경기도, 강원도, 충청도 일대는 의병전쟁 초기 의병활동의 중심지였다. 경기도는 1907~8년에, 강원도는 1907년에, 충청도는 1906~7년에 가장 많은 의병이 활동하였다. 이를 군현단위로 보면 경기도는 한성, 양주, 포천, 마전, 용인 등이, 강원도는 원주, 영월, 평창, 횡성 등이, 충청도는 홍주, 충주, 제천을 비롯한 4군 지역 등이 중심지였다. 이들 지역은 주요 의병장이 활동한 지역이었다. 즉, 경기도, 강원도, 충청도의 의병참여자가 많았던 지역은 의병전쟁의 중심지였다. 이는 의병활동이 여러 군현에 걸쳐서 전개되는 것이 일반적이라서 의병모집이 다른 지역에서도 나타나지만 기본적으로는 주 활동무대에서 의병을 모집하고 있었던 것을 알 수 있다. 한편, 병사층의 참여형태를 보면, 자발적인 참여, 의병부대에 의한 강제 징집, 생계를 위한 용병, 잡역 등에 동원된 단순 가담자 등 다양한 형태로 참여하고 있음을 알 수 있다. 그런데 그들은 일제의 침략정책에 직ㆍ간접적인 피해를 입고 있던 사람들이었다. 1904년 러일전쟁 이후 일제에 의해 진행된 황무지개척권 요구, 광산조사, 산림벌채, 화폐개혁 등의 침략정책과 이를 발판으로 대한제국에 진출한 일본인들은 지방의 중소도시까지 자신들의 이익을 위한 침탈의 장으로 만들었다. 이제는 관념적인 일제의 침탈이 아닌 실질적인, 몸소 체험할 수 있는 일제의 침탈에 직면하게 되었다. 이러한 상황은 반일감정을 고조시켰으며, 지역민들이 의병운동에 참여하거나 의병을 후원, 협조하는 하나의 계기가 되었다. 즉, 의병에 참여하는 의도는 다양하였지만 그들이 의병에 참여하게 된 포괄적인 원인은 실질적이고 직접적인 일제의 침탈에 직면한 현실에 있었던 것이다. 경기도, 강원도, 충청도 일대의 의병전쟁은 서울진공작전이 실패로 돌아가고 주요 의병장들이 전사하거나 체포되면서 크게 위축되었다. 의병전술도 변화여 소규모 부대로 군수물자를 확보하는 것이 주된 활동이 되었다. 또 일진회, 밀정 등에 대한 처단이 주요 활동으로 나타났다. 이런 의병전술의 변화에는 일제의 의한 가혹한 탄압이 영향을 미쳤다. 일제는 의병을 탄압하기 위해 무차별 살육을 저질렀으며, 회유책으로 면죄문빙을 발급하기도 하였다. 이를 통해 의병에 대한 지원, 참여, 확산을 막겠다는 것이었다. 이러한 일제의 의병에 대한 방침은 판결에서도 나타나고 있었다. 의병을 ‘폭도’로 규정하여 폭력성을 강조해 의병을 탄압하는 것을 정당화하는 측면에서 교수형 등 극형이 선고되었다. 반면에 귀순하거나 단순 가담자는 면소하거나 비교적 가벼운 형을 선고되고 있었던 것이다.

The regions of Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, and Chungcheong Province were the centers of the Righteous Army (Ŭibyŏng) Movement in the early years of the Righteous Armies Wars. The most number of Righteous Armies were active in Gyeonggi Province in the years of 1907 to 1908, in Gangwon Province in the years 1907, and in Chungcheong Province in the years of 1906 to 1907. These provinces can be analyzed in further detail on the level of counties and prefectures: Hanseong, Yangju, Pocheon, Majŏn, and Yongin were the centers within Gyeonggi Province; Wŏnju, Yeongwol, Pyeongchang, and Hoengseong were the centers within Gangwon Province; and Hongju, Chungju, and Jecheon, along with four other counties were the centers within Chungcheong Province. These areas were regions where the major leaders of the Righteous Armies were active. In other words, the regions where there were many participants in the Righteous Armies in Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, and Chungcheong Province were the centers of the Righteous Armies Wars. Based on such concentrations of the Righteous Armies in numbers, fundamentally, the Righteous Armies recruited people in their main strongholds, even though the Righteous Armies recruitment occurred in other regions the Righteous Armies activities were in multiple counties and prefectures. However, an examination of participation on the level of soldiers reveal that there were a variety of forms in participation, including voluntary participation, coerced conscription by the Righteous Armies troops, mercenary for livelihood, and simple participants mobilized for miscellaneous services. Meanwhile, they were the people who were directly and indirectly affected by the invasion policies of the Japanese empire. After the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Japanese empire instituted invasion policies such as demanding the exploitation right for barren land, mine examination, forest lumbering, and currency reform. The Japanese also expanded into the Korean Empire (Great Han Empire, Taehanjeguk) with their foothold on these invasion policies, and the small- and medium-sized cities in the provinces of Korea became places of plundering for their profit. As such, Koreans were faced with the pillage of the Japanese empire that was beyond the ideological plundering, but an actual and physical act of plundering by the Japanese empire that they experienced firsthand. Such situations aggravated the anti-Japanese sentiments, becoming a cause for locals to participate in the Righteous Armies movement or sponsoring and cooperating with the Righteous Armies. In other words, while there were various motives for participating in the Righteous Armies, the comprehensive reason for their participation in the Righteous Armies was in the reality in which they faced the actual and direct acts of plundering by the Japanese. The Righteous Armies Wars in the regions of Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, and Chungcheong Province greatly reduced when the Recapture the Capital Operation (Seoul chin’gong chakchŏn) failed, and the major leaders of the Righteous Armies died in battle or were arrested. The tactics of the Righteous Armies also changed, and securing war supplies in small-sized units became their main activity. Furthermore, the punishment of the pro-Japanese groups such as the Advancement Society (Iljinhoe) and secret agents (Miljung) also became their main activity. Such changes in the tactics of the Righteous Armies were affected by the harsh repression by the Japanese empire. In order to repress the Righteous Armies, the Japanese empire committed indiscriminate slaughters and issued documents of acquittal as a conciliatory polity. They attempted to prevent people from volunteering and participating in the Righteous Armies and their activities, as well as attempting to prevent the expansion of the Righteous Armies. Such measures taken by the Japanese empire also appear in the adjudications. The Japanese empire prescribed the Righteous Armies as “mobs” in order to emphasize that they were violent. In order to justify the repression of the Righteous Armies, capital punishments such as hanging verdicts were sentenced. However, for those who had defected from the Righteous Armies or were just simple participants were either acquitted or were sentenced with comparatively lighter punishments.