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Choe Si-hyeong (; 1827–1898), birth name Choe Gyeong-sang, was born in Gyeongju. His posthumous name was Si-hyeong and his honorific title was Hae-wol (), and he is referred to hereafter by that name. He was the second leader of Donghak during the Joseon and Korean Empire eras. He succeeded Choe Je-u (pen name, Su-un) after the latter's execution by Joseon authorities in 1864.
After Su-un’s execution, Haewol was pursued by government authorities for 36 years. During this period, he compiled and printed the works of Su-un; and he wrote his own doctrinal works. In the early 1890s, he helped to petition the government to exonerate Su-un. This ultimately led to armed confrontations, primarily in Jeolla province, in what is referred to as the Donghak Peasant Revolution of 1894, even though Donghak followers were in the minority among the rebels. Haewol initially opposed the revolt but eventually went along with it, perhaps because it seemed inevitable. The rebellion, led primarily by Jeon Bongjun, was suppressed later that year.
In the aftermath of the revolt, Donghak was decimated. Haewol, attempted to restore it with some success, primarily in other parts of Korea but was captured by government forces in 1898 and executed. He was succeeded by Son Byong-Hi ( Uiam, 1861–1922) who became the third leader of Donghak.
By some accounts, Su-un chose him to be the next leader a few months before his execution. However there is some debate about this stemming from divergent accounts of Donghak history. Furthermore, his name is not mentioned in Su-un’s writings or in interrogation records from 1860 to 1863. In any event, he did emerge as the second leader of Donghak at least by the mid-1860s. After Su-un’s death it is likely that Haewol traveled around southern Korea, teaching and proselytizing, while remaining hidden from authorities. It appears that he spent most of his time in the northern interior and coastal regions of Gyeongsang Province. One of Haewol’s major accomplishments was the compilation of Su-un’s writings which became Donghak scripture. After Su-un’s death most of these writings were lost but Haewol had committed them to memory and was able to restore them and have them printed using carved wooden blocks. The process was initiated in 1965 but not completed until the early 1980s due to government persecution. The project was done with the aid of several other prominent Donghak leaders. The compilations reordered Su-un’s writings and separated his vernacular Korean and classical Chinese texts in two separate books.
In 1870, a Donghak splinter group led by Yi P’il-che, was involved in a rebellion, although most of the rebels were not Donghak followers. The main motivation of the rebellion was dissatisfaction with government policies, and it was quickly put down by government forces. Haewol had met Yi and subsequently declared that he was a deceiver. Although Haewol had opposed Yi, he was forced to flee to Mount Taebaek and Mount Sobaek in Gangweondo Gyeongsangdo, and Chungcheongdo to avoid arrest in the aftermath of the rebellion.
In the late 1870s and early 1880s, government suppression of Donghak began to ease as government shifted its focus to other concerns such as foreign intervention. In addition, Donghak activities were primarily in remote areas, distant from government scrutiny. This enabled Haewol to begin to restore the Donghak organizational structure. This was similar to that which he helped Su-un implement. There was a central headquarters which Haewol administered. This guided district and local headquarters called p’o and jeop, respectively. Each was staffed by individuals with specific responsibilities including chief inspector, teacher, chief administrator, judge, counselor, and censor. In addition to compiling Su-un’s works he also wrote his own doctrinal works. In these, he extended Su-un’s concept of the eminence of the Divine in declarations such as “heaven and earth are parents” , “people are heaven and heaven is people” and “treat others as if they were heaven”. He considered that God/Heaven was eminent not only in people but in all creation including other creatures and inanimate objects. He advocated the three respects, i.e., respect for heaven, people and nature.
Thereafter, the movement became militaristic, and the primary grievance shifted from clearing Su-un’s name to redress of local corruption. An army was assembled under the leadership of Jeon Bongjun. Donghak followers made up a minority of the army, but its leaders were affiliated with Donghak or claimed to be Donghak followers. Those that joined the rebellion were primarily in the southern assembly. In order to mobilize his army, Jeon utilized the Donghak organizational structure where it existed and organized new units (p’o) where needed. The p'o under his control were reorganized as local military control units.
Haewol ordered Jeon not to defy the “will of heaven”, but this command was disregarded. At that point, there was scant participation by members of the northern assembly. The first stage of the “Donghak” rebellion in the spring of 1894 was initially successful. A number of district capitals were captured along with Jeonju. the walled provincial capital of Jeolla province. At the end of the spring stage of the rebellion, there was an agreement between rebel and government forces; the rebels withdrew from Jeonju on May 8; and some of their demands were met at their own initiation. These included freeing of slaves and establishment of local administrative units, Jipgangso (Chipkangso), whose members were elected. The main purpose of the Jipgangso was to guarantee peasant rights and reform government abuses.
However, the truce was uneasy from the start. Government forces continued to suppress Donghak; and on the other side, rebel forces did not disband as had been agreed. Also, by that time the Korean government had requested help from Qing dynasty China which sent troops. Japan used this as a pretext to send their own army. Japanese forces seized the king and the capital on July 23. This led to the installment of a pro-Japan government and an order expelling Chinese troops from Korea. This initiated the First Sino-Japanese War. Jeon and the Korean public in general were incensed. Thereupon Jeon started the second, autumn stage of the uprising, this time to drive out the Japanese.
Haewol objected to resumption of the rebellion as was made clear in an official declaration in which he stated that the southern assembly rebels were traitors to the state and in violation of Donghak doctrine. Seungyop Shin concluded that "Haewol believed that everyone should undergo a comprehensive sacred transformation through the pious pursuit of virtue and a pure state of mind, while Jeon considered it imperative to rescue his people through the more expedient means of violent insurrection." Nevertheless, on October 16, following mediation efforts by other leaders, he eventually agreed to allow his followers to join the rebels. But he also instructed Donghak members to try to persuade Jeon to cease the riot.
The southern assembly forces had some initial success and were able to link with rebels from the northern assembly on October 16. However, the combined force suffered disastrous defeats at Ugeumchi in early November. After which, the Japanese army (with the help of Korean forces) put down the rebellion using far superior weaponry. Jeon dispersed his rebel army on November 28 and was subsequently captured and executed. Donghak followers, particularly in the southern assembly were decimated. The northern assembly was less affected and Haewol managed to escape.
In 1897, Haewol was frail, and he narrowly escaped capture in an ox cart traveling over snow covered mountains. In May 1898, he had a memorial service for Su-un with the Samam and other prominent disciples. After the meeting he told them to go home. He was arrested the following day. He was then taken to Seoul and executed on July 20, 1898.
Jang Il-soon, Korean theologian and advocate for the life movement (Korean nature centered environmentalism) and formal democratization of Korea, was inspired by Haewol. According to Baek: "As Haewol encouraged his followers to cultivate their minds and to focus on their ordinary life for survival, Jang Il-soon concentrated on the change of the ordinary life of the individual and community in order to reform and overcome the reality the. Their failures made them doubtful about rebellious movement that was based on conventional worldview and ideology. Thus, in their view, the essence of resistance is not ethics or moral ideas but praxis based on ordinary life.”
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