Kabo Reform: Korea's aborted path to modernization

Roh Jeong-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research. 

On July 27, 1894, senior civil and military officials gathered at the newly established state council for military and political affairs in Joseon. Prime Minister Kim Hong-jip chaired the meeting, while 17 reform-minded officials, including Park Jeong-yang, Kim Yun-sik, Jo Hui-yeon, Kim Ga-jin, An Gyeong-su, Kim Hak-u and Yu Gil-jun, were appointed as council members. Their mission was to modernize the country through sweeping domestic reforms. The Kabo Reform had begun.

The late 19th century was a period of profound upheaval. In January 1894, a local uprising in Gobu, North Jeolla, merged with the emerging Donghak movement and quickly developed into a nationwide peasant revolt. Backed by widespread popular support, peasant forces captured Jeonju Fortress on April 27 and continued to gain momentum. Seeking to suppress both the rebels and the powerful Min clan, Heungseon Daewongun (r. 1864-73), the de facto ruler, and his son King Gojong (r. 1897-1907) drew Japan into Korean affairs. After the Min faction was overthrown, reformers seized the opportunity to introduce roughly 210 measures between July 27 and Dec. 17.

Their first priority was to separate the royal household from the state by establishing the department of the royal household and reorganizing the government, consolidating administrative authority under the cabinet. The reformers abolished the rigid hereditary class system, including discrimination between aristocrats and commoners, eliminated collective punishment for family members, banned child marriage and permitted widows to remarry. Many of these measures reflected demands that had emerged during the Donghak Peasant War, marking an unprecedented effort to dismantle centuries-old feudal practices.

The reforms, however, lacked broad political support. Conservative elites opposed the sweeping changes, while many ordinary Koreans, despite welcoming reform in principle, viewed the Japanese-backed modernization drive with deep suspicion. Public sentiment turned decisively against the reform movement after the Short Hair Ordinance of 1895, part of the subsequent Eulmi Reform, which required men to cut their traditional topknots. Even the king's adoption of the new hairstyle failed to calm public outrage.

King Gojong, who ultimately prioritized preserving the monarchy over sustaining reform, fled to the Russian legation in Seoul in early 1896. His decision brought down Prime Minister Kim's cabinet. Kim was seized by police while attempting to meet the king and was later beaten to death by a mob.

The Kabo Reform ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions. Reformers sought modernization through foreign support, while the monarch abandoned them to safeguard his own throne. Their failure left Joseon without the political foundation needed to pursue lasting reform.