Ugeumchi Battlefield, Gongju

Ugeumchi Pass is where the Donghak Peasant Army fought its final, decisive battle in 1894 against the combined forces of the government army and the Japanese army. It is a pass at the foot of Mount Gyeonjunsan on the road from Gongju to Buyeo, also known as Ugeumgogae, Ugeumjae, or Biugeum Pass. In September 1894, the Donghak Peasant Army under Jeon Bong-jun rose up again, denouncing the Japanese army's incursion into Gyeongbokgung Palace and its economic plundering, and raising the banner of opposition to feudalism and foreign encroachment. Seizing Ugeumchi was crucial, since it would give the initiative for taking Gongju, a strategic stronghold of the central region. The Donghak Peasant Army, which had intended to base its future campaign around Gongju, fought against guns with bamboo swords and was ultimately almost entirely wiped out. After the battle, Jeon Bong-jun, who had sought to regroup, was captured and executed in March of the following year, bringing to a close the Donghak Peasant War, which had lasted a year. In 1973 the Donghak Revolution Memorial Tower was erected on the pass to console the spirits of the fallen peasant soldiers, and in 1994, a hundred years after the war, Ugeumchi was designated a historic site. Although the Donghak Peasant War failed to achieve its aims, it became a major turning point in historical progress. Ugeumchi, where the Donghak Peasant Army made its last stand under the banner of anti-feudalism and anti-foreign resistance, is a meaningful site that forms a critical turning point on the stage of modern Korean history.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gongju, Chungnam

Designation

Historic Site · 사적