Gapsin Coup
Following the Gapsin Coup in Joseon in 1884, tensions had been escalating between China and Japan over external influence over the Joseon dynasty of Korea and its royal family. During this coup, the Japanese supported a coup attempt aimed at reforming and modernizing Joseon. The coup plotters sought to eliminate legal enforced social distinctions, eliminating the privileges of the yangban class. The coup failed when China dispatched 1500 soldiers under Yuan Shikai. The Japanese and the coup plotters fled to Japan.