committed to the defense; they presumably assumed they had no other choice. Initially, morale was high, and the defenders could repulse many attacks in which government troops attempted to scale the walls or breach one of the gaits. Major attacks occurred on February 17 and 19. An attack on February 27 included a cart loaded with gunpowder intended to destroy the gate, but it got stuck and never reached the gate. Attacks on March 16 and April 6 included battle carts intended to allow soldiers to fire down on the defenders, but these also failed. While rebel morale was high initially, it began to falter as food and supplies dwindled. Hong Gyeon-Rae tried to lift spirits by claiming that Qing troops were on the way to breaking the siege. He declared that they would arrive on May 29. Meanwhile, there was a change in the leadership of the government forces. Yu Hyowon was named the new leader of the pacification army. The army embarked on a plan to dig two tunnels (on the east and north side of the town) under the wall and plant gunpowder charges there. The rebels were fatally dismissive of the tunnels. On May 29, the same day the rebels expected Ming troops, a gunpowder charge exploded in the north tunnel. The army breached the wall, finally allowing the government forces to enter the city. Hong Gyeong-Rae was shot and killed in the fighting. Other rebel leaders, including Wu Kun-cheok and Hong Chong-gak, were captured and executed. In addition, nearly 3000 people were arrested and about 2000 executed, including boys as young as 10. The rebellion was over. Legacy The rebellion was a great concern to the Joseon government. It concluded that the main causes of the rebellion were corrupt officials and excessive taxation during the famine. Lee Hae-Seung was identified as a prime example of a corrupt official. The government enacted relief measures for the province. These included: the cancelation of taxes until there was a good harvest, forgiveness of loans, and holding a provincial civil service examination to facilitate the advancement of scholars from the area. Nevertheless, it provided momentum for other popular armed uprisings in different parts of Korea seeking a more just society. The culmination of these was the Donghak Rebellion in 1894, centered in southern province of Jeolla. In popular culture Portrayed by Jung Hae-kyun in the 2016 KBS2 TV series