고부동학농민혁명은 봉기인가, 기포인가 (Is the Gobu Donghak Peasant Revolution ‘a Peasant Uprising’ or ‘a Religious Uprising’?)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 동학학회
· 수록지 정보 : 동학학보 / 70호 / 71 ~ 122페이지
· 저자명 : 성강현

초록

고부동학농민혁명은 1894년 1월 10일 전봉준의 주도로 고부군민들이 조병갑의 학정에 반발해 일으킨 사건으로 무장 선언과 백산 대회를 통해 본격화되었다. 반봉건과 반침략을 내세우며 새 세상을 건설하려고 했던 동학농민혁명은 1895년 1월까지 전국적으로 전개되었다. 동학농민혁명은 자주적 근대화를 위한 노력으로 평가받고 있다.
수운 시대에 전파되었던 전라도의 동학은 1884년에 재유입되어 10년 만에 전라도 전역으로 퍼져나갔다. 특히 사인여천을 강조하며 시천주의 실천을 장려한 최시형의 가르침은 민중 속으로 파고들었다. 1890년을 전후해 동학에 입도해 지역책임자인 접주가 된 전봉준은 삼례 교조신원운동에 장두(狀頭)로 참여해 널리 이름을 알렸고 이를 바탕으로 고부 지역에서 영향력을 키워나갔다. 고부군민은 조병갑의 수탈에 시정을 요구했으나 거절당하였다. 이에 전봉준과 열성 동학도는 사발통문을 만들어 기포를 모의했으나 조병갑의 이임으로 무산되었다. 그러나 조병갑이 다시 고부군수로 임명되어 오자 전봉준은 사발통문의 계획을 실행하였다. 이 고부 기포가 동학농민혁명의 시작이었다.
고부동학농민혁명이 ‘농민봉기’보다는 ‘기포’의 성격을 지닌 근거로는 첫째, 전봉준 스스로 이를 ‘기포’라고 불렀다는 점이다. 둘째, 고부동학농민혁명을 모의한 사발통문에 동학교단에서 사용하는 용어가 등장한다는 점에서 ‘기포’라고 할 수 있다. 셋째, 백산 대회에서 전봉준이 동학군의 대장이라는 의미의 동도대장으로 선출한 것을 통해 ‘기포’임을 알 수 있다. 넷째, 백산 대회의 「격문」이 동학의 보국안민과 광제창생의 정신을 담고 있다는 점에서 ‘기포’라고 할 수 있다. 또한 3월 하순에 열린 백산 대회에서 「격문」의 날짜를 1894년 1월로 한 것은 동학농민혁명이 고부에서 시작되었음을 알려주는 움직일 수 없는 증거이다.
이상의 근거를 바탕으로 동학농민혁명의 시작을 알린 고부동학농민혁명은 농민봉기라는 보편성보다는 동학의 이념과 조직을 바탕으로 새로운 세상을 만들려고 한 ‘기포’라는 특수성이 보다 강조된 역사적 사건라고 할 수 있다.

영어초록

The Gobu Donghak Peasant Revolution was an incident led by Jeon Bong-jun on January 10, 1894, in which the people of Gobu County rebelled against Jo Byeong-gap’s tyranny, and it began in earnest through the Mujang Declaration and the Baeksan Congress. The Donghak Peasant Revolution, which sought to build a new world by advocating antifeudalism and antiinvasion, u n f o l d e d n a t i o n w i d e u n t i l J a n u a r y 1 8 9 5 . T h e D o n g h a k Peasant Revolution is evaluated as an effort for independent modernization.
Donghak in Jeolla-Province, which had been spread during the Choi Je-woo era, was reintroduced in 1884 and spread throughout Jeolla-do within 10 years. In particular, Choi Sihyeong’s teachings, which emphasized dismantling social status and emphasizing the practice of Donghak ideology, penetrated into the people. Jeon Bong-Jun, who entered Donghak around 1890 and became the local director, Jeopju, made his name known widely by participating in the Kyojo Shinwon Movement as a submitter, and based on this, he grew his influence in the Gobu region. The people of Gobu County demanded correction for Jo Byeong-gap’s bad politics, but were rejected. Accordingly, Jeon Bong-jun and enthusiastic Donghak students created a Sabaltongmun to simulate an religious uprising, but it was aborted due to Jo Byeong-gap’s resignation. However, when Jo Byeong-gap was again appointed as the governor of Gobu County, Jeon Bong-jun put his plan into action. This Gobu religious uprising was the beginning of the Donghak Peasant Revolution.
The basis for saying that Gobu’s Donghak Peasant Revolution was a ‘religious upring’ is, first, that Jeon Bong-jun said that their actions were a religious upring during the interrogation process. Second, it can be seen that it is a religious upring through the terminology of the school group used in a Sabaltongmun. Third, it can be seen that it was a religious movement through the election of Jeon Bong-jun as Dongdo Daejang, which means the leader of Donghak Army, at the Baeksan Congress. Furthermore, the fact that the date of the declaration announcing the revolution at the Baeksan Congress was set in January is conclusive evidence that the Donghak Peasant Revolution began in Gobu. Therefore, it can be said that the he Gobu Donghak Peasant Revolution, which marked the beginning of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, had the universality of a peasant uprising, but it was a historical event that emphasized the particularity of the ‘religious uprising’ that tried to create a new world based on the ideology and organization of Donghak.
The first reason why the Gobu Donghak Peasant Revolution was characterized as a ‘religious upring’ rather than a ‘peasant uprising’ is that Jeon Bong-jun himself called it a ‘religious upring’. Second, it can be said to be a ‘religious upring’ in that the term used by the Donghak sect appears in the Sabaltongmun, which simulates the Gobu Donghak peasant revolution. Third, it can be seen that Jeon Bong-jun is a ‘religious upring’ through the election of Jeon Bong-jun as Dongdo Daejang, which means the leader of Donghak Army, at the Baeksan Congress. Fourth, the “Gyeokmun” of the Baeksan Congress can be said to be a ‘spirit’ in that it contains the spirit of helping the country, protecting the people, and providing relief to the people widely, as advocated by Donghak. In addition, the fact that the date of the “Gyeokmun” at the Baeksan Congress held in late March was January 1894 is an immovable evidence that the Donghak Peasant Revolution began in Gobu.
Based on the above evidence, the Gobu Donghak Peasant Revolution, which announced the beginning of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, can be said to be a historical event in which the specificity of ‘religious upring’, which attempted to create a new world based on the ideology and organization of Donghak, was emphasized more than the universality of the peasant uprising.

참고자료

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