Jeolla in Imjin

Written by Won Hea Ran
Painting by Byeon Bak

Originally published March 2015 #157

The year was 1592. Through Busan harbor, 160,000 Japanese soldiers invaded Korea and marched north to Korea’s capital of Seoul. It was the beginning of a long seven-year war. With only 7,000 regular soldiers available for immediate defense, it took 20 days for the Japanese to take over Korea’s capital. The Japanese continued to march north, threatening regions like Pyongan and Hampyeong. They imagined fast victory because they had easily conquered Korea’s capital Seoul, but their assumption was wrong. Hearing the news that the capital was taken, Koreans, especially the people of Jeolla Province, did not stop fighting and tried even harder to defend their homeland.

Jeolla Province became an important strategic point after Seoul was taken. The region was preserved from Japanese attacks, primarily because the Japanese were more concerned with heading north, straight to the capital, than meddling with the South. Additionally, the South had long been the breadbasket of Korea. It was the region of food, weapons, and supplies, which were crucial in making counterattacks. Thus, the region acted as a base for the government’s army and the citizen army that fought against the Japanese and accepted refugees from other provinces, such as Gyeongsang Province.

Loyal government officers led first counterattacks from the Jeolla region. Jeolla Provincial Governor Yi Kwang led his forces north several times to save the king and take back the capital, but many hindrances, such as rebellion, made the army withdraw. When Yi Kwang finally gathered forces and joined with other officers of the region, the army had amounted to 100,000 men. They tried to attack Seoul from behind, but the Japanese made a surprise attack the night before, greatly impacting the army. Jeolla Province’s royal forces were mostly unsuccessful, but they did not give up and tried continuously to take back the capital.

A brave citizen army in Jeolla Province brought the real hope for the region. Called “Yeonam Three Righteous Army,” it was led by five leaders: Yeong Myeong Go, Cheon Il Kim, Pyeong Ryo Yu, Gye Myeong Im, and Kyoung Hee Choi.

These citizen armies were not regular forces, which meant that they had not received any orders or training from either the government or the king. Rather, they were independently created by citizens to protect the country in times of chaos. They were also crucial to national defense.

Jeolla Province’s citizen army victory in Jinan helped dampen the spirit of the Japanese army in the beginning of the Imjin War. Some citizen armies went farther from the Jeolla region and tried to take back Seoul. The citizen’s army led by Kim Cheon Il headed north and stayed in Ganghwa Province, a region behind the capital, for a long time and continuously attacked the Japanese army, making them more anxious.

The role of the Jeolla region overall was very important in the Imjin War. This was not only because of strategic importance, but because the people of Jeolla were united under a strong motivation to defend their country. The citizen army, in cooperation with the national army, fought so fiercely in battlefields that the strong resistance allowed Koreans to drive out Japanese invaders from their land.