Donghak
In 1860 Choe Je-u, concerned about the growing influence of the West, the increasing Japanese presence in Joseon, widespread corruption in government and established religion and abuse of power by the yangban (aristocratic social class), alleged he had a vision of SangJe (Shang-ti in Chinese). Choe Je-u became the founder of the Donghak (Eastern Learning) movement, the prototype of many subsequent Korean syncretistic new religions. Donghak culminated in the unsuccessful Donghak Rebellion of 1894, which was fueled by a combination of religious fervor centering around the millennial visions of a coming messiah and Seoul's high taxes on rice. Central to Choe Je-u’s teachings was a belief in Hu-Cheon Gaebyeok, the Great Opening (Gaebyeok) of the Later Heaven (Hu-Cheon), the new age paradise of Donghak and later of Gang Il-sun’s millenarian vision.
Read more about this topic: Gang Il-Sun