Jeonbuk State Decides to Pay Allowances to Descendants of Donghak Peasant Revolution Participants

[Financial News, Jeonju = Reporter Kang In] Jeonbuk State has moved to provide allowances to descendants of Donghak Peasant Revolution participants, becoming the first metropolitan-level local government in the country to do so.
According to Jeonbuk State on the 25th, the province will provide 1.2 million won per person each year to 723 descendants of participants who have lived in the province for at least one year, under the Ordinance on Support for Memorial Projects for the Donghak Peasant Revolution in Jeonbuk State.
Those eligible for support are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of people officially recognized as descendants under the Special Act on the Restoration of Honor for Participants in the Donghak Peasant Revolution.
The project drew considerable controversy from the early stages of planning. While honoring the revolution was welcomed, critics questioned whether it was appropriate to identify descendants from such a distant past and pay them allowances. Some even mocked the move, saying, "Then pay allowances to descendants of the Imjin War, too."
Despite some opposition, Jeonbuk State pushed ahead with the project, saying it was meaningful that Jeonbuk, as the symbolic birthplace of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, took the lead in honoring the descendants of participants.
The Donghak Peasant Revolution carries historical significance as a movement aimed at defending national sovereignty against foreign invasion and interference in domestic affairs. It is also connected to the broader modern history that led to the anti-Japanese righteous army movement during the Japanese colonial period.
Unlike participants in the anti-Japanese righteous army movement, who are honored as independence patriots, participants in the Donghak Peasant Revolution are not receiving state recognition under the current veterans' system. Local voices have therefore called for proper recognition.
Lee Won-taek, Governor of Jeonbuk State, said, "We will work to ensure that the Donghak Peasant Revolution is fully recognized as a historical asset of Korea's democracy and that participants receive the appropriate national honor they deserve."


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