Kapsin Coup
| Gapsin Coup |
| Kōshin Incident, Kōsin Revolution |
| Kanji |
甲申事変, 甲申革命 |
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| Korean Incident |
| Kanji |
朝鮮事件 |
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| Gapsin Coup |
| Hangul |
갑신정변, 갑신혁명 |
| Hanja |
甲申政變, 甲申革命 |
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The Gapsin Coup (Korean:갑신정변, 甲申政變), also known as the Gapsin Revolution (갑신혁명, 甲申革命) and Kapsin Incident, was a failed three-day coup d'état which started on 4 December 1884 in the late Joseon dynasty of Korea. The pro-Japanese leaders of the coup were suppressed by a Chinese garrison in Korea. This led to Chinese domination of Korea from 1885–1894. The Korean name for the events takes from the year designator in the traditional sexagenary cycle system of dating, "gapsin" here referring to the year 1884. The Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within Korea to open its borders. They sought to eliminate social distinctions, including eliminating the legal privileges of the yangban class. Thwarted by conservative factions within the Joseon court, particularly the pro-Chinese Sugup'a, they launched a coup d'état attempt with Japanese support on 4 December 1884, seizing the royal palace in Seoul.
After the Imo Incident of 1882, early reform efforts suffered a major setback. The aftermath of the event also brought the Chinese into the country, where they began to directly interfere in the Korea's internal affairs, undertaking several steps to gain significant influence over the Korean government. The Regulations for Maritime and Overland Trade Between Chinese and Korean Subjects (Choch’ŏng sangmin suryuk muyŏk changjŏng) was signed on October 4 1882; permitted Chinese merchants to trade in Korea and although allowed it Koreans, reciprocally to trade in Beijing, the agreement was not a treaty but was in effect issued as a regulation for a vassal. In December, two high-level offices, the Foreign Office (Oeamun) and the Home Office (Naeamun) were established. The Oeamun dealt with foreign affairs and trade while the Naeamun the was responsible for military matters and internal affairs. At the recommendation of the Chinese, two advisors were appointed to the foreign office, the German Paul Georg von Möllendorff, who had served in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, and the Chinese diplomat Ma Jianzhong. A new Korean military formation, the Capital Guards Command (Ch'in'gunyŏng), was created and trained along Chinese lines by Yuan Shikai. The Chinese also supervised the creation of a Korean Maritime Customs Service in 1883, with Moellendorff as its head. Korea was again reduced to a tributary state of China, with King Gojong unable to appoint diplomats without Chinese approval and troops stationed in Seoul in order to protect Chinese interests in the country.
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