The 1886–1887 Korean “Maitreya” and popular prophetic movements

Record summary

Late Joseon Korea saw popular religious currents that invoked Maitreya, the future Buddha, alongside geomancy, secret societies and prophecies of dynastic or social transformation. Nineteenth-century records describe competing claims about sacred mountains, hidden rulers and the arrival of a redemptive age. These traditions provide comparative material for visionary authority and apocalyptic expectation without requiring acceptance of supernatural claims. The category covers multiple groups rather than a single event, so a researcher should identify the specific movement, interrogation record or prophecy before coding it as a discrete lead.