; 慕華館), the guest quarters where Chinese embassies had been entertained, be renovated and that an Independence Hall and Independence Park be created there.
In August 1896, within days after the proposals, the "Independence Association" was founded. The citizens responded with not only support, but sizable contributions as well. Even the royal family and many of the government's highest officials contributed to the Independence Club projects. Crown Prince Yi-Chak made a financial contribution to the group as a token of his cooperation. Within three months, membership in the association grew to nearly ten thousand. The groundbreaking and cornerstone laying ceremony was carried out in November.
Policy advocacy
The group urged Korea to adopt a foreign policy based on independence and neutrality, one that would show no favor to any foreign power seeking to advance its parochial interests in the peninsula.
It also sought to improve education by advocating for the establishment of schools in every village. It also advocated for improvements to commercial and industrial infrastructure in Korea. They also urged the development of a more modern national defense capability, including a navy.
Clash with the government and disbanding the club
The Independence Club launched a movement to establish a national assembly in April 1898. In October 1898 the club held demonstrations in front of palace in response to the government's attempts to revise repressive pre-Gabo laws. Participants included yangban, students, monks, merchants, and other commoners, as well as outcastes. The club mobilized a thousand people a day, causing great public excitement, and appears to have come close to forcing Gojong to give into their demands for an appointed assembly.
In October 1898, the club announced six requirements to the Emperor Gojong. The 6 were following:[7]
Neither officials nor people shall depend upon foreign aid, but shall do their best to strengthen and uphold the imperial power.
All documents pertaining to foreign loans, the hiring of foreign soldiers, the granting of concessions, etc., in fact every document drawn up between the Korean government and a foreign party or firm, shall be signed and sealed by all the Ministers of State and the President of the Privy Council.
Important offenders shall be punished only after they have been given a public trial and ample opportunity to defend themselves.
To his Majesty shall belong the power to appoint Ministers, but in case a majority of the Cabinet disapproves of the Emperor's nominee he shall not be appointed.
All sources of revenue and methods of raising taxes shall be placed under the control of the Finance Department, no other department, officer or corporation being allowed to interfere therewith; and the annual estimates and balances shall be made public.
The existing laws and regulations shall be enforced without fear or favour.
The Independence Club took “loyalty to the emperor and patriotism for the country” as its motto. The organization tried to criticize the government for corruption, while not directly insulting Emperor Gojong, distinguish him from his “wicked” officials. Gojong, however, seems to have seen the Independence Club as a threat to his power. When the club voted to recall Park Yeong-hyo from Japan to sit in the assembly, conservatives in the court struck back. Conservatives charged that the club was plotting to overthrow the Emperor, and on November 5, 1898, seventeen club members were arrested. This resulted in bloody street battles in November that brought Seoul to a state of near anarchy. The Emperor condemned the club, saying it had "ignored government orders, rudely repudiated the court, and expelled the ministers." He resented that the club members did not heed his ordinances ordering them to curb their activities, and he ordered the organization be dissolved. After continued riots, in December 1898 Gojong enforced martial law and arrested 340 leaders of the Independence Club, sent troops to break up demonstrations, and forbade popular assemblies. Several of the leaders went into exile. Gojong preferred to uphold royal authority rather than risk opening the political system to public participation. The following years saw the Emperor work to consolidate monarchical power, and discourage public opposition.
^Djun Kil Kim (January 7, 2008), The History of Korea, Greenwood Press
^Chun-gil Kim, ed. (2005). The History of Korea. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 117. ISBN9780313332968. After graduating from the Paejae School, Syngman Rhee joined the Independence Club as a young radical member.
^Kenneth M. Wells, ed. (2015). Korea: Outline of a Civilisation. BRILL. p. 131. ISBN9789004300057. Although less numerous than other groups within the Independence Club, the radical reformers were far more articulate, organised and active, and it is with their methods and ideas that the Independence Club came to be associated.
Pratt, Keith (2007). Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea. London: Reaktion Books. pp. 188–189. ISBN978-1-86189-335-2.
Oh Se-ung, Dr. Philip Jaisohn's Reform Movement, 1896–1898: A Critical Appraisal of the Independence Club, University Press of America, 1995, ISBN0819199141
