Independence Club
| Independence Club | |
| Hangul | 독립협회 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Dongnip hyeophoe |
| McCune–Reischauer | Tongnip hyŏphoe |
The Independence Association (독립협회, 独立協会) was founded through the initiative of Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-pil) on July 2, 1896. At its founding it was recognized by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite some remarkable achievements, by the late nineteenth century Korea found itself wholly unable to resist, or even properly comprehend the encroachments of foreign powers. Japan's recent victory over China had both removed the Chinese from the peninsula and exacted an acknowledgment of Korean independence, but the country's independence was fragile, with Japan, Russia, and other powers vying for influence. The group was founded by reform-minded citizens, and worked to strengthen Korean independence, promote national self-strengthening, create a public sphere, and advocate democratic participation in government decisions. The club published a newspaper, Tongnip Sinmun (The Independent), and worked to create symbols of Korean independence. It supported public education, journalism, and language reform. Its political program for reforming the government into a constitutional monarchy brought it into conflict with the Emperor and conservatives in the court, and the club was ordered to disband in December 1898.
It did not go unnoticed in Korea that Emperor Kojong and his high officials were prepared to rely on the support and benevolence of foreign powers to preserve the territorial integrity of Korea. If the government could not act in the face of such an external threat however, the people could, and did. The public at large reacted by attacking the government's ineffective policies and fought dauntlessly to maintain their nation's independence and freedom. The fight was carried out largely through the efforts of a newly emerging class of intellectuals that had been exposed to the liberal ideas of Western culture.
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