Imo Incident

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The Imo Incident, also sometimes known as the Imo Mutiny, Soldier's riot or Jingo-gunran in Japanese, was a violent uprising and riot in Seoul beginning in 1882, by soldiers of the Joseon Army who were later joined by disaffected members of the wider Korean population. The revolt broke out in part due to King Gojong's support for reform and modernization, as well as the employment of Japanese military advisors. Some sources credit rumors as the spark which ignited violence, where many Korean soldiers were worried by the prospect of incorporating Japanese officers in a new army structure. The trigger for the riot is largely attributed to a reaction about unpaid soldiers' wages, who found sand and bad rice in soldiers' rations. At the time, soldiers could be paid in rice. The rioters killed many government officials, destroyed homes of high government ministers and occupied the Changdeokgung. They also turned on the members of the Japanese legation in the city, who barely escaped aboard...

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