| Tonghak(Eastern
Learning)
At the end of the Choson Dynasty, when
our nation's traditional ethics were being severely challenged
by the arrival of occidental inlluences. Ch'oe Che-u (pen-name
: Suun) established a new religious ideology designed to preserve
the national identity on the traditional basis of humanism.
This new thought was Tonghak or Eastern Learning.
Tonghak's main idea is that since "Man
is God(Innaech'on)" then "one must treat others as
though one was serving God." Tonghak also sought to breakdown
the contradictions of "Yangban" centered feudal society
by promoting the notion of equality of all people. Such Tonghak
ideals spread widely among the persecuted farmers and inspired
the Tonghak Farmer Uprising. |
