Tonghak

Ch'ondogyo

 formerly Tonghak (Korean: “Eastern Learning”)
(Korean; “Religion of the Heavenly Way”)

Korean religion combining elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, shamanism, and Roman Catholicism. Its basic principle that “man and God are one” is realized through faith in the unity of one's body and spirit and in the universality of God. Converts are instructed to meditate on God, pray upon leaving and entering home, dispel harmful thoughts, and worship God in church on Sundays. Ch'oe Che-u (1824–64) established the religion in 1860 after receiving inspiration from the Heavenly Emperor (Ch'ongju). His efforts at social change led to his execution. His successor, Ch'oe Si-hyong, was executed following the Tonghak Uprising. Today Ch'ondogyo has about three million adherents.

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Tonghak 

the teaching of the Tonghak religious sect, which developed in Korea in the second half of the 19th century. The teaching was formulated by the impoverished yangban (aristocrat) Choe Che-u (1824–64) and gained popularity in southern Korea in the early 1860’s. Directed against feudal oppression and the official ideology of Confucianism, Tonghak included elements of Buddhism, the teachings of Lao-Tzu, and Christianity. It acknowledged the identity of human beings with a higher being and the right of all people to equality on earth.

From the 1860’s to the 1880’s, organizations of the Tonghak sect were formed throughout Korea. Under their influence, the peasant movements of the second half of the 19th century—including the most important movement, the Peasant Uprising of 1893–94—sought the establishment of equality and of freedom of religion.