Imjin War - Japanese Invasion of Korea 1592-1598 - 4K DOCUMENTARY

Kings and Generals
8 Jan 202388:20
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe video script narrates the historical account of the Imjin War during the late 16th century, a conflict that arose when Japan, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, invaded Korea with ambitions of regional conquest. The narrative details the challenges faced by Japan's newly united and war-ready samurai forces, the strategic blunders and diplomatic missteps leading to war, and the Korean and Chinese resistance that ultimately halted Japanese expansion. A particular focus is on the heroism of Korean Admiral Yi Sun-shin, whose naval victories were pivotal in defending Korea and protecting the Yellow Sea. The video also explores the war's aftermath, highlighting its impact on the regional balance of power, the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan, and the eventual fall of the Ming dynasty, setting the stage for Manchu dominance and the long-term isolation of Korea.

Takeaways
  • 🏰 The Sengoku Jidai ended with Japan's unification under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, leading to peace but also to a surplus of unemployed warriors.
  • 🌊 Hideyoshi, facing a lack of internal conflict, turned his ambitions outwards, initiating the Imjin War with an invasion of Korea.
  • 📦 TokyoTreat and SakuraCo are snack box subscription services that bring a taste of Japan into your home with seasonal and traditional products.
  • 🎉 The Snackin’ New Years box from TokyoTreat includes exclusive Japanese treats, while SakuraCo's New Years in Niigata box offers regional specialities and a sake cup.
  • 👑 Hideyoshi's strategy was to use conquered territories as a source of manpower and materials for further conquests in Asia.
  • 🛡️ The majority of Hideyoshi’s invasion force was composed of ashigaru, peasant foot soldiers, rather than the romanticized image of noble samurai.
  • ⚓️ Japanese naval power was less advanced than their military technology on land, which would be a recurring issue throughout the conflict.
  • 🗡️ Yi Sun-shin, a Korean career soldier, prepared diligently for the anticipated invasion, studying naval command and repairing infrastructure.
  • 🏺 The Joseon kingdom was ill-prepared for the invasion due to corruption, neglect, and unpreparedness of its military units.
  • 🎖️ Yi Sun-shin's victories at sea, including the use of the turtle ship, were instrumental in preventing Japanese forces from reinforcing their armies on land.
  • ⚔️ The Battle of Hansando was a significant naval defeat for the Japanese, with only 14 out of 82 ships surviving, showcasing Yi's tactical prowess.
Q & A
  • What was the historical context of Japan at the beginning of the 17th century?

    -At the dawn of the 17th century, Japan was entering a new epoch after the country had been united, marking the end of the Sengoku Jidai, a period of near constant feudal warfare that lasted for about a century and a half.

  • Why did Toyotomi Hideyoshi decide to launch an invasion of Korea?

    -Hideyoshi turned his ambitions outwards after unifying Japan, as he had a country full of warriors with no war left to fight. He aimed to use his veteran armies to invade Korea and then the Chinese Ming Empire, believing his destiny was to conquer further afield.

  • What was the role of TokyoTreat and SakuraCo in the video?

    -TokyoTreat and SakuraCo are snack box subscription services that bring an experience of Japan into your home. They are the sponsors of the video, offering a variety of Japanese snacks and treats.

  • How did the Sō clan leader's actions backfire when delivering Hideyoshi’s message to the Korean court?

    -Sō Yoshishige altered Hideyoshi’s message to soften the diplomatic blow, but the Sō clan leader sent a rough and indelicate subordinate, Yutani Yasuhiro, to deliver the message. Yasuhiro insulted the Korean hosts, leading to the Korean refusal to submit to Hideyoshi, which in turn led to Hideyoshi's fury and punishment.

  • What was the composition of Hideyoshi’s invasion force?

    -The invasion force consisted of 158,000 men, primarily made up of ashigaru, peasant foot soldiers armed with swords, spears, and bows. About one-third of the army was armed with arquebuses, an early form of firearm.

  • What was the strategic importance of the Imjin War?

    -The Imjin War was part of Hideyoshi's plan to conquer Asia, starting with Korea, which would then supply manpower and material for the invasion of China. The conquest of territories around Beijing was intended to supply manpower for further conquests into China.

  • How did Admiral Yi Sun-shin contribute to the defense of Korea during the Imjin War?

    -Admiral Yi Sun-shin played a crucial role in defending Korea by commanding the Korean navy to several victories against the Japanese fleet. His strategic use of the turtle ships and superior knowledge of local waters helped to maintain control over the seas, which was vital for supply lines and reinforcements.

  • What was the significance of the Battle of Hansando?

    -The Battle of Hansando was a significant naval battle where Admiral Yi Sun-shin deployed his fleet in a bay near the island of Hansando and used a baiting tactic to lure the Japanese fleet into a trap. The battle resulted in the destruction of a large portion of the Japanese fleet and was a major victory for the Korean navy.

  • How did the Japanese forces attempt to neutralize Admiral Yi Sun-shin?

    -The Japanese forces used a spy named Yojiro to trick the Korean court into believing that Konishi Yukinaga wanted to betray his rival, Kato Kiyomasa. This led to Yi Sun-shin being given an order to prepare an ambush, which he suspected was a trap and refused to obey. Consequently, he was deposed and arrested, effectively neutralizing his command.

  • What were the consequences of the Battle of Myeongnyang for the Japanese forces?

    -The Battle of Myeongnyang resulted in a significant defeat for the Japanese forces. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Admiral Yi Sun-shin's tactics led to the destruction of 31 Japanese ships without the loss of any Korean ships, causing the Japanese armada to retreat to Busan and effectively ending their control over the Yellow Sea.

  • What was the impact of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death on the war?

    -Hideyoshi's death marked the end of the Japanese invasion of Korea. His final orders were for the conflict to be concluded and for all soldiers to return home. This, along with the weakening of the Japanese forces and the increasing pressure from the Ming and Korean forces, led to the withdrawal of Japanese troops and the eventual end of the war.

Outlines
00:00
🏰 Unification and Challenges of 17th Century Japan

The paragraph introduces the historical backdrop of Japan entering the 17th century, having just been unified under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, marking the end of the Sengoku Jidai. With no more wars to fight, Hideyoshi faced the challenge of idle warriors and turned his ambitions towards an invasion of Korea. The paragraph also introduces the video's sponsors, TokyoTreat and SakuraCo, two Japanese snack box subscription services, and mentions a giveaway.

05:05
🏺 The Tensions and Preparations for War

This paragraph details the diplomatic failures and military preparations leading to the Imjin War. It discusses Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ambitions beyond Japan, the altered message to the Korean court by Sō Yoshishige, and the subsequent fallout. It also describes the massive army Hideyoshi assembled, the composition of the invasion force, and the Korean's underestimation of the threat.

10:10
🚢 The Invasion Begins and Initial Conquests

The paragraph describes the beginning of the Japanese invasion, with troops landing unopposed on Korean soil. It outlines the rapid progression of the Japanese forces, the lack of effective Korean naval resistance, and the initial military successes of the invaders. It also highlights the efforts of Korean general Yi Sun-shin in preparing for the inevitable conflict.

15:13
🏯 The Battle of Chungju and the Fall of Seoul

This section narrates the Battle of Chungju, where General Sin Rip's forces were overwhelmed by the Japanese. It details the panic in Seoul following the defeat, the flight of the Korean court, and the division of the Japanese forces as they advanced through Korean territory. It also discusses the strategic movements of Konishi and Kato, as well as the consolidation of Japanese gains.

20:17
🛳️ Naval Battles and Admiral Yi Sun-shin's Early Victories

The paragraph focuses on the state of the Korean navy and the initial encounters between Admiral Yi Sun-shin's forces and the Japanese fleet. It describes the Korean navy's dire situation, Yi's gathering of intelligence, and the successful naval engagements that led to the destruction of numerous Japanese ships, with Yi's forces emerging unscathed.

25:21
🐢 The Introduction of the Turtle Ship and Further Naval Successes

This section highlights the innovation of the turtle ship and its role in Admiral Yi's continued victories against the Japanese navy. It details the turtle ship's design and effectiveness in battle, the deployment of Yi's fleet, and the successful tactics used to lure and destroy Japanese ships. It also mentions the impact of these victories on the Japanese supply lines and the Korean resistance.

30:22
🏞️ The Siege of Jinju and the Turning of the War

The paragraph describes the Korean defense of Jinju against overwhelming Japanese forces. It details the strategic defense, the arrival of reinforcements, and the eventual retreat of the Japanese. It also discusses the intervention of Ming China in the war, the failed Chinese expeditionary force, and the subsequent massive Chinese response led by Li Rusong.

35:27
🏰 The Siege of Pyongyang and Its Aftermath

This section covers the Chinese siege of Pyongyang, the Japanese defense, and the eventual retreat of the Japanese forces. It discusses the aftermath of the battle, the change in momentum of the war, and the strategic movements of the Japanese and Chinese forces. It also mentions the battle of Byeokjegwan and the subsequent stalemate in the war.

40:30
🗺️ The Second Japanese Invasion and the Battle of Haengju

The paragraph details the second Japanese invasion, focusing on the brutal tactics employed by the Japanese forces. It describes the battle of Haengju, where Korean forces led by Gwon Yul achieved a remarkable victory against overwhelming odds. It also discusses the impact of the battle on the war's trajectory and the eventual liberation of Seoul by the Chinese forces.

45:34
🔥 The Fall of Jinju and the Brutality of War

This section narrates the final Japanese assault on Jinju, the failure of the Korean defense, and the subsequent massacre. It details the construction of Japanese siege engines, the eventual breach of the city walls, and the tragic fate of the city's defenders and civilians. It also discusses the broader impact of the battle on the war and the beginning of negotiations for peace.

50:40
🛶 The Reinstatement of Yi Sun-shin and the Japanese Ground Invasion

The paragraph discusses the reinstatement of Admiral Yi Sun-shin following the disastrous defeat of the Korean fleet and the subsequent Japanese ground invasion. It outlines the brutal tactics of the Japanese forces, the Korean and Ming defensive preparations, and the strategic decisions made by the Japanese to secure their advance through Korea.

55:41
🏙️ The Siege of Namwon and Japanese Atrocities

This section details the Japanese siege of Namwon, the city's inadequate defenses, and the eventual massacre of its inhabitants. It describes the Japanese strategy, the city's fall, and the brutal treatment of the civilians and soldiers. It also discusses the impact of these events on the war and the Japanese campaign in Korea.

00:45
⛵️ Admiral Yi Sun-shin's Naval Mastery and the Battle of Myeongnyang

The paragraph focuses on Admiral Yi Sun-shin's strategic naval victories, particularly the battle of Myeongnyang, where his small fleet of 13 ships held off a massive Japanese armada. It details Yi's tactics, the use of the tide, and the significant loss inflicted upon the Japanese fleet. It also mentions the personal tragedy of Yi's son's death and his subsequent efforts to rebuild the Korean navy.

05:50
🎉 The End of the War and Its Lasting Impact

This section discusses the end of the war following Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death and the withdrawal of Japanese forces from Korea. It outlines the lasting impact of the war on the participating nations, the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan, and the weakening of the Ming and Joseon dynasties. It also mentions the eventual collapse of the Ming dynasty and the establishment of the Qing dynasty.

10:56
📺 Conclusion and Acknowledgment of Sponsors

The final paragraph concludes the video with a call to action for viewers to subscribe, like, comment, and share. It acknowledges the sponsors TokyoTreat and SakuraCo, offering a discount code for viewers and information on a giveaway. It also thanks patrons and YouTube channel members for their support.

Mindmap
Mention of Patreon and YouTube membership support
Encouragement to subscribe, like, share, and comment
Promotion and discount code for viewers
Japanese snack box subscription services
Rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu post-Sekigahara
Weakening of Ming and Joseon dynasties
Japanese forces' withdrawal
Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Korean defenders' successful resistance
Failed Japanese attempt with large forces
Utilized tide and narrow straits to victory
Yi Sun-shin's 13 ships against 300 Japanese ships
Outnumbered but with superior shipbuilding
Led by figures like Yi Sun-shin and Gwon Yul
Comprised mainly of ashigaru and arquebusiers
Led by various daimyo lords
Execution of Japanese envoy and family
Refusal to submit to Hideyoshi
Yutani Yasuhiro's misconduct led to refusal
Delivered altered message to Korean court
Veteran armies underutilized post-unification
Turned outwards to Korea and China
Peace brought challenges of idle warriors
Unified Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Viewer Engagement
TokyoTreat and SakuraCo
Impact on Regional Powers
End of Invasion
Siege of Jinju
Battle of Myeongnyang
Korean Defense
Japanese Invasion Force
Korean Response
Sō Clan's Role
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Ambitions
End of Sengoku Jidai
Cultural and Sponsorship Notes
Aftermath and Repercussions
Significant Battles
Military Campaigns
Diplomatic Failures
Historical Context
Japanese Invasion of Korea (Imjin War)
Alert
Keywords
💡Sengoku Jidai
Sengoku Jidai, also known as the Warring States period, was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and near-constant military conflict in Japan that lasted from the mid-15th to the early 17th century. In the video, it is mentioned as the era that had just ended, leading to the unification of Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the subsequent challenge of what to do with the numerous samurai warriors with no wars left to fight.
💡Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a preeminent Japanese samurai, military leader, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japan's second great unifier. The video discusses Hideyoshi's ambition to harness Japan's veteran armies for invasions, particularly the devastating invasion of Korea, which marks the beginning of the Imjin War.
💡Imjin War
The Imjin War, also known as the Japanese Invasions of Korea, refers to the two separate instances of Japanese invasion of Korea that occurred in the late 16th century. The video is centered around this war, detailing the Japanese military campaign and the Korean and Chinese resistance.
💡Joseon Dynasty
The Joseon Dynasty was the last royal dynasty of Korea, which ruled from 1392 to 1897. The video discusses the Joseon Dynasty in the context of the Korean kingdom's struggle against the Japanese invasions during the Imjin War, highlighting the challenges faced by the Korean military and the resilience of its people.
💡Yi Sun-shin
Admiral Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander and a central figure in the resistance against the Japanese invasions of Korea during the Imjin War. The video praises Yi's strategic prowess and his victories at sea, which were instrumental in defending Korea and disrupting Japanese supply lines.
💡Turtle Ship
The turtle ship was a type of Korean warship that featured an innovative design with an armored upper deck resembling the shell of a turtle. The video describes how these ships were used by Admiral Yi Sun-shin to great effect during naval battles, providing protection against enemy boarding actions and superior firepower.
💡Seoul
Seoul, the capital of Korea, is depicted in the video as a strategic target during the Japanese invasion. Its capture and subsequent liberation by the Korean and Chinese forces symbolize key turning points in the Imjin War.
💡TokyoTreat and SakuraCo
TokyoTreat and SakuraCo are snack box subscription services mentioned as sponsors of the video. While not directly related to the historical content, they represent a modern connection to Japanese culture through food, contrasting with the historical narrative of conflict presented in the video.
💡Kato Kiyomasa
Kato Kiyomasa was a Japanese samurai and daimyo who played a significant role in the Imjin War. The video discusses his military campaigns in Korea, his rivalry with other Japanese commanders, and his participation in the failed siege of Jinju.
💡Li Rusong
Li Rusong was a Chinese general who led the Ming forces in援助 (援助), or 'assistance', to Korea during the Imjin War. The video highlights his military campaigns, including the recapture of Pyongyang and his eventual defeat at Byeokjegwan, which influenced the course of the war.
💡Hideyoshi's Invasions
Hideyoshi's Invasions refer to the two major military campaigns ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to conquer Korea and then China. The video outlines the first invasion's failure and the preparation for the second, which was more focused on seizing control of Korea's southern territories.
Highlights

Japan entered a new epoch in the 17th century, marking the end of the Sengoku Jidai and the unification under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi faced the challenge of idle warriors and turned his ambitions outwards, initiating the invasion of Korea.

The Imjin War marked a significant conflict where Japan's veteran armies invaded Korea, aiming to expand their power.

Sponsorship from TokyoTreat and SakuraCo introduces viewers to Japanese culture through snack box subscriptions.

TokyoTreat focuses on seasonal and exclusive products, while SakuraCo highlights traditional snacks and artisanal goods.

Viewers are offered a discount on their first box and a chance to win a free ticket to Japan through the sponsors.

Hideyoshi's ambition to conquer beyond Japan led to the planning of invasions into Korea and the Ming Empire.

The Sō clan's failed diplomacy with Korea set the stage for the invasion, as their envoy Yutani Yasuhiro insulted the Korean court.

Korean underestimation of Hideyoshi's military strength and internal court divisions left them unprepared for the invasion.

The Japanese invasion force was a mix of samurai and ashigaru, with a significant portion armed with arquebuses.

Yi Sun-shin, a Korean career soldier, prepared for the inevitable invasion by studying naval command and fortifying infrastructure.

Japanese forces experienced initial successes, but Korean resistance, led by figures like Yi Sun-shin, began to turn the tide.

Admiral Yi Sun-shin's innovative use of the turtle ship and strategic naval victories severely impacted Japanese supply lines.

The Battle of Hansando was a pivotal moment where Yi's naval tactics led to the destruction of a large Japanese fleet.

The Korean navy's success in maintaining control over the seas was a critical factor in resisting the Japanese invasion.

The war's impact extended beyond the conflict, influencing future relations and power dynamics in East Asia.

The conflict saw the rise of Admiral Yi Sun-shin as a national hero of Korea, whose strategic prowess was key to their resistance.

Transcripts
00:00

Japan  

00:05

at the dawn of the 17th century, was entering a  new epoch... The country had just been united, and  

00:13

thus, the Sengoku Jidai, a near century and a half  of endemic feudal warfare, had come to an end.  

00:19

Peace proved to be yet another challenge for  the new overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, for his  

00:25

country was now home to hundreds of thousands  of warriors with no war left to fight. Thus,  

00:31

Hideyoshi turned his ambitions outwards,  and now that he could harness some of the  

00:35

most veteran armies in Japanese history, he  would launch a devastating invasion of Korea.  

00:41

Welcome to the new Kings and Generals video on the  Imjin War! These long videos are very difficult to  

00:48

make, so consider subscribing, liking, sharing,  and commenting to earn us some grace with the  

00:53

gods of the algorithm. You can support us  via patreon - the link in the description,  

00:57

or via youtube membership -  the button is under the video.

01:01

Now this may have happened a long time ago  and in a far off place for most people,  

01:06

but you should know that Japan might still  show up at your door. Fortunately it’s quite  

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a different sort of visit, as now they’re  just delivering tasty snacks and treats,  

01:15

which is the role of our  sponsor TokyoTreat and SakuraCo.

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Fanta Premier Pear, Spy  Family Anya Candy, and more.

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SakuraCo, on the other hand, focused  on traditional cultural snacks made by  

01:42

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01:46

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01:53

specialities like Echigohime Strawbrery Crepe  and Niigate Konjac Yokan. You get some Genmai  

01:59

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02:04

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02:09

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02:21

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02:28

In the last two decades of the 16th  century, the great warlord Toyotomi  

02:33

Hideyoshi had more or less achieved his  goal of uniting Japan’s many warring fiefs.  

02:38

In 1582, he claimed Honshu in its entirety after  succeeding his betrayed master, Oda Nobunaga.  

02:46

Shikoku was then subdued in 1585, and Kyushu fell  soon after in 1587. As the Land of the Rising Sun  

02:54

came ever closer to unification, a rival daimyo  who swore to follow Hideyoshi were allowed to keep  

03:00

their demesnes and were promised more lands  and spoils. However, once Japan was unified,  

03:06

lands and spoils would be hard to deliver on,  as there would be no more battles to fight or  

03:11

gains to be had. Aware of this fact, he began to  make plans to turn his vassals outwards in the  

03:17

late 1580s, hungrily eying Korea as the initial  target, and the Chinese Ming Empire after that.  

03:24

These invasion plans were more than an artful  solution to keep his belligerent, war-like vassals  

03:30

busy. Like Nobunaga before him, Hideyoshi believed  that his power ought to extend beyond the confines  

03:36

of his small island nation, and was convinced  his destiny was to conquer further afield. 

03:44

The great unifier’s most recent conquest was the  island of Tsushima, located at the midpoint of  

03:49

the Tsushima Strait. The lords of this clan, the  Sō, had since become Hideyoshi’s vassals, and were  

03:56

ordered to deliver a message to the Koreans: which  demanded their submission to the Japanese state.  

04:01

This put the Sō in a difficult spot: for  their long relations with the Korean Joseon  

04:07

monarchy made them ideal diplomats, but  an outbreak of hostilities between Korea  

04:12

and Japan would damage the trade which  granted the clan much of its wealth.  

04:16

Aiming to soften the diplomatic blow as much  as he could, Sō Yoshishige altered Hideyoshi’s  

04:22

message to the Korean court, blunting much of its  threats and demands, and changing it so that it  

04:28

stipulated only a simple tribute mission be sent  to Japan in order to confirm Korea’s respect.  

04:34

However, this plan would backfire. In a lethal  blunder, the Sō clan leader sent a rough,  

04:41

hardened subordinate known as Yutani Yasuhiro to  deliver the message, instead of going himself.  

04:46

Yasuhiro conducted himself in the most indelicate  way possible, insulting his Korean hosts by  

04:53

degrading the size of their spears compared  to the Japanese, and mocking their lifestyle.  

04:59

Not content with that, the brash envoy  warned: “Your country will not last long!  

05:04

Having already lost the sense of order and  discipline, how can you expect to survive?”. 

05:11

The uncouth nature of the envoy’s  conduct and the unacceptable demand,  

05:15

led to the Korean refusal to pay any form of  submission or respect to Hideyoshi. Naturally,  

05:21

Hideyoshi was furious at the failure and ordered  that Yasuhiro and his entire family be killed.  

05:28

Sō Yoshishige was punished less severely, being  replaced as daimyo of Tsushima by his adopted  

05:33

son Yoshitoshi, who Hideyoshi considered  more trustworthy. Over the next few years,  

05:39

more embassies were sent from Japan to Korea and  vice versa. In a crucial visit to Kyoto in 1590,  

05:46

Korean courtiers failed to gather intelligence  on just how powerful Hideyoshi’s military was,  

05:51

leading their government to underestimate the  imminent danger. Furthermore, the issue divided  

05:57

the Korean court factions, named for the location  of their respective headquarters in Seoul. Members  

06:03

of the ‘Westerner’ faction gradually came  to realize the very real peril Japan posed,  

06:08

but any attempt to prepare for the invasion  was actively opposed by the ‘Easterner’ group. 

06:15

In Japan, a colossal war machine was gearing  up in the summer of 1591, beginning with  

06:21

Hideyoshi’s establishment of a massively fortified  headquarters complex on the island of Kyushu.  

06:27

From there, he oversaw the levying of a massive  army comprising 335,000 total troops, 158,000  

06:35

of which would cross to Korea itself. The levies  were raised by Japan’s various daimyo lords, who,  

06:41

in a system known as gun’yaku, were obliged to  supply a predetermined number of men according  

06:47

to the size and wealth of their fiefdom. Beyond  that, other political factors could influence a  

06:53

daimyo’s required contribution, such as  their personal standing with Hideyoshi. 

06:59

The 158,000-strong invasion force  consisted of 82,200 men from Kyushu,  

07:05

which was closest to Korea, 57,000  from Honshu, and 19,600 from Shikoku.  

07:12

How this giant force was equipped must be  discussed for a moment, and deconstruct  

07:17

the commonly held romantic notions of what  the Japanese armies of this age looked like.  

07:22

Rather than an noble force of katana-wielding  Samurai, the majority of Hideyoshi’s invading  

07:28

troops were instead the humble ashigaru, peasant  foot soldiers armed with swords, spears and bows.  

07:34

Perhaps one-third of this army was armed  with arquebuses, an early form of firearm  

07:40

introduced to Japan by the Portuguese, who had  made landfall in Kyushu some decades earlier.  

07:45

Hideyoshi’s plan was to be a domino rolling  through Asia. When the Koreans were conquered,  

07:51

they were to supply manpower and material for the  push into China. When the area around Beijing was  

07:57

conquered, that area would supply manpower for a  push further into the Middle Kingdom, and so on. 

08:04

The invading force would be ferried to Korea by  700 assorted ships which, along with their crews,  

08:11

were requisitioned from the various daimyo  of the coastal provinces. These were mostly  

08:16

repurposed merchant or civilian vessels. Though  Hideyoshi had a massive army at his disposal,  

08:21

in addition to high-quality military technology  on land, naval power would prove a problem for him  

08:27

throughout the coming conflict. In contrast, the  Koreans had just two advantages over the Japanese:  

08:34

their superior shipbuilding and cannon technology.  These upsides, however, were overshadowed by the  

08:41

fact that corruption in Korea was rampant, leaving  military units neglected, untrained and lazy.  

08:47

As a whole, the Joseon kingdom was not  ready for the storm that was coming.  

08:52

However, one man within it, later to become  Korea’s most venerated war hero, certainly was:  

08:58

the forty-six-year-old career soldier Yi Sun-shin.  After being assigned to Cholla in late 1590,  

09:05

Yi immediately understood that his province could  serve as a possible beachhead for an invasion.  

09:11

Determined to be as prepared as he could, he  spent a year diligently studying naval command,  

09:16

whipping his men into shape,  and repairing infrastructure. 

09:21

Meanwhile, after being delayed multiple times,  three contingents of the first wave of Japanese  

09:27

invaders were ready to sail by May 22nd. On the  23rd, 18,700 troops under the command of Konishi  

09:35

Yukinaga and Sō Yoshitoshi set out for Busan. It  was a risky voyage, for the warships earmarked  

09:42

to guard the troop transports had not arrived,  and so this fleet was completely vulnerable.  

09:47

Though initially believing the ships on the  horizon were part of an abnormally large trade  

09:52

mission, the Korean commanders in the Busan region  gradually came to realize that the invasion had  

09:57

begun. They could have used the superior warships  under their command to assault the undefended  

10:03

Japanese fleet, but in a catastrophic lack of  decisiveness and initiative, they failed to do so.  

10:10

By nightfall on May 23rd, around 400  transports crowded the waters off Busan,  

10:15

resting in the harbour completely unopposed. After  a final demand for an unopposed Japanese crossing  

10:22

to China was rejected, the troop landings began. At 4am on May 24th, 1592, 5,000 men under  

10:31

Yoshitoshi disembarked onto land, followed  by another 7,000 under Yukinaga. Eventually,  

10:37

the entire first contingent had disembarked, and  a Japanese army had landed on Korean soil without  

10:43

a single shot being fired. After two brief sieges,  the main fortresses at Busan and its harbour fell,  

10:50

triggering panic among military leaders in  surrounding provinces. In yet another stunning  

10:55

act of military ineptitude, the incompetent  Korean naval commanders scuttled their sizeable  

11:01

provincial fleets and destroyed their weaponry  and provisions, retreating north as quickly as  

11:06

they could. With Busan secured, the proud Yukinaga  refused to wait for reinforcements as instructed.  

11:13

Instead, he immediately pushed north along the  middle of the peninsula on May 26th, marching  

11:19

at a blistering pace, likely wishing to monopolize  the glory of seizing the capital for himself. This  

11:26

invading force first came to the deserted town of  Yangsan, then went onto secure Miryang and Daegu  

11:32

on May 28th, pillaging and plundering as they  did. Realising he had to mount some opposition,  

11:38

the governor of Gyeongsang province, Kim Su,  tried to lead a force south to meet the Japanese.  

11:43

However, he soon withdrew without fighting  after learning that Dongnae had also fallen. 

11:50

News of the Japanese invasion had reached  Yi Sun-shin in Cholla on May 25th, along  

11:55

with the shocking knowledge that both of the  Gyeongsang navies had already self-destructed.  

12:01

However, Yi waited patiently; he had orders to  defend his segment of coastline and would do so.  

12:08

He remained confident that the Japanese could be  defeated on the seas despite their superiority  

12:13

on land, so Yi was biding his time. Meanwhile,  a second Japanese army landed in Busan on May  

12:20

28th under the command of Kato Kiyomasa. The  troop ships this time disgorged a fearsome  

12:26

contingent of 22,800 soldiers. Realising that the  vanguard under Yukinaga had not waited for him,  

12:34

the irritated Kiyomasa also swiftly  pushed forward. He took the eastern route,  

12:39

seizing the cities of Ulsan, Kyongju, Yongchon,  Sinnyong, and Kumo on the path to Seoul. Kiyomasa  

12:45

blazed with determination, resolved to not let  his rival, Yukinaga, reach the capital before him. 

12:53

On the 29th, a third prong of the invasion  opened up when Hideyoshi’s third contingent  

12:59

under Kuroda Nagamasa arrived at Angolpo.  This force consisted of 11,000 troops who,  

13:05

after seizing the nearby fort at Kimhae,  would take the western route north.  

13:10

Three Japanese armies were now set to converge on  the Korean capital at Seoul, but they would not  

13:15

get to the city totally unopposed. At Chungju,  around 100 kilometers south of the capital,  

13:21

the revered Joseon general Sin Rip had assembled a  sizable resistance army of 8,000, and he intended  

13:28

to fight. The ragtag agglomeration of cavalry  troops, officers who had retreated from the south,  

13:34

and hastily raised levies from the north,  possibly could have held the Choryong pass,  

13:39

which had been General Sin’s original plan.  However, retreating Korean units revealed  

13:45

that it had already been lost, so instead Sin  chose to do battle at Chungju on an open field. 

13:52

At midday on June 6th 1592, as the Japanese  were descending from the Choryong heights,  

13:58

General Sin drew up his army outside Chungju on  a stretch of flat ground, hemmed in by a hill  

14:04

called Tangumdae to their flank and the South Han  river behind them. This was a death trap with no  

14:10

possibility of retreat, and this was precisely the  point. Placing troops in this kind of situation  

14:16

was a long-established Chinese military tactic  which had led to remarkable victories in the past.  

14:22

Perhaps the Koreans could use it to halt ‘the  robbers’, as they derisively called the Japanese.  

14:28

As Yukinaga’s first contingent descended from  the heights, Kiyomasa emerged from the eastern  

14:33

route and managed to catch up with his rival  daimyo near Chungju. The latter was angered  

14:39

that Yukinaga had stolen the glory by storming  ahead, and demanded to now take the lead with his  

14:44

own force. He refused, and Kiyomasa decided that  he would take revenge on his rival at Chungju.  

14:51

As Yukinaga began his advance  towards the city from the southeast,  

14:54

the second contingent stayed behind,  hoping their rivals would be defeated. 

15:00

The attacking troops fanned out as they approached  the town, finally emerging opposite General Sin’s  

15:06

force in a vast arc. At 2PM on the afternoon of  June 6th, Yukinaga divided his army into three  

15:13

main units. 10,000 soldiers under himself and his  retainer Matsuura Shigenobu formed the vanguard,  

15:19

while Sō Yoshitoshi and his 5,000 strong  contingent formed the left flank. Finally,  

15:24

3,700 assorted troops commanded by their  minor daimyos: Arima Harunobu, Omura Yoshiaki,  

15:31

and Goto Sumiharu, were placed on the right.  Arquebusiers were placed on the front lines of the  

15:36

Japanese army, while behind them stood ashigaru  footmen armed with melee weapons. When arrayed  

15:42

in battle formation, the Japanese advanced with a  roar of musket fire. It was hardly even a contest;  

15:48

General Sin’s amateur forces were almost  immediately overwhelmed by flying arquebus  

15:54

balls and began to suffer devastating losses. The  peasant soldiers began to rout under the pressure,  

16:00

but the brave General would not retreat so easily.  He led his crack cavalry in a headlong charge  

16:06

towards the enemy line. It was to no avail. The  arquebusiers rained withering musket fire down  

16:13

on his horsemen, breaking the charge before any  contact was made. In short order, General Sin’s  

16:19

8,000 strong army had ceased to exist, many  survivors of the initial slaughter being  

16:24

hunted down by pursuing ashigaru soon after. Sin  threw himself into a natural spring adorned in  

16:30

full armour, committing suicide by drowning. The news of Sin Rip’s defeat at Chungju caused  

16:37

panic in Seoul, and with no army to defend it, the  Korean court decided to flee, despite the pleas  

16:43

of the populace. Konishi’s decisive victory  angered his rival commander Kato even more.  

16:50

Some sources claim that Konishi was initially  against the war, and, in a possible attempt  

16:55

to damage Hideyoshi’s position, even warned  the Korean court about the invasion, and was  

17:00

now moving quickly to erase any evidence of his  betrayal. After almost coming to blows, the two  

17:06

daimyos took separate paths to Seoul. Konishi’s  route was easier, looping north and west where the  

17:13

Han River was not a decisive obstacle. At the same  time, Kato took a shorter route directly north,  

17:19

but where the river was at its widest. After  performing this river crossing with considerable  

17:24

ingenuity, Kato was shocked upon seeing the  banners of his rival flying over the city’s  

17:30

battlements. He had been beaten again by mere  hours. Kuroda Nagamasa and his third contingent,  

17:36

as well as Ukita Hideie’s 10,000 arrived on  June 16th, 1592. The Korean capital itself  

17:44

was occupied with little bloodshed. Meanwhile,  the Korean court had evacuated to Pyongyang.  

17:50

According to some sources, angered by their king’s  abandonment of them, the angry citizens burned  

17:56

many of the royal residences. Now that the  

18:01

capital had been taken, the Japanese armies set  out to consolidate their gains. The countryside  

18:06

was pillaged largely without resistance. However,  some Korean forces were still in the field.  

18:12

When the Japanese started raiding the area called  Yangju directly to the north of Seoul, commander  

18:18

of the minor Korean unit decided to use their  complacency against them. As the Japanese were  

18:23

pillaging Yangju, the Koreans appeared near the  village. This drew the attention of the invaders,  

18:28

and a group of them moved against the Koreans,  who upon contact dropped their weapons and started  

18:34

running towards the nearby mountains. They were  chased by the Japanese, but it was a trap. As  

18:40

soon as the enemy entered the mountain pass, the  Koreans hiding here surrounded and destroyed this  

18:45

unit. Although the invaders lost only around  100 troops in this minor battle, it improved  

18:51

the morale of the Korean armies, and forced the  daimyos to be more careful in their raiding. 

18:58

After leaving Seoul, Konishi and Kato, bitter  rivals to the end, were split up again,  

19:02

their contingents marching to quell  the northwestern Pyongan province,  

19:06

and the far northeastern province of Hamgyong  respectively. Both were expected to reach the  

19:12

Chinese frontier at the Yalu and Tumen rivers  during their expeditions. Furthermore, an 11,000  

19:18

strong third contingent would seize Hwanghae  province. On top of this, a fourth contingent of  

19:25

14,000 men would march east to quell the eastern  coastal lands of Gangwon while a fifth division of  

19:31

25,000 troops would subdue the west coast  province of Chungcheong. 15,700 soldiers of  

19:38

a sixth division set out for the bypassed Cholla  province, while 30,000 men of the seventh would  

19:44

hold the crucial beachhead province of Kyongsang.  Finally, Ukita Hideie 10,000 would hold Seoul  

19:50

itself and the neighboring Kyonggi province.  Hideie himself was appointed by Hideyoshi  

19:56

as an interim supreme commander. Japanese  consideration now turned to logistics and supply. 

20:04

However, when Kato moved his troops to the north,  he found that the Koreans under Gim Myeongwon had  

20:10

forced-marched their army to block the Japanese on  the opposite side of the Imjin river. Although the  

20:16

Japanese had 20 thousand troops and outnumbered  the Koreans almost 2-to-1, the latter were in a  

20:22

great position to defend. The rains had flooded  the river, making the crossing even more difficult  

20:28

for Kato. Before the Japanese approached the  area, Gim had already burned the nearby forests  

20:34

and moved all of the boats in the area to the  north coast. He knew that reinforcements were  

20:39

on the way, and was planning on waiting on  them in his excellent defensive position.  

20:44

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have full  control of his army, for half of it was commanded  

20:49

by the courtier Han Ung-in, who demanded an  immediate confrontation with the Japanese.  

20:54

The battle of the Imjin river started on July 6th,  1592. On the first day, the armies exchanged arrow  

21:02

and cannon volleys, but as the distance between  two was significant, neither side suffered much.  

21:07

On the second day, the Koreans  received 3000 cavalry reinforcements.  

21:12

For Kato, it was clear that he had to  do something to make the enemy move, or  

21:16

otherwise his situation would become untenable, so  he ordered three quarters of his army to retreat.  

21:22

The experienced Gim knew this was a trap,  having already seen this tactic fighting  

21:27

the Jurchen peoples in the north, but  inexperienced general Sin Hal was sure  

21:32

that he was about to score a glorious victory,  and decided to attack. Han Ung-in supported him,  

21:38

and even ordered the execution of one  of the generals who opposed the attack. 

21:43

Gim couldn’t let the army advance without him, so  had no choice but to join Sin Hal when the latter  

21:49

started crossing the river. Soon the entire Korean  army was on the south side of the Imjin river.  

21:55

Showing no signs of resistance, the 5000 Japanese  started fleeing, which only encouraged Sin Hal.  

22:02

Both armies entered a mountainous area to the  south, and immediately after the Koreans were deep  

22:07

enough, Kato gave the order: muskets sent volley  after volley into the pursuers. The battle was  

22:14

over in a matter of minutes. The Japanese lost  almost no troops, while more than 10 thousand  

22:20

Koreans were dead, with only a portion of the  cavalry managing to flee back across the river. 

22:28

Kato was now free to move north, but logistics  was still a huge problem for the invading army.  

22:34

With its task of ferrying eight armies  now complete, the 700-ship strong Japanese  

22:40

fleet began probing west from Busan, along  the treacherous Korean south coast. They  

22:45

were moving directly towards Cholla,  where the Yi Sun-shin held command. 

22:51

The Korean navy as a whole was in a dire state,  as most of the vessels of Gyeongsang were burned  

22:57

or scuttled. The commander of the remaining ships,  Won Gyun went into hiding among the many coves and  

23:03

inlets along Korea’s southern coast, and sent a  letter to Admiral Yi asking for help. But before  

23:09

he acted, Yi started gathering intelligence  on Japanese naval movements. Moreover,  

23:14

he hoped to organise a united fleet of 90 ships  with other admirals in the area. Some of Yi’s men  

23:21

were executed and their heads were displayed to  the others in order to improve defeatist moods.  

23:27

However on June 12th - the day Seoul fell to  Japanese ground forces - Yi was forced to sail.  

23:34

King Seonjo’s court issued orders for him  to unite his vessels with those of Won Gyun.  

23:39

On June 13th, Yi Sun-shin led  his fleet out of Yeosu harbour.  

23:44

It was made up of 39 fighting  vessels - 24 large panoksons,  

23:49

15 smaller decked hyeupson fighting ships, and  46 lighter scout ships known as ‘sea ears’. 

23:57

After rendezvousing with Won at Dang’po, Yi  slowly sailed to the east. As his makeshift  

24:03

navy rounded the edge of Koje Island and  began working its way north, a scout ship  

24:08

approached them with a message that a fleet  of Japanese ships was at anchor in Ok-po port.  

24:13

This village was situated inside a large  bay not too far up the coast of Koje island,  

24:19

so it was there that the first naval  battle of the war would be fought. 

24:25

As Korean naval forces entered the bay, Yi  ordered his smaller ships to the flanks while  

24:30

the heavier warships, including Yi’s  flagship, formed a line in the centre.  

24:34

He sent a message to each of his captains, warning  them not to give way, but to ‘stand like mountain  

24:40

castles’. Then, he ordered an advance. More than  50 enemy transports were at anchor in front of  

24:47

Ok-po village. Most were unmanned, ransacking  the village in search of loot and setting fire  

24:52

to houses. Only when Korean ships neared them  were they seen by the Japanese, due to the fact  

24:58

that smoke from the burning village obscured their  vision. The Japanese hastily rushed back to their  

25:04

ships, attempting to lift anchor and then hugging  the coast rather than heading for the open sea. 

25:11

Yi’s fleet attacked, engaging the Japanese at  a distance and encircling them before opening  

25:16

fire with cannons and fire arrows to the  beat of their admiral’s war drum. Though  

25:21

Japanese arquebusiers attempted to fire back,  the distance meant that Yi’s enemies could not  

25:26

attempt boarding actions, and they were  gradually destroyed one ship at a time. 

25:31

When this fleet had broken, its crewmen dead  or fleeing back to shore , five more ships  

25:36

were spotted in the evening near Happo, four of  which were also destroyed by Yi. 26 ships of the  

25:43

Japanese navy were destroyed on the first day,  without a single loss for Yi Sun-shin’s armada. 

25:49

The next morning, 13 additional Japanese  ships were spotted near Jinhae. Yi once  

25:54

again destroyed 11 out of that number without  suffering any losses. During these victories,  

26:00

Admiral Yi was often amused by the exotic trophies  taken from enemy ships, particularly their  

26:06

elaborately ornate helmets, which were sent to  the king Seonjo alongside the news of the victory. 

26:13

The harrowing experience of civilians Yi  encountered after Ok’po further enraged him,  

26:19

providing proof to him of Japan’s savagery.  The admiral then retreated back to Yeosu in  

26:25

order to reorganise his forces. These naval  defeats made the Japanese realise that the  

26:30

Korean navy was not yet defeated, and they sent  a force of ships to deal with Yi in early July.  

26:37

Being notified of this expedition to destroy him,  the admiral sailed east on July 8th with only 23  

26:43

warships. He had discarded the smaller ‘sea ear’  scout ships and replaced them with something  

26:50

altogether more formidable and far more famous -  the kobukson, otherwise known as the turtle ship. 

26:57

The turtle ship was twenty-eight meters  long, nine meters wide, and six meters high,  

27:03

making it a fairly large ship for the time. It  sat low in the water, which allowed it to come  

27:09

in under the massive Japanese castle ships  and blast their hulls with cannon fire and  

27:14

archery. A sloping roof of planks bristling with  iron spikes was also laid on top of the hull,  

27:20

encasing the vessel like the shell of a  turtle, hence the name. Around 15 of the  

27:25

advanced Korean cannons were mounted on each of  these ships, along with a platform of archers. 

27:33

With his ships ready for battle, Admiral Yi sailed  for Sacheon, where around 50 Japanese ships were  

27:39

anchored, including 12 warships. The Japanese  troops were fortified on the cliffs above the bay,  

27:44

where the Japanese commander - Wakizaka Yasuharu  - made his command post . Though Yi realised that  

27:51

he could not risk closing with an enemy which  possessed such fire support from the land,  

27:55

he also knew the Japanese capacity for  arrogance. So, he sent a small force  

28:00

into the bay as bait and then had it turn  and retreat, as though fleeing in terror.  

28:06

Seeing this apparent display of weakness,  Yasuharu’s men ran down from the heights  

28:10

and embarked on their ships, pursuing  Yi’s navy into the middle of the bay. 

28:16

Witnessing the success of his lure,  the Korean admiral ordered an assault,  

28:20

with the invincible turtle ships leading  the advance. They crashed into the middle  

28:25

of the enemy formation and unleashed a storm  of cannon fire and arrows in all directions,  

28:30

causing massive losses among the Japanese vessels.  The nimbler Korean vessels were also again able to  

28:36

avoid Japanese boarding actions. As his forces  neared victory and the enemy ships sank one at  

28:42

a time, Yi was hit by a stray arquebus bullet  in the shoulder, but remained stoic. After the  

28:49

enemy fleet had been destroyed, Yi supposedly  withdrew a knife and dug the bullet out with  

28:53

it. When the battle was over, every ship which  had pursued him lay burning on the sea or sunk. 

29:01

Victories kept on coming in the days after  Sacheon. Firstly, at Dang’po , Admiral Yi  

29:07

defeated a 21-ship strong Japanese fleet, once  again using his turtle ships to break apart and  

29:13

wreak havoc within the enemy formation.  Soon after, the Koreans advanced on a 26  

29:18

strong anchored enemy armada at Danghangp’o  . All but one of the Japanese vessels were  

29:24

destroyed after Yi lured them into the open  and smashed their battle line to pieces. 

29:30

The land war was still not going well, but  Yi made sure the position of his realm was  

29:35

supreme on the sea. Back in Japan, Hideyoshi  was livid at the continued resistance of this  

29:41

small Korean fleet, and angrily ordered his  admirals Wakizaka Yasuharu, Kato Yoshiaki,  

29:47

and Kuki Yoshitaka to cease their useless  inland plundering and annihilate Yi Sun-shin.  

29:53

The advancing armies needed supplies and  reinforcements, but the Korean navy was stopping  

29:58

them. At the time, Yasuharu’s 82 vessel fleet  was the only one ready for the upcoming fight,  

30:04

and the proud daimyo chose to act alone.  He would gain the glory from crushing Yi. 

30:11

The following morning - August 15th -  Admiral Yi deployed his fleet in a bay  

30:16

near the island of Hansando. Admiral Won  wanted to just attack Yasuharu’s fleet,  

30:21

but Yi refused. Rather than meeting Yasuharu’s  fleet in the narrows of Kyonnaerang where Yi’s  

30:27

ships might collide with one another, he sent  six panokson warships forward as bait for a trap.  

30:34

When these ships emerged into visual range of  the enemy, they switched direction and fled.  

30:39

Predictably, the victory-hungry Japanese  fleet came barrelling in pursuit.  

30:44

As they emerged into the open sea, the Korean  fleet spread into a semicircular Crane’s Wing  

30:49

formation, light vessels on the flanks, while  the heavier ships formed a sturdy centre. 

30:56

When everything was in place, Yi ordered a  charge. Immediately the more nimble wings  

31:01

enveloped all of Yasuharu’s vessels, darting in  and out whilst showering the enemy with cannon  

31:06

fire and archery. At the same time, the heavier  centre - fronted by three turtle ships - smashed  

31:13

directly into the enemy formation. Shooting from  all sides, the monstrous turtle ships tore many  

31:19

Japanese ships apart with cannon, while the  heavy panokson warships stayed at a distance,  

31:24

using their advantage in artillery to  tear into the Japanese. In particular,  

31:29

metal-cased fire bombs were shot from mortars  located on the decks of panokson craft. 

31:36

Only when the opposing ships were crippled did  the admiral give the order to board and finish  

31:41

them off in melee. After many hours of this  drubbing, Yasuharu realised he was defeated  

31:47

and fled to a fast ship, barely managing to  escape. Two of his relatives - Wakizaka Sabei  

31:53

and Watanabe Shichi’emon - were not so lucky,  and were killed in the fighting. Of 82 Japanese  

31:59

vessels that had sailed through Kyonnaerang that  day, only 14 survived the Battle of Hansando. 

32:07

The two colleagues of Yasuharu whom he had  left behind before the battle - Yoshitaka and  

32:12

Yoshiaki - were quickly informed of the disaster.  They set sail immediately and reached Angolp’o,  

32:18

where they ran into the battered remnants of  Yasuharu’s forces. One day later on the 16th  

32:24

of August 1592, favourable winds prompted Yi  to follow his defeated foe, arriving outside  

32:30

the Angolp’o harbour and deploying his navy  in the crane’s wing formation once again.  

32:36

This time he faced a total of 42 Japanese warships  at anchor, protected by their own armaments,  

32:42

land fortifications on the nearby coast,  and shallow waters in the bay itself. 

32:48

Yi first attempted to lure the Japanese  out with bait as he had many times before,  

32:53

but the Hansando experience wisened his enemy to  that tactic, and it garnered no response. Instead,  

33:00

the Korean admiral changed tactics, arranging for  a continuous relay of ship squadrons to row into  

33:05

cannon range, unleash their destructive artillery  volleys on the Japanese and then withdraw to  

33:10

safety. This rolling bombardment was devastatingly  successful. Almost all of the ‘pirates’,  

33:17

as Yi called them, were killed, especially on the  larger craft which had been the primary targets. 

33:24

Seeing that a few ships had been left  undamaged, Yi now called his vessels off.  

33:29

Many Japanese had escaped to the nearby shore  and would probably wreak a terrible vengeance  

33:35

on Korean civilians if their means of escape  was destroyed. Aiming to avoid unnecessary  

33:40

suffering among his people, the Joseon  fleet withdrew to open water for the night.  

33:46

When they returned at dawn the following  day, all Japanese survivors had fled,  

33:50

and the local inhabitants were unharmed. Yi  still had not lost a single vessel in combat. 

33:58

At this point, Yi began to receive troubling  reports that ashigaru land armies were advancing  

34:04

into Cholla, and consequently withdrew to his  base at Yeosu. Though some Japanese prisoners  

34:10

had escaped the admiral’s wrath, it was only a  minor speck on what had otherwise been a great  

34:15

naval campaign. Yi’s success was impressive.  He was beginning to strangle the life out of  

34:21

Japan’s invasion, but his rise to become the  national hero of Korea was only just beginning. 

34:29

While Yi Sun-shin was making a name for himself  in the seas of the south, in the north of the  

34:34

country, the Japanese general Kato Kiyomasa,  sought to gain more glory as well. In early  

34:40

September and after capturing and sending two  Korean princes down to Kyeong Seong with an armed  

34:45

escort with an armed escort of 1000 men, Kato  prepared for a short incursion into Manchuria,  

34:51

where Jurchen tribes lived. The Japanese called  these people Orangai, from the Korean word oranke,  

34:57

which means barbarian. This symbolic expedition  against the barbarians across the Tumen river  

35:03

served a more practical purpose as well; Kiyomasa  would be able to test his army against a possible  

35:09

future foe and collect invaluable information  as to how the semi-nomadic Jurchens fought.  

35:15

To aid him in this new military endeavor he  recruited Koreans from the Hamgyong province  

35:20

to act as his guides and vanguard. The locals  had no love for the northern barbarians as the  

35:26

latter frequently raided their villages, so they  were more than eager to offer their services to  

35:31

the Japanese and a sizable force of 3000 Korean  allies was assembled, ready to serve Kiyomasa.  

35:39

With his army now totalling around 11000 men,  Kato Kiyomasa became the first Japanese general  

35:45

to cross into China; unbeknownst to him he would  also be the only one to do so at that time. They  

35:52

soon came upon an Orangai castle and at dawn the  Japanese drew up their ranks and prepared for an  

35:57

assault. However, they soon became aware that even  though the castle seemed formidable it was lightly  

36:03

defended. As such the Koreans advanced on the  front of the fort while the Japanese troops went  

36:08

around the mountain to the rear of the fortress  and working in groups of 50 or 30 they managed to  

36:14

pull out the stones using crowbars and the wall  collapsed. The Japanese entered the castle and  

36:19

after some fierce arquebus volleys they killed the  small garrison and captured the Jurchen fortress.  

36:25

Despite this success, Kiyomasa, perhaps knowing  that a Jurchen counterattack was incoming,  

36:31

decided to pull back towards the Korean  border and made camp for the night on a hill.  

36:37

The following morning the Koreans headed back  across the Tumen leaving the Japanese to face  

36:42

an army of around 10000 angry Jurchens. Although  Kiyomasa’s chronicler informs us that for every  

36:49

Japanese dead the Jurchens suffered 30 casualties,  the attackers refused to give up and continued  

36:55

their ferocious assault. So fierce was the fight  that at one point Kiyomasa’s standard bearer was  

37:00

killed next to him and the Japanese general  had to hold it with his own hands. He also  

37:06

gave orders that the heads of the enemies were not  to be collected as trophies but only counted, for  

37:11

every samurai was needed for the fight. Even after  8000 heads were tallied the Jurchens continued to  

37:18

fight. Their attack finally came to a stop when  an exceptionally heavy rain started falling in  

37:24

a way that it blew directly into their faces  and so they withdrew. Well satisfied with his  

37:30

troops performance and the results of this short  campaign, Kato Kiyomasa crossed in turn the Tumen  

37:36

river and continued eastwards towards the seas  capturing a series of Korean forts along the way. 

37:43

Kato Kiyomasa’s scouting expedition to Manchuria  was the closest the Japanese reached to invading  

37:49

China, their true objective. But to amass a force  large enough to invade the Middle Kingdom they  

37:55

needed to dominate the sea around Korea. However,  Admiral Yi inflicted defeat upon defeat on the  

38:01

Japanese navy and one month after Kiyomasa’s  incursion over the Tumen river, he would strike  

38:06

again putting an end to Japanese ambitions of  invading China. Following the extraordinary  

38:12

success of the Hansando-Angolpo campaign, admiral  Yi had returned to his base at Yosu in the Cholla  

38:18

Province. There his fleet was reinforced with  ships that had been hastily put into production  

38:23

upon the outbreak of the war. With 166 vessels  under his command, 74 being large battleships,  

38:31

Yi Sun-sin fathomed a plan to wash away the  national disgrace and directly attack Busan.  

38:37

Joined by fellow commanders Yi Ok-ki and Won Kyun  he reached the estuary of the Naktong river on  

38:43

the 4th of October and sent a scouting raft that  came back reporting that 500 Japanese ships were  

38:49

anchored inside the city’s harbor. The size of  the Japanese fleet didn’t seem to deter the Korean  

38:55

admiral who, emboldened by his previous victories,  decided to attack the following day. Facing a  

39:02

strong east wind and fighting against the rough  seas the Korean fleet made its way towards Busan.  

39:09

In the waters just off the harbor they encountered  24 Japanese ships organized in small groups.  

39:15

These ships were easily burned and destroyed  and the Koreans entered the harbor itself;  

39:20

witnessing the Japanese armada that was split  in 3 large masses anchored near the shore.  

39:26

The Japanese crews realising that there was no  time to set sail and fight the enemy at the sea,  

39:32

jumped overboard and headed for the fortifications  on the heights above the shore, from where they  

39:37

would mount their defence. Just like Sacheon,  the Koreans approached as closely as they could  

39:42

and bombarded the unmanned Japanese ships with  their cannons while also showering them with fire  

39:48

arrows. The Japanese well protected behind their  fortifications tried to prevent the destruction  

39:53

of their fleet by unleashing barrages of musket  fire and arrows and making use of Korean cannons  

40:00

that had been captured in Busan and Dongnae,  whereas others were frantically trying to repair  

40:05

their damaged ships. However, only the coming  of night could stop the Koreans who withdrew  

40:11

to the open seas after destroying 130 Japanese  vessels. On the other hand only five Koreans  

40:18

died during the battle and 25 were wounded.  This time as well, Admiral Yi lost no ships.  

40:25

Emboldened by his triumphant victory he initially  wanted to return to Busan the following morning  

40:30

and inflict further damage upon the Japanese but  reconsidered his choice as the sinking of the  

40:35

entire fleet would leave the invaders trapped  in Korea with no avenue of retreat, something  

40:41

Sun Tzu in his Art of War advises against. The  defeat at Busan and the loss of around a quarter  

40:47

of their fleet extinguished any lingering hopes  the Japanese might have had of amassing an army  

40:52

in the north large enough to invade China. ________________________________________ 

40:58

The victories Admiral Yi Sun-shin had won at sea  had prevented the entry of his Japanese foes into  

41:04

the Yellow Sea, rendering them unable to reinforce  and resupply their armies on land. Meanwhile,  

41:10

Korean ground forces behind the Japanese lines  were doing the same. In the countryside and  

41:15

wilderness of the countryside, guerilla  armies began to form almost immediately,  

41:18

reacting to the cruelty they and their countrymen  experienced at the hands of the enemy. Resistance  

41:24

leaders such as Ko Kyong-myong, Cho Hon, and Kwak  Chae-u set up ambushes to trap enemy troops and  

41:30

preyed on vulnerable Japanese supply barges  that were using Korea’s rivers for transport.  

41:36

These actions further hampered the logistics  of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s conquering army in much  

41:41

the same way Admiral Yi was doing at sea.  Motivated partly by patriotism, and partly  

41:47

by a desire to raise the social status of their  kin, an estimated 22,000 irregular fighters and  

41:54

84,500 regular soldiers from the Yalu River in the  north to the Naktong Delta in the south rejoined  

42:00

the fight as guerilla warriors in 1592, among  them 8,000 Buddhist monks. In November of 1592,  

42:07

Korean guerilla forces contributed to the  successful defence of Jinju, a battle which  

42:12

caused many Japanese casualties, and humiliated  the daimyo generals. Most crucially, all of the  

42:18

chaos behind Hideyoshi’s lines was giving Korea  time, and time was exactly what Korea needed. 

42:27

The bastion which guarded the Jeolla  province, Castle Jinju had a reputation  

42:31

of being unassailable. Still untouched by the  war, Jeolla represented the potential of loot  

42:37

for the invading Japanese troops. It also served  as the hideout for Gwak Jaeu’s Righteous Army,  

42:43

one of the partisan groups assailing Japanese  supply lines. Thus, Ukita Hideie and Hosokawa  

42:49

Tadaoki agreed that they had to capture Jinju,  and so they dispatched a 20000 men strong army  

42:55

under the leadership of Kato Mitsuyasu, Hasegawa  Hidekazu, Nagaoka Tadaoki and Kimura Sigeji,  

43:01

which after reconquering Changwon, arrived  outside the walls of Jinju on November 8.  

43:07

Guarding the fortress was a 3,800 strong  Korean garrison led by Kim Shi-min,  

43:12

who was determined to hold the fortified  city. The despite being direly outnumbered,  

43:18

the Koreans had one advantage: their artillery,  for they were well equipped with cannons, mortars,  

43:23

and bombs, as well as 170 new arquebuses  that were equal to those the Japanese used. 

43:32

The Japanese army advanced from 3 sides, and  once the ashigaru gunners were in firing range,  

43:37

they unleashed a volley in an attempt to scare  the garrison into surrendering the castle without  

43:42

a fight. This ploy had paid off in the past, but  it wouldn’t work this time around. As the Japanese  

43:48

came closer to the walls, the defenders unleashed  hell, as arquebus fire, bombs and heavy stones  

43:54

fell on the attackers who weren’t expecting such  stiff resistance. After falling back for a while,  

44:00

the Japanese resumed their offense, this time  under the cover of shields made of bamboo and  

44:06

massed volleys from their arquebusiers. When the  besiegers reached the walls, they placed scaling  

44:11

ladders, but the defenders, ignoring the bullets,  used axes and stones to smash the ladders.  

44:17

Japanese labourers also constructed a siege  tower, and from its advantageous height,  

44:22

the ashigaru fired over the walls and into the  city. For three days, wave upon wave of Japanese  

44:28

attackers crashed on the walls of Jinju, only  to be pushed back by a hail of projectiles from  

44:34

the defenders, who even threw flaming bundles of  straw filled with gunpowder down upon their foes. 

44:42

Finally, on the night of the 11th, groups  belonging to the righteous army sent  

44:46

by Gwak jae-u arrived to aid in the defense of  the castle. Because they were too few to be an  

44:52

effective relief force, they went up on a nearby  hill, where they lit many torches so as to trick  

44:58

the Japanese that a large force had flanked them.  The guerrillas were soon joined by 3000 more men,  

45:05

forcing the Japanese to divert a portion of their  troops to guard against an attack from them.  

45:10

Despite that, the besiegers remained focused on  their objective, but were still unable to overcome  

45:16

the staunch Korean defense. On the final day,  the Japanese decided that if brute force wasn’t  

45:22

enough, then maybe a clever stratagem could work.  In the early morning hours of November the 13th,  

45:29

they illuminated their camp with more torches  than usual as to be visible by the Koreans,  

45:34

and pretended to pack up their gear and prepare  to leave. At the time of a given signal,  

45:39

the torches were extinguished and an all-out  assault on the opposite side of the city along  

45:44

the northern and eastern gates was launched.  The Koreans rushed to defend, with Kim Shimin  

45:50

in the van, fighting beside his men, only to have  a bullet mortally wound him in his left forehead,  

45:55

but this was kept from his men so they would  not lose heart. The Korean garrison was already  

46:00

in a perilous situation as ammunition was running  low, but they were saved when a Korean detachment  

46:06

arrived by boat up the Nam river, bringing with  them supplies, and encouraging the defenders  

46:11

to continue. With casualties once more piling  high, the Japanese commanders halted the attack.  

46:18

Fearing a counterattack from the rear, they  decided, much to Hideyoshi’s fury, to abandon the  

46:23

siege altogether and head back to Changwon under  the cover of a sudden downpour. The Korean army,  

46:30

exhausted and low on supplies and ammunition,  didn't attempt to pursue the retreating Japanese. 

46:38

The situation was about to become a lot worse  for the Japanese when, in late 1592, Ming China,  

46:44

which had long been a suzerain and protector  of Korea, finally began its intervention in  

46:50

the war. Initially, a Chinese expeditionary force  of 3,000 troops under the command of the reckless  

46:56

Zu Chengxun was ordered to take Pyongyang,  but was destroyed when it became trapped and  

47:01

outnumbered inside the city. While this victory  made the Japanese optimistic at first, the samurai  

47:08

commanders soon realized that the Chinese would  be back soon, and in massive numbers. Worried  

47:14

about this, and the vulnerable state of Pyongyang,  Konishi Yukinaga went south to Seoul in order to  

47:19

meet with his supreme commander: Ukita Hideie, so  that they might discuss these urgent matters. It  

47:26

turned out that Japanese anxieties were justified,  for in January of 1593, after crushing the Ningxia  

47:32

revolt back home, the Chinese commander Li Rusong  slowly led a large army of Ming troops into Korea,  

47:38

wisely using scouts and spies to gather  intelligence on Japanese positions as he advanced. 

47:46

After some minor skirmishes, Li Rusong’s  forces approached Pyongyang on February 5th.  

47:52

An initial Japanese sortie from the gates was  crushed by a feigned retreat, but it was clear  

47:58

that recapturing the city would present a massive  challenge. Pyongyang enjoyed a strong defensive  

48:04

position, flanked to the east by the Taedong River  and northwest by the Pothong River. Moreover, it  

48:10

possessed some of Korea’s most formidable walls,  which had been continuously reinforced throughout  

48:15

the centuries, forming a crude, elongated triangle  lying between the two rivers, within which were  

48:21

six gates. Meanwhile, the entrances along  the Taedong River were left lightly defended,  

48:26

with each of the four landward gates garrisoned  by 2,000 Japanese soldiers apiece. Moreover,  

48:32

Konishi Yukinaga and 2,000 elite bodyguard  troops were deployed on Mount Moranbong,  

48:37

a 70-meter-high fortified vista from which a  commanding view of surroundings could be had.  

48:43

Overall, roughly 15,000 men of the  first contingent defended Pyongyang. 

48:51

By the time he arrived at Pyongyang, Li  Rusong’s 43,000 strong Imperial army had  

48:57

been further swollen by many thousands of  Koreans and 5,000 warrior monks. He set up  

49:02

his own headquarters on high ground west of the  Pothong River, personally commanding 9,000 troops.  

49:08

Around the city, the general distributed various  detachments under his subordinates to assault  

49:13

the various gates. 10,000 soldiers under Zhang  Shijue were set up opposite the Chilsong gate,  

49:19

11,000 under Yang Yuan formed up facing the  Pothong gate, and a further 10,000 under Li  

49:25

Rubo prepared to assault the Hangu gate. Finally,  9,000 Koreans under their native commanders Yi Il  

49:31

and Kim Ungso were ordered to the Changyong  gate. The Chinese cannons, capable of firing  

49:37

large stones over two kilometers, were distributed  evenly around the siege lines under heavy guard. 

49:45

After an attempt to assassinate Konishi  Yukinaga failed, the assault began.  

49:50

Spearheading the assault were 3,000 warrior monks,  capable warriors under the command of Hyujong,  

49:55

a master monk. On the morning of February 6th  1593, these brave religious warriors advanced  

50:02

up the northern slope of Mount Moranbong,  attempting to scale the hill walls. In the  

50:07

face of withering arquebus fire from the Japanese  on the fortifications, they suffered hundreds of  

50:12

casualties, but persevered nonetheless. As the  defenders began to tire in the late afternoon,  

50:17

the monks were joined by a Chinese unit under  We Weizhong, whose troops began to scale Mount  

50:22

Moranbong from the west. This contingent began  to breach the area, streaming onto the mountain  

50:28

behind Yukinaga’s lines. All of a sudden, Yukinaga  was surrounded, and there was a danger he would be  

50:33

killed. At that moment, Sō Yoshitomo: a compatriot  of Yukinaga, led a counterattack from the main  

50:40

city and broke the Chinese encirclement on Mount  Moranbong, allowing the remnants of Yukinaga’s  

50:45

2,000 strong guard to retreat. That evening,  the Japanese abandoned the mountain, instead  

50:51

taking up positions in their recently constructed  citadel, a construction of primitive earthworks. 

50:58

The next morning, Li Rusong ordered a general  assault on Pyongyang with all forces engaged.  

51:04

As the first blast of cannon fire sounded, the  general advanced at the head of his troops, only  

51:10

to be met with a storm of Japanese arquebus fire,  rocks, arrows and boiling water. Aiming to blunt  

51:16

this dogged resistance, Ming cannons continuously  battered the walls and gates of Pyongyang,  

51:21

aiming to soften them up. At the same time,  incendiary bombs and fire arrows were loosed into  

51:27

the city itself, causing chaos, setting fire to  buildings and even the forest outside of the city.  

51:33

Under the hail of projectiles, Chinese and  Joseon casualties mounted, forming mounds  

51:38

of corpses which their comrades climbed upon to  advance. To further stiffen his men’s resolve,  

51:44

Li Rusong publicly killed a deserting soldier  and then offered 5,000 ounces of silver to any  

51:51

brave man who would breach the walls first. With  the unbearable pressure of artillery bombardment  

51:57

and the infantry assault, in addition to the  employment of the famous ‘cloud ladders’ of  

52:01

Chinese siege warfare, Pyongyang’s defenses  broke. The Chilsong gate and the surrounding  

52:07

wall collapsed, allowing Ming troops and surviving  warrior monks inside. Meanwhile, at the shattered  

52:14

Pothong gate, Luo Shangzhi, swinging his  halberd, was one of the first to enter the city. 

52:21

Now under intense pressure, the defensive  ring along the walls of Pyongyang fell apart,  

52:26

resulting in a Japanese withdrawal to the inner  citadel. This hastily constructed fortification  

52:33

was apparently built with holes in its side for  arquebusiers to fire through, which caused it to  

52:38

look like a beehive. The sophisticated Chinese  officers, looking with scorn at the ‘primitive’  

52:44

and ‘barbarian’ citadel, immediately ordered  an assault in massed ranks. This proved to be  

52:49

a dreadful mistake. Japanese troops fired volley  after volley of arquebus shots into the tightly  

52:55

packed Ming and Korean soldiers, causing massive  casualties and breaking the assault’s momentum.  

53:01

When Yukinaga saw some enemies retreating from  the city altogether, he led a sortie from the  

53:06

citadel in an attempt to break the siege, but was  methodically driven back by concentrated Chinese  

53:11

cannon fire. As daylight waned, the Japanese were  still in control of the inner fortress, but were  

53:18

badly bloodied. Li Rusong decided to pull his  men back for the night so that they could rest.  

53:23

Meanwhile, inside the citadel, Yukinaga  held a war council. It was quickly decided  

53:28

their position was untenable and  the Japanese decided to retreat.  

53:33

Under the cover of darkness, the entire remaining  garrison quietly withdrew through the Changyong  

53:38

gate and across the frozen Taedong River.  According to samurai Yoshino Jingoza’emon,  

53:43

who was present during the retreat, wounded men  were routinely abandoned, while those exhausted  

53:49

men simply crawled along the road. Yukinaga’s men  hoped to rest at a communication fort at Pungsan,  

53:55

but it had been abandoned by its commander, who  assumed Yukinaga had already been annihilated. 

54:03

This Ming-dominated victory at Pyongyang was  a change in momentum. While at the start of  

54:09

the war the Japanese had seemed unstoppable,  it was now Li Rusong’s army that advanced,  

54:14

and the Japanese who were in a headlong retreat.  Nevertheless, the Japanese sixth contingent under  

54:20

Kobayakawa Takakage managed to lure Li into  a trap, defeating his army at the battle of  

54:25

Byeokjegwan. This would prove to be one of the  biggest pitched battles of the invasion, and one  

54:31

which the Chinese general only narrowly escaped  before withdrawing his army north to recover. 

54:39

Having heard of the Ming victories  in the north and at Pyongyang,  

54:42

a gifted Korean general known as Gwon Yul marched  2,300 troops to garrison the fortress of Haengju,  

54:49

situated on a hill 13 kilometers north of Seoul.  The delay caused by Li Rusong’s tactical defeat  

54:56

gave the Japanese some breathing room, and allowed  Ukita Hideie to march straight at Haengju with  

55:02

30,000 soldiers, among whom including  the reconstituted forces of Yukinaga who  

55:06

had regrouped after fleeing Pyongyang. They  would soon meet Gwon Yul’s army in the field,  

55:11

fully expecting to crush the tiny and  bothersome force without any issue.  

55:16

However, the ensuing battle would not go  the way the Japanese were expecting it to. 

55:24

At 6am on the 14th of March 1593, Ukita’s army  encircled Haengju and marched up the slopes  

55:30

leading up to it from all directions.  Unbeknownst to the Japanese, however,  

55:34

the Koreans were waiting and ready for them. Dug  in behind formidable entrenchments, Gwon Yul’s  

55:41

forces sent a barrage of bowfire, arquebus shots,  delayed-action mortar bombs, rocks and even tree  

55:46

trunks down on the attackers. Most infamous were  the Korean hwacha: medieval rocket launchers  

55:52

capable of loading up to 100 steel tipped rockets.  Despite this rabidly fearsome defense, Japan’s  

56:00

numerical superiority paid off, and the Koreans  were forced back to the second defensive line,  

56:05

but their artillery caused devastating casualties  upon the massed Japanese waves. Nine attacks were  

56:11

made in total, and all nine attacks were repelled.  Overall, some sources claim up to 10,000 attackers  

56:18

ended up dead or wounded. Outnumbered by more  than 10 to 1, Gwon Yul had gained victory. 

56:28

This remarkable triumph prompted the Chinese  commander, Li Rusong, to once again move south.  

56:34

Having been despondent after his prior defeat  against the Japanese, his huge Ming army now  

56:39

advanced south once again. In Seoul, the situation  was horrible for the Japanese soldiery. Frostbite,  

56:46

starvation and disease had worn down the  expeditionary army to around 53,000 total troops  

56:52

from its original 150,000, and it was clear that  operations would need to cease for the time being.  

56:59

The remaining armies of Japan decided  on a southward retreat to their coastal  

57:03

fortress at Busan, and as a result, the  Chinese army liberated Seoul on May 19th.  

57:08

After this, logistical constraints and a cautious  approach meant that the war ground down into a  

57:14

stalemate, with neither side making any decisive  movements. Diplomacy also took place during this  

57:21

unenforced truce, and Li Rusong sent envoys  to meet with the daimyo generals in Busan,  

57:26

discussing topics such as troop withdrawal from  the provinces and assigning blame for the war.  

57:31

Nevertheless, this was not an indication that  Japan was militarily spent, and the generals  

57:37

now began to prepare for a punitive destruction  of Jinju. Hideyoshi’s forces had failed to take  

57:43

the strongly fortified city in 1592, much to  their humiliation and dishonor, and they would  

57:49

now avenge that loss. So, despite negotiating with  the Ming Chinese at the same time, Hideyoshi sent  

57:55

the order to wipe Jinju off the map. Having  heard of the Japanese plans, the Koreans had  

58:01

managed to assemble around 4,000 troops in  the city, ready to defend it to the death. 

58:09

On the 20th of July 1593, supreme commander Ukita  Hideie arrived outside the city with an army  

58:17

90,000 men strong, swollen by recent  reinforcements from the homeland. To the western  

58:22

edge of the city, Konishi Yukinaga commanded  26,000 men, while his rival Kato Kiyomasa led  

58:29

25,000 to the north. On the eastern flank of Jinju  was Ukita Hideie himself, with 17,000 troops under  

58:35

his leadership. Behind these assault forces was a  ring of Japanese troops facing outward, to guard  

58:42

against any possible Ming assault on the siege  lines. Furthermore, the besieging army placed  

58:47

contingents on the hills near the city in order  to repel any reinforcements that came to relieve  

58:52

Jinju. To the northwest Kobayakawa Takakage, the  victor of Byeokjegwan, held authority over 8,700  

59:00

troops, while Mori Hidemoto were stationed to the  northeast with 13,000. Finally, Kikkawa Hiroie had  

59:06

several thousand more across the Nam river,  to clean up any trouble to the city’s south. 

59:14

Throughout July 21st, the Japanese laboured to  drain the newly built moat outside the city.  

59:20

In this, they found limited success, as  outer sections of the dykes were destroyed,  

59:25

and the channel was filled with rocks, earth and  brushwood. This set the stage for a general attack  

59:30

on the landward side of the city the next day.  Using scaling ladders to storm the walls, Japanese  

59:36

troops fought fiercely and almost penetrated  the city’s defenses, but clever Korean use of  

59:42

artillery and fire arrows drove them back. As the  23rd dawned, large and static siege towers were  

59:49

constructed in order to facilitate observation  and arquebus fire into the city. However,  

59:54

this was not successful, as destructive Korean  cannon fire shot the towers to pieces one by one. 

60:02

Things seemed to be looking better for  the defenders when a local army marched  

60:06

toward Jinju from the east in an  attempt to relieve it. However,  

60:10

these reinforcements were quickly pushed away  by Hidemoto’s northeast rearguard. On July 25th,  

60:16

Hideie sent a message into the castle, calling on  Gim Cheonil, the garrison commander, to surrender.  

60:22

The supreme commander received no reply.  Japanese forces tried again on the 26th.  

60:28

This time a series of ‘tortoise shell wagons’  with boarded roofs were constructed, providing  

60:34

protection for advancing troops while sappers  mined foundation stones from the ramparts. It  

60:40

made some progress, but this assault was pushed  back when bundles of combustibles dropped off  

60:45

the walls were set alight, burning the protective  shells. Nevertheless, it was becoming clear that  

60:51

the garrison was running out of things to throw at  Hideie’s army. Undaunted by the previous failure,  

60:57

Kato Kiyomasa ordered that new tortoise  wagons were to be readied, and this time  

61:01

fireproofed by covering them with ox hide. On  the 27th a new attack began which focused on  

61:08

the cornerstones of the northeastern section  of the wall. During the day, a heavy rainstorm  

61:13

broke out which undermined the foundations,  eventually collapsing this pressured section. 

61:20

Taking advantage of the breach, Japanese troops  began to storm the city through the gap. Korean  

61:26

resistance collapsed almost immediately after  this. Gim Cheonil, observing events from a tower  

61:31

in the centre of Jinju, decided to commit suicide  rather than surrender to the enemy. This was the  

61:37

end of Jinju. Terrified civilians and soldiers  alike attempted to flee a brutal ensuing massacre  

61:43

by jumping into the Nam River, but were cruelly  cut down on the far bank by Kikkawa’s troops. When  

61:50

the chaos was over, Japanese records claim that  20,000 heads were taken in total, while Korean  

61:56

annals claim 60,000 died at Jinju, a testament  to Japanese barbarism. The Nam River flowed red  

62:03

with blood that night, and its banks were choked  with headless corpses as far as the eye could see. 

62:12

Despite the totality and brutality of  this Japanese victory, it did little to  

62:17

change the overall course of the war. Soon,  the Japanese were forced to retreat back  

62:22

to the chain of coastal fortresses they  controlled in the south, known as wajo.  

62:27

Negotiations began, a ceasefire was imposed and a  Ming emissary was sent to Japan to discuss terms  

62:33

with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Gradually, the daimyo  and their men started to return to their homeland.  

62:39

To the north, the Chinese also withdrew  their expeditionary force home.  

62:44

Though peace talks would continue for years  after this and the first invasion of Korea  

62:49

was essentially over, the war was not done. King Seonjo arrived back in the Joseon capital  

62:58

of Seoul on October 24th 1593 after an exile  of more than a year. Though the majority of  

63:05

his country had been reclaimed, it was  completely drained of resources and its  

63:09

population in the grips of terrible famine. Royal  treasuries sat empty, many productive settlements  

63:16

had been destroyed, and much economic  devastation had been caused by the war.  

63:21

The rebuilding effort would be headed by newly  appointed Prime Minister Ryu Seong-ryong, who  

63:26

prioritized national defence. All over the nation,  and especially in the Japanese occupied south, the  

63:32

Joseon government began to construct impregnable  mountain fortresses, situated to take advantage  

63:37

of the terrain. Furthermore, modernisation reforms  in the Joseon military were undertaken from late  

63:43

1593 onwards. Unit organization was tuned  and adjusted, and new weapons such as modern  

63:49

firearms and more advanced battle tactics were  adopted. Reconstruction throughout the following  

63:55

years gradually brought normalcy back to Korean  life, but this also came with the dangers which  

64:01

had plagued King Seonjo’s government before the  war, as Factional court politics now re-emerged. 

64:09

The labyrinthine rivalry between westerner  and easterner factions reignited with greater  

64:14

intensity than before. The Prime Minister was  a prominent member of the easterner faction,  

64:19

but going after a man of his lofty status was  too dangerous, so his enemies decided on a  

64:25

softer target. Admiral Yi Sun-shin was a childhood  friend of Ryu Seong-ryong, and had recently been  

64:31

promoted to commander of the Korean navy in the  south. In discrediting this decorated admiral,  

64:37

the westerners had a mole: Yi’s underling Won  Gyun, who during the first Japanese invasion,  

64:42

had cunningly intrigued against the victorious  Yi, constantly sending unfavourable reports  

64:48

northward, grounded in nothing but lies. This factional infighting did not bode well,  

64:55

especially since, as they were happening,  diplomatic failures between Japan and China  

65:00

had provoked Toyotomi Hideyoshi  into preparing a second invasion.  

65:05

In comparison to the grand continental conquest  envisioned in the prior assault, this second  

65:11

attack was to be a simple grab for Korea’s  southern half. One of the most important lessons  

65:16

learned by the daimyo was just how critical of  a threat the Korean navy was. So, the Japanese  

65:22

commanders aimed to achieve supremacy at sea by  two means: assembling a far stronger fleet than  

65:28

the one before, and weakening the enemy fleet by  neutralizing its prodigious commander: Admiral Yi. 

65:35

To that end, Japanese forces began heavily  reinforcing their armies in Korea. In addition  

65:42

to the roughly 20,000 remaining garrison troops in  the coastal wajo fortresses, 121,000 more soldiers  

65:50

were to be mobilised. Under the supreme authority  of the fifteen-year-old Kobayakawa Hideaki,  

65:55

Japanese soldiers ever so slowly began  returning to enemy soil in March of 1597.  

66:02

After they did, Hideyoshi’s forces  did not launch an instant assault,  

66:06

but instead stalled for months on  end waiting for harvest season.  

66:10

By plundering local farmers during this plentiful  time of year, the Japanese forces could live off  

66:15

the land more easily, relatively unaided by  vulnerable supply lines. Moreover, Hideyoshi’s  

66:21

plan was to march through the southwest province  of Cholla - known as the breadbasket of Korea. 

66:29

Before the land invasion even began, events at sea  were to prove utterly disastrous for the defenders  

66:35

as Japanese intrigue bore fruit. Konishi Yukinaga  sent a spy named Yojiro to inform the Korean high  

66:42

command that he was eager to extinguish his rival,  Kato Kiyomasa, for good. To this end, he provided  

66:49

a precise location as to where the lethal Korean  navy could easily ambush the hated commander at  

66:55

sea. The gullible Joseon court believed him, and  sent Yi Sun-shin the order to prepare the attack.  

67:02

Upon receiving this order, Admiral Yi was  immediately suspicious. Not trusting the  

67:07

Japanese-given information and thinking that this  sounded far too easy, the admiral refused to obey.  

67:14

In response, officials were dispatched to  depose and arrest the heroic naval commander,  

67:19

replacing him with none other than  the wily intriguer himself, Won Gyun,  

67:23

who immediately began proving  himself totally incompetent. 

67:29

Yi avoided execution by the skin of his teeth,  but was demoted to the status of a common soldier.  

67:36

This Japanese ploy had worked wonders,  and it seemed the dangerous admiral Yi  

67:41

was neutralized forever. Soon after this,  Yojiro once again informed the Joseon  

67:46

court of a location they could easily ambush  another Japanese fleet. This time, however,  

67:51

Admiral Yi was not present to advise caution. On the 17th of August, admiral Won Kyun, heavily  

68:00

pressed by his superior, Kwon Yul, gathered the  entire Korean fleet, slightly over 200 ships and  

68:06

set sail eastwards towards Busan. However, the  Japanese were well informed of the movements of  

68:12

the Korean fleet through their network of spies  on the hills that overlooked Hansando. Three days  

68:17

later, as the Korean ships neared Cholyongdo,  they encountered the main Japanese fleet,  

68:22

which numbered 500 to 1000 ships strong, already  arrayed in a vast line. The battle had not even  

68:29

begun and the Koreans were already on the back  foot, exhausted from the long day at sea and with  

68:35

little faith in their leader’s abilities. Despite  the odds being heavily stacked against him,  

68:40

Won Kyun ordered a general attack. The Japanese  feigned a retreat with the Korean’s pursuing them,  

68:46

but afterwards they turned and drove them back.  After repeatedly moving back and forth, the  

68:52

Japanese decided to finally attack with all their  might. In this charge they managed to destroy 30  

68:58

Korean vessels, and because of this, the rest  of the terrified Korean fleet soon routed. 

69:06

Despite this, the disaster was not yet over.  Some of the ships, having reached Kadok island,  

69:12

decided to make a quick stop to refresh their  supplies in water. The island was garrisoned by  

69:18

a large Japanese force and soon they were met with  3000 soldiers under Shimazu Yoshihiro’s banner,  

69:24

who killed around 400 Koreans and  destroyed several more vessels.  

69:29

Whatever remained from the Korean fleet continued  to retreat until they reached Chilcheollyang,  

69:34

a narrow strait between Koje and Chilchon  island and stayed there for a week.  

69:39

The defeat at Busan and the reprimand he received  from Kwon Yul severely crippled Won’s morale,  

69:45

who retired to his flagship and refused to talk  to anyone, thus leaving the fleet headless.  

69:51

The Japanese, after having experienced defeat  at the hands of Yi Sunshin time and again,  

69:55

were now eager to exploit this naval success  to its fullest, and so they pursued the Korean  

70:01

fleet westwards. Unaware of the incoming Japanese  attack, Won Kyun did little to plan a defense or  

70:08

boost his men’s morale. Finally a few hours  after midnight, on August 28th, the Japanese  

70:14

fleet numbering almost 500 ships and under the  light of a full moon reached Chilcheollyang.  

70:20

Three guns signaled the attack and the Japanese  fell upon their prey with arrows and gun fire.  

70:25

Any Korean ships which weren’t set on fire were  boarded, with their crews cut down. The Koreans  

70:32

who were unaccustomed to night warfare, and  thoroughly demoralized, offered little resistance.  

70:38

Some of them tried to escape by landing on the  nearby Koje island, but as it had been on Kadok  

70:43

island, they were met with a Japanese ambush  party who mowed them down. Admiral Won also  

70:49

met his fate as he was trying to escape to the  mainland. By dawn, all but 13 ships would be lost.  

70:55

These ships were commanded by Bae Sol, who, having  realized that the straight was a dangerous spot,  

71:01

had moved them farther away. These 13 ships would  later become the saviors of Korea at Myeongdong. 

71:11

News of the disaster reached Seoul soon after  it occured, and the king swiftly made the only  

71:16

decision he could: reinstating the disgraced Yi  Sun-Shin as supreme naval commander. With the  

71:23

seas around Korea now swept clean of enemy ships,  the two Japanese ground thrusts began on September  

71:28

11th, comprising Ukita Hideie’s 49,600 strong Left  Army and Mori Hidetomo’s 65,300 strong Right Army.  

71:38

This was to be a brutal and pitiless invasion,  undertaken with a degree of savagery unseen in  

71:43

1592. Hideyoshi orders now were to “Mow down  everyone universally, without discriminating  

71:50

between young and old, men and women, clergy and  laity”. With this in mind, the advance began. 

71:59

The Army of the Left marched through Jeolla  province and reached the fortified town of  

72:03

Namwon on the 23rd of September 1597. The city  was situated on a flat plain with its only natural  

72:11

being a river flowing to the south that acted as a  rather distant moat. Its walls were not very tall,  

72:18

about 4 meters high, but were plastered with  shell-lime and tiny fragments of seashells made  

72:23

it glitter in the sun, creating an impressive  spectacle. Between each gate and wall corner,  

72:29

a bastion was formed to provide flanking fire  onto the gates. In the area around the city,  

72:34

there was an alternative defensive position  just to the north, the sanseong of Kyoryong.  

72:39

This mountain fortress was naturally more  suited to withstand the Japanese attack,  

72:44

as the enemy would have to fight an uphill battle  through a heavily forested area. Because of this,  

72:50

the Korean garrison of the Namwon had advocated  for abandoning the city and moving there. However,  

72:56

the Ming general Yang Yuan, perhaps more confident  in defending a Chinese style fortification,  

73:01

overruled them and chose to stay in Namwon; a  decision that would later prove to be fatal. 

73:10

To Yang Yuan’s credit, the Ming general  didn’t sit idly waiting for the arrival  

73:14

of the Japanese, but worked to  strengthen the city’s defenses.  

73:18

Another three meters were added to the wall’s  height, and cannons were placed on the main  

73:23

gatehouses. The defenders also dug a ditch 6  meters deep, enclosed by a wooden palisade,  

73:29

while spiked tree trunks were laid at its bottom  to slow down the Japanese assault. Furthermore,  

73:34

a fortified water reservoir was built outside  the walls to prepare the city for a lengthy  

73:39

siege and fences were constructed on the fields.  Finally, as the defenses were almost complete,  

73:45

Yang Yuan ordered the destruction of Kyoryong  to prevent the coming Japanese from using it. 

73:52

When the Japanese army arrived, they  immediately besieged the city from all sides,  

73:57

leaving no escape routes for the 12000 people  now trapped inside; half of them were civilians.  

74:04

Hideie was in command of the southern sector,  while Konishi Yukinaga commanded the west,  

74:08

Kurushima Michifusa and Kato Yoshiaka’s troops  covered the northern side, and 11 other generals  

74:14

secured the eastern approach. Seeing that the  invaders were busy with constructing their own  

74:19

defenses, the besieged garrison decided to sally  out, but were met with rapid volleys of arquebus  

74:25

fire and were forced to retreat into the city.  The next day the Japanese started filling the  

74:31

city’s defensive ditch with earth and straw,  all the while under heavy cannon, musket,  

74:35

and arrow fire from the walls. When this was done,  many of their own arquebusiers crossed over, and  

74:41

by taking cover in the burnt houses and the fences  outside the walls, began to harass the defenders. 

74:48

That following evening, the Japanese sent a  delegation asking for the defenders to surrender.  

74:54

This offer was, like on all other occasions,  rejected. As a result, the Japanese resumed their  

75:00

offense with increased fervor, which continued  well into the night despite heavy rain. The  

75:06

solution to the stalemate came for the besiegers  in the form of a clever stratagem. Witnessing the  

75:12

still green rice stalks on the nearby fields,  they cut them, then tied them together in big  

75:17

bundles. When darkness began to fall, the Japanese  unleashed a heavy cannon barrage accompanied by  

75:22

arquebus fire that lasted for 2 hours and forced  the defenders to keep their heads down. Under  

75:29

the cover of night and the suppressive volleys of  their guns, they quietly built a ramp out of the  

75:33

rice stalks. As the barrage stopped, the Japanese  troops assaulted the walls, with the samurai  

75:39

Matsuura Shigenobu reportedly leading the way.  Despite the valiant attempts of the defenders, the  

75:45

city fell. Seeing that the city was doomed, the  Ming commander Yang Yuan led a detachment of 300  

75:51

men out of the west gate, trying to break through  the enemy lines. Despite being wounded twice, he  

75:57

and 100 of his men managed to escape the siege and  headed to Chonju, only to find the city deserted.  

76:03

Thus, he continued towards Seoul. Back at Namwon,  the Japanese, now in total control of the city,  

76:10

put combatants and civilians alike to the sword.  Keinen, a priest who was accompanying the army  

76:16

as a physician, was so shocked by what he  witnessed that later wrote in his poems: 

76:20

- “Whoever sees this, Out of all his days,  Today has become the rest of his life”. 

76:27

As a final act of barbarism, they cut off the  noses of 3,726 dead, salted them, and then  

76:34

shipped them back to Japan as proof to Hideyoshi  that they had fought and defeated their opponents. 

76:41

Overall, in this second invasion, momentum  had thus far been solely on Japan’s side.  

76:47

However, the tide would begin to turn when a small  number of Ming reinforcements, led by general Yang  

76:53

Hao, managed to ambush and defeat Japanese forces  at Jiksan. This prevented any further incursions  

76:59

toward Seoul, and marked the furthest Japan would  encroach into Korean territory. The daunting  

77:05

prospect of more gigantic Chinese armies joining  the Koreans, and a forthcoming winter, meant that  

77:11

turning back south was the only realistic  choice for the Japanese. With the invasion  

77:17

on land stalling in late 1597, it is here that  Yi Sun-shin is thrust back into the limelight.  

77:23

After being reinstated as naval commander in the  south, the Admiral had only thirteen ships to work  

77:29

with. Nevertheless, his mere presence cheered  up the local population, who often greeted him  

77:34

as a savior. “Our admiral has come again, now  we can be safe!” shouted one local peasant. 

77:43

However great his bravery or ability, what could  admiral Yi do with only 13 ships against hundreds?  

77:50

Firstly, he set about reasserting discipline and  order. Guards were posted to protect armories  

77:56

and storehouses, cowardly officials were  reprimanded and sent back to work, officers  

78:00

and enlisted men were flogged for dereliction,  and civilians were punished for any offense.  

78:06

Through these harsh means, Yi restored to  himself what traditional Chinese military  

78:10

doctrine dubbed ‘awesomeness’: the mix of fear and  respect a leader needed to command effectively.  

78:17

Reaching his small fleet at Hoeryongpo, he  immediately retrofitted all vessels to serve  

78:22

as makeshift turtle-ships, with sturdy timber  sides and spiked roofs to protect the crews. 

78:28

When this was done, Yi sailed kilometers west  to Oranpo, which had a more open harbour.  

78:37

It was about this time that Yi received  intelligence that the main Japanese war  

78:41

fleet was after him, so he retreated to the island  of Chindo, further to the west. A 13-strong scout  

78:47

fleet tried to destroy Yi on the 17th of October,  but was fought off without much difficulty.  

78:53

In the days after this minor skirmish, the  main Japanese fleet arrived at Oranpo and began  

78:59

building up its strength. As they did, Yi spent  his time carefully observing the properties of  

79:04

surrounding bodies of water, noting the current  speed, direction, and time of the tide. Of  

79:10

particular interest to the admiral was the narrow  Myeongnyang Channel, a stretch of water only 250  

79:16

meters wide at its narrowest point. The current  was also among the fastest in all Korea, moving at  

79:22

a faster speed than Japanese ships could travel.  This was a perfect place to make a final stand. 

79:31

On October 24th, Yi received further intelligence  that a 200-ship-strong Japanese fleet was closing  

79:37

in on his position. In response, he pulled his  fleet through the Myeongnyang strait the next day,  

79:43

anchoring his ships in the open water just  outside it. Beyond Yi’s 13 combat vessels was  

79:49

a long line of fishing boats packed with refugees.  By arranging these vessels in a mock battle line,  

79:55

the admiral hoped that the Japanese would assume  his own squadron was merely the vanguard of a  

80:00

larger force. That night, with everything set  as he wanted, Yi summoned his commanders to an  

80:06

audience, telling them that “He who seeks death  shall live! He who seeks his life shall die!”. 

80:15

At dawn, the next day, the main Japanese armada  of two to three hundred vessels approached the  

80:20

southern end of the Myeongnyang Strait. As Yi had  predicted, this huge mass of ships was unable to  

80:26

pass through the narrow channel of Myeongnyang in  one group, and thus began to split into separate  

80:32

squadrons. Everything was going according to Yi’s  plan. It was only when the first enemy ships began  

80:38

to emerge into the open water that Yi ordered the  attack. The Japanese fleet had not realised the  

80:44

Koreans were there, but were finally notified by  the cannons and fire arrows that began to attack  

80:49

them. However, as the admiral’s flagship blasted  the stunned enemy warships, the other ships in  

80:55

his fleet began to lag behind, witnessing the  extraordinary odds they faced. However, threats of  

81:02

punishment and Yi’s dogged determination motivated  his captains to catch up and fight. At this point,  

81:08

the meager 13-ship Korean fleet was completely  enveloped by at least 130 Japanese vessels. 

81:18

The battle that ensued was unlike anything  the Korean navy had ever experienced before.  

81:23

Outnumbered by biblical proportions, their  stronger ships rammed their weaker counterparts  

81:29

with reinforced prows, blasted them from  all sides with point-blank cannon fire,  

81:34

and set them alight with fire arrows. The  massive Japanese flagship suffered the brunt  

81:39

of this battering and was soon in flames, and  sunk shortly after. Despite outnumbering their  

81:45

foes by such a massive margin, the Japanese  still could not even touch Yi’s ships. Assault  

81:51

after assault was made up the narrows by the  numerically superior Japanese, but Yi’s flagship  

81:56

stood like a castle at the mouth of Myeongnyang,  leading the defence which repelled each attack. 

82:04

Then, as the great admiral had anticipated,  Myeongnyang’s northward current suddenly reversed,  

82:10

pulling the attacking Japanese ships back into  the narrows. They quickly became bunched together,  

82:15

some even smashing into one another and sinking.  

82:19

At this moment, the Koreans attacked with  the tide at their back, inflicting massive  

82:23

casualties on the hapless Japanese fleet  as the clash shifted back into the narrows.  

82:28

By the time Hideyoshi’s reinforced fleet managed  to squeeze back through the narrows and into  

82:33

open water, 31 of its ships had been destroyed.  Once again, Admiral Yi had lost no ships at all. 

82:43

Badly shaken by their experience in  the channel, the Japanese armada fell  

82:47

back all the way to Busan. It would  not gain access to the Yellow Sea,  

82:52

nor would it venture this far west to challenge Yi  again. Unfortunately for the triumphant commander,  

82:58

bad news arrived a month after the victory  at Myeongnyang: his son had been killed  

83:03

defending his home from invading Japanese  soldiers. Yi was deeply affected by this,  

83:08

and he fell into a deep depression. Carrying  this weight on his shoulders, he nevertheless  

83:14

began to rebuild the Joseon Kingdom’s naval  power. By March of 1598, 61 warships were  

83:21

ready for combat and a further 39 were under  construction at the many shipyards of Korea. 

83:29

Accompanying the successes at sea were further  victories on land. Ming reinforcements had arrived  

83:35

and, joining with the Korean forces, now pinned  the land armies of Hideyoshi in their chain of  

83:40

coastal fortresses. Then, on September 18th 1598,  Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away at the age of 62.  

83:49

This was the final nail in the coffin of  Japan’s attempted Korean conquest. One  

83:54

of the great Kwampaku’s final orders was  for the conflict to be brought to an end,  

83:58

and for all soldiers to return home. Both  Hideyoshi’s son Hideyori, and other powerful  

84:04

daimyo such as Tokugawa Ieyasu were also eager to  see the costly war stopped. In addition, the Ming  

84:11

were receptive to the idea of allowing Konishi  Yukinaga and the other wajo garrisons to escape  

84:16

back to their homeland unharmed. The vengeful  Koreans, however, were not going to accept this. 

84:25

Putting Korea’s newfound dominance at sea  to good use, Admiral Yi tightly blockaded  

84:30

Yukinaga inside Suncheon. Despite Yi’s insistence  that the Japanese would not be allowed to escape,  

84:36

Yukinaga’s diplomatic pressure on the Chinese  eventually allowed one ship to escape. This  

84:42

craft then signaled the rest of Japan’s wajo naval  forces to rendezvous inside the bay at Sacheon,  

84:47

to prepare for the voyage home. After Yukinaga  failed to show up, the Japanese forces realised  

84:53

the situation he was in, and sent 500 ships  to break the blockade. Informed by scouts and  

84:59

local fishermen as to what was happening, Yi  anticipated that the Japanese would take the  

85:04

direct route between Sacheon and Suncheon,  through the Noryang strait. He was correct. 

85:12

Having drawn up his ships in the open  sea just west of the narrow strait,  

85:16

a surprise attack was launched at  2am on the 17th of December 1598.  

85:22

Within hours, almost half the Japanese fleet was  burned or sunk. Admiral Yi was in the thick of  

85:28

the fighting, wielding a bow personally when the  allied Chinese flagship was attacked. By dawn,  

85:34

Japan’s ships were retreating, and Yi ordered  a ceaseless pursuit. As the Koreans caught up,  

85:40

a stray arquebus ball from a Japanese sharpshooter  struck Yi Sun-shin in the left armpit. The great  

85:46

admiral was dead in minutes, but 450 out of the  500 enemy ships were shattered at Noryang. The  

85:54

tactical brilliance shown by Yi in this battle,  at Myeongnyang, Hansando, and others had probably  

86:00

saved Korea. To this day, Admiral Yi Sun-Shin is  among Korea’s most venerated historical figures. 

86:09

By the closing days of 1598, all  Japanese forces had left Korea.  

86:15

With their departure, the devastating six years  long conflict was finally over. Nevertheless,  

86:22

the effects of the war would be profound for  all three nations that took part in it. In 1600,  

86:28

the only prominent daimyo who avoided draining  his resources in the costly Korean expedition,  

86:33

Tokugawa Ieyasu, was able to triumph over a  loose coalition of his enemies at Sekigahara.  

86:39

Many of the daimyo who were defeated  in that battle had fought in Korea,  

86:43

including Ukita Hideie, Mori Hidemoto,  and Konishi Yukinaga. As we might expect,  

86:48

Yukinaga’s bitter rival Kato Kiyomasa fought on  the other side, and finally got his own back.  

86:55

As a result of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa clan would  rule Japan for two and a half centuries to come.  

87:01

The victorious Ming and Joseon dynasties  were gravely weakened by the war with Japan,  

87:06

making them easy prey for other invaders from  the north. In 1644, the 278-year-old Ming dynasty  

87:15

finally collapsed due to a fatal cocktail of  internal rebellion and Manchu intervention.  

87:20

Their subsequent Qing dynasty would last  until 1912, and would prove to be generous  

87:26

overlords to the Koreans, whose ‘hermit  kingdom’ remained independent and largely  

87:31

cut off from the world until Japan’s  Imperial restoration in the late 1800s.

87:37

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