Korean Reformers Seize Power for Three Days in the Gapsin Coup

On December 4, 1884, a celebratory banquet at the newly opened General Postal Administration in Seoul turned into a violent bid for control of the Korean state. Organized by Hong Yeong-sik, the director of the postal agency, the gathering drew senior royal officials and foreign diplomats together under one roof. Hong was a member of the Enlightenment Party, a faction of well-educated, youthful yangban elites who sought to rescue Korea from diplomatic subordination. As the banquet got underway, the conspirators launched their assault, targeting prominent conservative figures aligned with the royal Min family and Qing dynasty interests.

The leaders of the Enlightenment Party had grown frustrated by the halting, piecemeal nature of domestic governance following the 1882 Imo Incident. The de facto leader of the group, Kim Okkyun, had spent time abroad in Japan alongside associates such as Pak Yŏnghyo and Seo Gwang-beom. Impressed by the state-building initiatives of the Meiji regime, these young Korean reformers aimed to emulate Japanese modernization while severing the tributary ties that bound Joseon Korea to China. In contrast, conservative court ministers favored gradual changes modeled on Qing programs, adopting Western technology while preserving traditional political institutions and cultural hierarchies.