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Euiam Sohn Byeong-hee (義菴 孫秉熙, 1861 to 1922) is a leader of the national religion Donghak, later renamed Cheondogyo, and leading modern nationalist activist. The third leader of Donghak, he was the one who in 1905 changed its name to Cheondogyo, and grew Cheondogyo into a religious body with 3 million followers during Japanese occupation. He was also the one who in 1894 led the Second Donghak Peasant Movement as Chief (統領) of the Central Force (中軍) of Donghak Peasant Troops, and in 1919 initiated the nation-wide March 1st Movement as representative of both Cheondogyo and the Korean people. This makes him an important figure to examine in understanding the modern history of Korea.

Sohn Byeong-hee, a Boy with an Extraordinary Sense of Righteousness

On April 8, 1861, Sohn Byeong-hee was born in Daeju-ri Cheongju-gun North Chungcheong Province (present-day Geumam-ri Buki-myeon Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province) to father Dooheung (斗興), who was a petty local official, and mother from the Gyeongju Choi family clan, who was Dooheung's concubine. In Korean society at that time, there was discrimination between legitimate and illegitimate children under the system and customs. Finding it unfair, he argued with his father about why there should be such discrimination. Realizing that he stood no chance of achieving success in bureaucracy, he only mastered basic Chinese classics before giving up studying for the civil service exams. To vent his frustrations, he took to drinking, gambling, and organizing and heading a gang of bums. But he had an extraordinary sense of righteousness. For instance, at age 12, when he was running an errand for his father of delivering public money to the district office, he encountered a man dying of hunger on the street and saved him by taking him to a restaurant and buying him food with the public money. In another instance, to save the father of his friend who was sentenced to death for embezzling 1,000 nyang of public funds, he helped his friend steal 1,000 nyang from his own house. At age 17, when he was passing by the three-way intersection in Goisan, North Chungcheong Province, he saw a Special Envoy dragging a servant with his hair tied to the horse's tail. Outraged, as the story went, he cut the horse's tail with a sickle, hit the horseman, and protested against the Special Envoy's unfair treatment of his servant before dumping his document container into a pond. This is why his cognomen Euiam (義菴) includes the character Eui (義) meaning righteousness.

Entering and Leading Donghak

Inspired and fascinated by the ideas of equality, 'Serve people like the Heaven (事人如天),' and of national and public welfare/relief for the people, Sohn Byeong-hee entered Donghak in 1882 through Sohn Cheon-min, son of his eldest brother Sohn Byeong-kwon, a legitimate child. Once he did, Sohn Byeong-hee devoted himself to practicing asceticism, studying the doctrine, and propagating Donghak. By early 1893, he made the Chungui leader. By the time Donghak followers gathered together to fall prostrate in front of the palace, petitioning for the freedom of their religion, he was voted one of Donghak supreme commanders including Kim Yeon-kuk and Sohn Cheon-min. In September 1894, Sohn Byeong-hee proposed the second uprising of the Donghak Peasant Troops to Choi Si-hyeong. As Chief of the Central Force, he led the Donghak Peasant Troops of the North and joined forces with the Donghak Peasant Troops of the South led by Jeon Bong-jun. They fought the royal forces and the Japanese forces in Gongju, only to be defeated. As a result, he and the Donghak Peasant Troops under his command found themselves on the run from province to province, from Jeolla to Chungcheong and then Gangwon. From about 1895, after the Donghak Peasant Movement, Sohn Byeong-hee began propagating Donghak to the people of the northwestern region, including Pyeongan Province and Hamgyeong Province, a region that was marginalized and discriminated. Having gained authority in 1900 based on the power of the followers in the northwestern region, he went over to Japan 1901 to inspect advanced culture. In Japan, while interacting with former Minister of War Cho Hee-yeon, Kwon Dong-jin, Oh Se-chang, Park Young-hyo, Yang Han-muk among others, he gained an understanding of international affairs and accepted civilization and enlightenment thought. In 1902, he sent 24 young followers of Donghak to Japan to study and accept civilization and enlightenment thought. In 1903, he published Samjeonron (三戰論) and Myeongrijeon (明理傳) in order to facilitate the followers' ideological conversion.

Changing Donghak to Cheondogyo

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, thinking that Japan would be the victor, he established Progressive Society (進步會) and set out on pro-Japanese enlightenment campaigns. On December 1, 1905, he changed the name Donghak to 'Cheondogyo (天道敎)' and encouraged the followers to abstain from political activities and concentrate on religious activities. The change from Donghak to Cheondogyo was not just a name change but a paradigm shift. He taught the followers to shed the humble attitude of 'learners (學徒)' and assume the superior attitude of 'teachers.' He also taught them to accept the modern thought of the West instead of sticking to the traditional thought of the East. In February 1906, Sohn Byeong-hee issued the Great Charter of Cheondogyo, reorganized the headquarters and branches in modern style, and revised the doctrine. And he published modern newspapers like Mansebo (萬歲報), and established doctrine schools to propagate civilization and enlightenment thought and Western modern thought, in an effort to turn Korea into a civilized, free state. When his plan was thwarted due to Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910, Sohn Byeong-hee committed himself to expanding congregation through propagation and fostering leaders of Cheondogyo and of the people through education. Although he considered enlisting the help of Japan temporarily to modernize Korea, Sohn Byeong hee decided that Korea's independence would be important to peace in the East and the world. Once Korea gained independence, he decided, China's resentment would be eased, which would be conducive to peace in the East. And if peace was established in the East, the three nations could join forces against Western powers, which would work better than Japan fighting alone. Furthermore, he thought that if the world was united and eliminated 'aggression' altogether, the peoples in the world could get closer to one another and move toward a world of happiness.

Signing the Declaration of Independence as Head of 33 National Representatives

In January 1919, after US President Woodrow Wilson advocated self-determination after World War I, Sohn Byeong-hee expected that Korea could also gain independence under the new international order. He invited the leaders of Cheondogyo who were familiar with international affairs, including Kwon Dong-jin, Oh Se-chang, and Choi Rin, to his house and asked them to promote independence movement. Their initial plan was to petition the Governor General of Korea for independence, but it was later changed to declaring independence and staging demonstrations. He established popularization, unification, and non-violence as the three principles of independence movement. He wished that the demonstrations would be participated by the Korean people, unified in opinion and action, and non-violent. Sohn Byeong-hee assigned the execution of this movement to Choi Rin, Kwon Dong-jin, and Oh Se-chang. Thanks to the efforts of these three, it was decided that the three religious forces, Cheondogyo, Christianity, and Buddhism, would be allied to engage in demonstrations for independence. As head of the 33 national representatives, Sohn Byeong-hee signed the declaration of independence, and hosted the independence declaration ceremony in Taehwakwan on March 1st. And he instructed the followers of Cheondogyo to engage in demonstrations for independence in areas across the country, but he was arrested immediately after the independence declaration ceremony. Sohn Byeong-hee wished that Korea, if and when it gains independence, would be a democratic republic. In other words, instead of a monarchy, he envisioned a democracy ruled by the leader elected by the people.

Playing a Pivotal Role in Cheondogyo's Cultural Movements

When Cheondogyo leaders decided to embark on cultural movements in September 1919 after the March 1st Movement ended in failure, Sohn Byeong-hee, who was in prison, gave them moral support. From his release on parole for his illness until his death in 1922, he as the leader ofCheondogyo played a pivotal role in promoting its cultural movements, including the youth movement, juvenile movement, feminist movement, and peasant movement. To defend and preserve the Oriental culture and national independence, Sohn Byeong-hee started what is called anti-Japanese, anti-feudal movement in 1894. But ten years later, in 1904, he suddenly switched to pro-Japanese enlightenment movement. And he vigorously embraced Western culture. His change of direction may have stemmed from his belief that doing so would be in the best interests of his religion and people. But it wouldn't have been an easy decision to make, considering the death and resentment of numerous comrades of his. This decision led Donghak to change its name, gain the freedom of propagation, and expand congregation during Japanese occupation. And this also enabled Cheondogyo to play a central role in the national movements of Korea, such as the March 1st Movement, the Cultural Movements, and the June 10th Movement. In light of the international political landscape today, he made the right decision compatible with the course of history. However, from the standpoints of Donghak and Cheondogyo, one cannot deny that his decision undermined Cheondogyo's original spirits of emphasizing Eastern culture and independence, stripping it of its identity. This is thought to be among the reasons that Cheondogyo has withered whereas Buddhism, Won Buddhism and Daesun Jinrihoe have thrived. Sohn Byeong-hee. Was he a great figure in history, or was he an renegade? As I celebrate the 94th anniversary of the March 1st Movement, I can picture the image of the agonizing Sohn Byeong-hee about 100 years ago.