But in spite of the state of anxiety and unrest the month of August saw some important results accomplished in civil matters. The Commission on Reforms were at work on their scheme until about the tenth of the month. It was on August 1st that Japan formally declared war on China and a few days later troops began to pour in by way of Chemulpo and join those already here.
It was on August 16 that there occurred the formal act of casting off Chinese suzerainty. On that day the Korean government declared all treaties hitherto signed between itself and China to be abrogated and all political connection between the two countries to be at an end. The Japanese Minister had already on June 28th demanded from the government an expression of its attitude toward China and had received the answer that Korea considered herself an independent power. This was now followed up by a definite diplomatic rupture between the two and, probably forever, the question of Chinese political predominance in the peninsula was disposed of.
It was about the 20th of August that Pak Yong-hyo, the refugee in Japan since his participation in the attempted coup of 1884, was brought to Seoul incognito by the Japanese. He had long since been declared an arch-traitor by the Korean government, his house had been razed to the ground and his family dispersed. For almost ten years he had enjoyed asylum in Japan and had been treated with great consideration by the Japanese who rightly saw in him a man of strong personality, settled convictions and a genuine loyalty to the best interests of his native land. His worst enemies would probably grant that he falls below none in his desire to see Korea prosperous and enlightened. It was the methods adopted that made all the trouble and drove him into exile.
At first he remained in hiding in the Japanese quarter but from that point of vantage he sent a long memorial to the King relating the fact of his high ancestry and the fact that it was purely in the interests of Korea that he participated in the emeute of 1884. He had been however, unsuccessful and was branded as a traitor, compelled to fly the country and see his house broken up. Now that the country had fallen upon such critical times and the King had determined to effect a radical change in affairs it was a cause of utmost rejoicing to him and he could not help coming back even though it cost his life. He begged to see the King’s face once more, to be allowed to collect and bury the bones of his relatives and be given back his life which had been forfeited. If then the King should wish to use him again he would be at the service of His Majesty.
To this plea the King listened, whether from preference or out of consideration for the Japanese, and replied that the petitioner was forgiven and might resume his former status as a Korean citizen. A number of memorials immediately poured into the palace urging that Pak Yong-hyo be executed as a traitor, but as the decree of pardon had already gone forth these memorials were ignored.
The fall of P’yŭng-yang before the victorious Japanese on September 15-17 and the flight of the Chinese inflicted great sufferings upon the Koreans in the north. The Chinese followed their usual medieval tactics and pillaged right and left. The local magistrates and governors fled to places of safety and the people survived the best they could. The government hastened to send a high official to the north to calm the excitement and counteract the disintegrating effects of the Chinese flight. At the same time the perfect orderliness of the Japanese army began to be understood by the people, and between these two agencies the northern province speedily settled down to its former status. The city of P’yŭng-yang had been almost deserted by its 60,000 or more of people and it was many months before the town resumed its normal status.
As August drew to an end the Japanese deemed the time ripe for completing the purposed union with Korea and on the 26th there appeared a provisional treaty between the two countries, which was not an offensive and defensive alliance but one in which Japan guaranteed the independence of Korea and Korea engaged to look to Japan for advice and to aid her in every possible way. The nature of this agreement was practically the same as that made between the same countries at the opening of the Japan-Russia War in 1904. In it Japan once more emphasized the independence of Korea which she had consistently championed ever since the Japanese-Korean treaty was signed in 1876.
The month of September opened with the arrival of Marquis Saionji with presents and a friendly message from the Emperor of Japan. The visit was merely a complimentary one and seems to have been devoid of great political significance.
It was evident that Japanese influence was overwhelmingly predominant in Seoul and as the government had committed itself to the policy of selecting advisers for its various departments there was reason to believe that most of these places would be filled by Japanese and that they would so predominate numerically as to seriously impair the autonomy of the government. As foreign powers had concluded treaties with Korea on the basis of equality, this possibility became a matter of concern to them and through their representatives here they protested against the employment of an undue number of assistants from any one nationality. Whether there ever was any such danger as was anticipated we cannot say, but this preventive measure was successful at any rate and the apparent independence of the government was never shaken.
The month of October saw the Chinese driven across the Yalu and order restored in a measure on Korean soil, but it also saw the resurgence of the tong-hak in the south. These malcontents had been temporarily cowed by the coming of Chinese and Japanese troops but now they seem to have discovered that the Chinese and Japanese were too busy with each other to attend to the civil troubles in the interior of Korea. So they broke out much worse than ever and the principal anxiety of the month in Seoul was the putting down of the serious insurrection. Sin Chŭng-heui, the highest Korean general, was sent south to Kong-ju with three thousand Korean troops to meet a strong body of tong-hak who were reported to be marching on Seoul. A few days later there was a series of fights at various points throughout the province, notably at Kong-ju, Ung-jin, U-gum Hill, Yi-in village, Hyo Harbor, Sö-san and Hong-ju. About two hundred Japanese troops aided the government forces and at every point the government troops were successful. Some of the fights were very severe. It is probable that there were some 20,000 tong-hak in all, but they were a mere rabble compared with the well armed and at least partially drilled government troops. A large number of the tong-hak leaders were captured and brought to Seoul. Many were also executed in the country, for the generals were given the power of life and death for the time being.