Son Byong-hi (; 8 April 1861 – 19 May 1922) was a Korean religious leader and independence activist. He was born in Cheongju, in Chungcheong province. He became the third leader of Donghak (Eastern learning), an indigenous religious movement founded from 1860 to 1864. His honorary religions name was Uiam and he is referred to hereafter by that name.
The founder of Donghak, Choe Je-u (religious name Su-un), and the second leader, Choe Sihyeong (religious name Haewol), had both been executed. Haewol, Uiam’s mentor and predecessor, was involved in a peasant revolt in 1894 (referred to as the Donghak Peasant Revolution) and he was executed in connection with that in 1898. Thereafter, Uiam assumed leadership of Donghak but was forced to flee to Japan in March 1901. He was accompanied with his brother and chief lieutenant Yi Yong-gu. In Japan, he studied modern western ways which had been adopted by the Japanese after the Meiji Restoration. Up to that point Donghak was highly traditional, opposed to modernization and foreign intervention in Korea. Uiam pivoted from that world view by embracing modernization and accepting help from Japan to achieve that goal. He sent Yi back to Korea in 1902 to act as his liaison. At Uiam’s direction, Yi founded a political organization known as Jungniphoe (Chungniphoe “neutrality society”) which was later reorganized as the Jinbohoe (Chinbohoe "progressive society"). One of the most notable of Jinbohoe activities was the organization of mass hair cutting ceremonies in which Korean men cut off their traditional topknots. Modernization through education was its top priority. It also had a pan-Asian outlook which encouraged Jinbohoe volunteers to aid the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War particularly in construction of a railroad to aid troop deployment.
Yi eventually went so far as to call for Japan to take over Korea’s affairs ostensibly because he thought the arrangement would be temporary and beneficial to Korea. In any event, after Japan forced Korea to become its protectorate, Uiam began to distance Donghak from Japanese affiliation. Uiam renamed Donghak as Cheondogyo (Ch'ŏndogyo, Religion of the Heavenly Way) on 1 December 1905. He took concrete steps to modernize it and to extend its doctrinal concepts of Heaven's/God’s eminence in humankind. In September1906, he excommunicated Yi, who went on to form another branch of Donghak known as Sijeongyo (Sich'ŏn'gyo, Religion of Serving Heaven).
In 1910 Japan annexed Korea. As Japanese rule became more harsh Koreans began to feel that the situation was intolerable. Finally in 1919, a mass demonstration was organized calling for Korean independence, with Cheondogyo, Christian and Buddhist religious leaders at the forefront of the movement. A Declaration of Independence was drafted and Uiam was the first to sign it. After reading the declaration at the protest, he was voluntarily arrested. Although the first phase of the protest was peaceful, it became violent and was brutally suppressed by the Japanese. Uiam became ill in prison and was released. He died at home in 1922.
Biography
Early life
Uiam was the son of the concubine of a minor official, and as such he was ineligible for government office. However, he was able to attain an education. He was introduced to Donghak by his nephew who was a preacher and he joined in 1881 or 1882. He devoted himself to the new religion and was said to engage in long recitations of the Donghak incantation, the 21-character Jumun. He met Haewol and accompanied him on a 49-day retreat. His ties to Haewol were strengthened when Haewol married Uiam’s sister after his first wife died.
The Cheondogyo website includes a history with this description of Uiam’s dedication: "After joining Donghak, Euiam Sungsa . . . trained [extensively] reading [reciting] the Twenty-One [Character] Incantation thirty thousand times a day. In addition to reading the incantation in this way he made . . . straw sandals every day in his spare time. He went to the five-day periodic market in Cheongju and sold these sandals. He continued this life for three years." After this period, Uiam became the student of Haewol and entered a life of devoted study.