230 CHAPTER NINEIn the nineteenth century, growing Christian influence in the country
sparked a small Buddhist backlash. Ch'oe Che-u (1821-64; also known as
Ch' oe Sun) founded the Eastern Learning (Tonghak) movement in response
to the Western Learning (Sohak) movement associated with Catholicism. Also
known as the Religion of the Heavenly Way (Ch'ondogyo), his movement in-
corporated meditation practices-somewhat influenced by Son-with Con-
fucian, Taoist, and native shamanic doctrines. Another reaction to Western
influences was Won Buddhism, founded in 1916, which added Christian doc-
trines to the traditional Korean eclectic mix.
Meanwhile, beginning in the late nineteenth century, traditional Son was
experiencing a revival, largely through the efforts ofKyong Ho (1849-1907)
and his student, Mang Gong (1872-1946). Mang Gong in particular was no-
table for his role in teaching Son not only to monks but also to nuns and lay
people. Of his 25 Dharma heirs, 4 were nuns. One of them, Manseong
(1897-1975), established what is now the most highly reputed nunnery in the
country, T' aeseong-am, on the outskirts of Pusan.
9.6 JAPANESE RULE {191 0-1945)
AND ITS AFTERMATHIn the late nineteenth century, Japan began actively modernizing along West-
ern lines and mounted a program of military expansion that led (among other
conquests) to the annexation of Korea in 1910. At home, the Japanese gov-
ernment had followed a calculated policy of using Buddhism to mold public
opinion, and it followed a similar policy in Korea. At first, Korean Buddhists
were pleased by the Japanese support for their religion. However, they felt be-
trayed upon learning of Japanese plans to subjugate the Korean Sangha to the
Japanese Soto Zen sect. As a result, monks became increasingly involved in ef-
forts to oppose colonial power.
The Japanese countered by pressuring the Korean Sangha to abandon its
vows of celibacy. Ecclesiastical positions were granted only to married monks.
Celibate monks gradually became a minority, until in 1926 the colonial gov-
ernment required Korean abbots to remove all rules against marriage among
the clergy. The result was a marked change in the character of Sangha life, as
the mundane pressures of supporting a family placed new burdens on the
monks. The communal conditions that had allowed monasteries to accumu-
late goods and property began to break down. Most important from the Japan-
ese point of view, family responsibilities gave the monks less time for political
activity.
The one positive result of the Japanese occupation was that the threat of
total Japanese domination moved the Son and Doctrinal schools to patch up
their differences. In 1935, after seven years of negotiations, the two schools
formally merged into the Chogye Order, finally realizing the centuries-old