Joseon Army (late 19th century)

In January 1894, the modernized army was deployed against the Donghak Peasant Revolution but lost many battles in the beginning due to their sheer numbers and innovative tactics. When Gojong requested help from the Qing to suppress the rebels, the Japanese sent troops to Seoul, demanding the Joseon Government send the Qing back. The government refused, and Japan stormed Gyeongbokgung. Despite resistance from Capital Guards Command, Japan occupied the palace and established a pro-Japanese government beginning the Gabo Reform and the Sino-Japanese War.[8] As per the Gabo Reform, the government disbanded the Capital Guards Garrison.[9] Japan allied with the Joseon Army and finally suppressed the Donghak rebels in December 1895. The Japanese forced the Qing out of Joseon after winning the war.

During the Gabo reform, the government, under the direction of the Japanese, established the Hullyeondae or the "Military Training Division." They are an elite regiment of royal guards trained and equipped by the Japanese and led by old Korean Army members who hold pro-Japanese sentiments. Gojong of Korea established the Capital Guards (Siwidae (시위대), (侍衛隊)) and the provincial armies, the Jibangdae. The minister of the military supervises the training of the Capital Guards.[10] On 8 October 1895, the Japanese convinced the officers of the Hullyeondae that the royal family was seeking help from the Russians and plotted to assassinate Queen Min. One thousand Hullyeondae troops stormed the palace and defeated the Capital Guards allowing the ronin to assassinate her. As a result, Gojong ordered the deaths of pro-Japanese officials ending the Gabo Reform.[11][12][13] After her death, Gojong disbanded the Military Training Division for their part in the assassination and the Capital Guards in August 1895 for failing to stop the Japanese.[10] He reorganized them into the Chinwidae, a modernized royal guard trained by Russian military advisors, and the Jinwidae, modernized provincial armies.[14] In 1897, he proclaimed Joseon the Korean Empire dedicated to modernizing the country and the army.

The Martial Arts Department (무예청 (武藝廳)) was a division of the Military Training Command, who served as guards for King Seonjo during the Imjin War. It was an organization composed of skilled martial artists who were responsible for guarding the five grand palaces and providing close protection to the king. The officers belonging to the office were specially referred to as Martial Arts Special Guards (무예별감) or simply Martial Guards ("무감", 武監).[16] It was also known as the military officials (mugwan (무관 (武官)).[17]

The establishment process of the Martial Arts Department is detailed in King Sunjo of Joseon's work called Pure Study Records (순제고). The Martial Arts Department selected exceptional individuals with outstanding martial arts skills from the military training center (훈련도감).[18][19] In 1894, the Martial Arts Department disbanded after the Gabo Reforms and the Eulmi Incident as part of the military reforms leading to the establishment of the Imperial Korean Armed Forces.[20]

Muwiyeong (武衛營) was established in 1881 as a military camp in Joseon, and it formed 2 camps together with Jangeoyeong . When the need to reorganize the military system arose in the process of promoting the enlightenment policy of the Tonggi Office, the existing Ogunyeong were integrated and abolished to create Muwiyeong and Jangeoyeong. There was Namchang (南倉) as the rice storage of this county office called Muwiyeong . In addition, the Byeolgigun, a new type of military unit, was also established and assigned to Muwiyeong . However, in the process of reorganizing the military system, some of the soldiers belonging to the old military camp were dismissed due to the reduction of the military camp, and the fact that there is discrimination between soldiers from the former military camp and soldiers belonging to the Byeolgi Army even within the same military camp caused dissatisfaction among soldiers belonging to the old military camp. did in the end, this became the cause of the Im-O Military Rebellion in 1882 by old-style soldiers . In the course of the Imogunran, Heungseon Daewongun returned to power and declared the restoration of the old Ogunyeong, and Muwiyeong was abolished after about half a year after it was installed together with Jangeoyeong.

The Hullyeondae (Hanja: 訓練隊 "Military Training Division"[21]) was a Korean Army Regiment established under Imperial Japanese direction as a part of the second Gabo Reform in 1895, the 32nd year of Gojong of Korea's reign. On 17 January in the same year, Japanese legation minister Inoue Kaoru suggested the king found a new regiment of Royal Guards. This elite regiment, trained and equipped by the Japanese, were officered by members of the old Korean Army.

The Regiment was composed of three battalions, and a headquarters company, totaling about 1000 Soldiers. The first battalion was commanded by Major Woo Beomseon. The second battalion was commanded by Major Yi Doohwang, and the third battalion was commanded by Major Yi Jinho. All of these commanders had participated successfully during operations against the Donghak peasant rebels and the Chinese Army in 1894–1895. The regiment was composed of the most progressive element of the Korean Army.

Convinced that Queen Min was conspiring with the Russians to bring their troops into the country, the Regiment attacked the Imperial Palace on 8 October 1895, allowing the ronin to kill the Empress.[11][12][13]

The Capital Guards are the escort troops of the king of the late Joseon Dynasty and were organized according to the promulgation of Imperial Decree No. 120 on 25 May, 32nd year of King Gojong (1895) of Joseon . Under the supervision of the military minister, he was in charge of the Capital Guards in the palace, and the organization was 1 regiment (2 battalions), 1 battalion (2 companies), and 1 company (3 platoons). When the Eulmi Incident (乙未事變), which killed Empress Myeongseong, occurred in August, three months after its establishment, it was disbanded and transferred to the training unit for not sympathizing with it . In March of the first year of Gwangmu (1897), the Capital Guards were re-established while reorganizing the 中央軍 into Russian style. According to a report by the Russian Admiralty of 10 December 1896, Khmelev, captain of the Russian cruiser Admiral Kornilov, trained demonstrators, translated Russian garrison corrections into Korean, and used Russian military terminology. has been used With a total of 1,070 people, 200 people were organized into 1 company and 5 companies into 1 battalion.

This new unit, the Special Skills Force known as Gyoryeonbyeongdae or Waepyeolgi, was Korea's first modern military unit.

The Pyŏlgigun,[2][22] Byeolgigun, Gyoryeonbyeongdae, or Waepyeolgi[23] (Korean: 별기군, "Special Skills Force" or "Special Army") was the first modernised military force of Korea. First conceived in 1876, it was formed in 1881 and trained by Japanese officers led by Horimoto Reijo, military attaché at the Japanese legation. It received better treatment than the old Korean Army, whose soldiers' salaries were in arrears on account of the costs of the Byeolgigun. This led in 1882 to the Imo mutiny, in which soldiers rioted and Horimoto Reijo was killed.

Jangeoyeong (壯禦營) is a military camp of Joseon established in 1881, and it formed two camps together with Muwiyeong . Jangeoyeong and Muwiyeong were integrated and abolished from the existing Ohgunyeong, and Tonggimuahmun tried to avoid the dispersion of military command by integrating the existing military camps. Jangeoyoung was created by combining Chongyungcheong, Eoyeongcheong, and Geumwiyeong . There was Namchang (南倉) as the military rice storage for this military unit called Jangeoyeong . However, after the reorganization of the military system, there was a problem of discriminatory treatment between old-style soldiers from the old Ogunyeong and Byeolgi-gun, a newly established new-style army . In fact, soldiers from the old Ogunyeong were not even properly paid, which eventually led to the Imogunran in 1882 . By Heungseon Daewongun, who regained power during the Imogunran, Jangeoyeong was abolished in half a year along with Muwiyeong.

The Chingunyeong, also known as the Capital Guards Command, was a military unit in Korea that was responsible for protecting the royal family and the capital city. The Chingunyeong was made up of several units, including:

• Jang Wi-Yeong: The Royal Escort Palace Guard, responsible for protecting the Korean king and members of the royal family.
  • Jagwi-Yeong: The Auxiliary Palace Guard, responsible for assisting the Jang Wi-Yeong in protecting the palace and the royal family.
• Eocheong: The Left Guard, responsible for protecting the left side of the palace.
• Oecheong: The Right Guard, responsible for protecting the right side of the palace.
• Gyeongricheong: The Palace Guards, responsible for guarding the palace gates and maintaining order within the palace.
• Geumyeong: The Gold Guards, responsible for protecting the palace treasury and royal artifacts.
• Uibyeong: The Special Forces, responsible for protecting the king and the palace during times of crisis.
• Giyeongbyeong: The Mounted Guard Infantry, responsible for providing rapid response to threats along the border regions and other areas where mobility was crucial.
• Tong Wei-yeong: The Metropolitan Guards, responsible for protecting important government buildings and infrastructure in Hanseong, as well as maintaining order and security in the city.

In May 1896, the Jibangdae expanded and was divided into eight battalions ranging from 200 to 600 troops and assigned battalion commanders (majors) to command them. But in September 1896, the standard number of troops in a unit drew to 400 troops, and they expanded into fourteen battalions with 5,600 troops.[24]

Modernized Royal Guards of the Late Joseon Dynasty.

In the 1880s, a new Joseon military uniform, the gyoryeonbyeonbok (

Hangul: 교련병복, Hanja: 敎鍊兵服) replaced the old ones. The Pyŏlgigun, the Muwiyŏng, the Changŏyŏng, and the Chingunyeong wore an upper garment of the hanbok jeogori with a square-shaped neck collar from the bangryeong jacket, five metal buttons, and sleeve collars that denote a rank. One collar for a private and two for an officer. They also wore an inner jacket (naegapui,

Hangul: 내갑의, Hanja: 內甲衣) underneath their uniforms for added protection. They wore a belt at the chest or waist length, a jeonrip with a red strap denoting a soldier's names and units, and a peacock feather for officers.[25][26] During the Donghak Peasant Revolution and the early Sino-Japanese war, the Chingunyeong wore navy-blue western overcoats with white ankle-length baggy pants baji.[27] During the late Sino-Japanese and the Gabo Reform, the Joseon army wore black western overcoats and pants while maintaining the jeonrip.[14] In 1895 at the time of Queen Min's assassination and after the Gabo Reform, the army adopted western uniforms with pith helmets, white uniforms with blanket rolls for the central and provincial army soldiers and black uniforms for officers and the royal guards. At the start of the Gwangmu Reform, they began adopting German-style uniforms.

The Joseon dynasty attempted to reverse-engineer European firearms to counter their rising threat in the 19th century. When the Americans captured Ganghwa Island's coastal fortresses, the Joseon Army first used these modern weapons to reinforce the island.[28] After signing the Treaty of Ganghwa, Japan, Qing, the United States, and the European nations started importing modern weapons such as rifles, artillery, machine guns, western sabers, and bayonets in 1883 until its annexation in 1910.[29] From 1887, Gojong even tried to make weapons by themselves which however never succeed.[30]

• 
  Martini-Henry m1871. Acquired from Great Britain in (1881-1884)
• 
  Snyder Enfield rifle. Acquired from Great Britain in (1881-1884)
• 
  Remington Rolling Block rifle. Acquired from the United States in (1884-1895)
• 
  Murata Type 13 rifle (top) with Murata Type 22 carbine (bottom). Acquired from the Japanese Empire in (1880s~).
• 
  Fusil Gras M80 1874. Acquired from France.
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  Mauser Model 1871. Acquired from the German Empire in (1893~). It was the standard-issued rifle of the modern Joseon Army.
• 
  Berdan rifle. Acquired from the Russian Empire in (1896~). The royal guard used them, but they were not often the Mauser Model 1871.
• 
  Gatling Gun. Used during the Donghak Peasant Revolution. Acquired from the United States (1883~).
• 
  Armstrong 12 Pounder Field Gun. Acquired from Great Britain (1880s)
• 
  Krupp 75mm mountain gun. Acquired from the German Empire in (Unknown).