Revisiting the Japanese and Manchu Invasions

Permanent Exhibition Expanded

An exhibition recalling the Japanese and Manchu invasions of Korea during the 16th and 17th centuries, respectively, will open at the National Museum of Korea on April 30.

The exhibition will consist of three parts: “Weapons of War” featuring firearms used by Korean and Japanese armies in their 16th century conflict; “Records of War” highlighting a Korean state councillor’s war memoir in which he atones for the nation’s unpreparedness; and “Memories of War” presenting documentary and literary recollections of the two wars.

The exhibition is an expanded version of a display that mostly focused on the Japanese Invasions. The exhibition organizers expect it will prompt visitors to consider the efforts made by the Joseon people to heal the scars from the wars and overcome adversity together, hopefully to help find clues to how to navigate the current crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Japanese Invasions of 1592-1598, known as the Imjin War in Korea, escalated into a regional conflict with Ming China helping defend the Joseon Dynasty. The seven-year war left the entire Korean peninsula in rubble and weakened the Ming Dynasty, leading to its eventual fall.

The Manchu Invasions of 1627 and 1636-1637 were caused by the Joseon government’s pro-Ming policy amid the transition of powers in China. Joseon rejected Qing’s demand to acknowledge its suzerainty. The war ended with the Joseon king’s humiliating capitulation before the Qing emperor who led the campaign.

Both wars pushed Joseon into crises, crippling its political, social and economic institutions. But postwar rehabilitation efforts laid a foundation for the socio-cultural development under the reigns of King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776) and King Jeongjo (1776-1800).

Among notable firearms on exhibit will be muskets used by Hideyoshi’s troops to overwhelm Joseon forces in the early stage of the war, and the Joseon army’s hand cannons of various types and ingenious time bomb, called bigyeok jincheonroe. (Figure 1)

Jingbirok, or A Record of Penitence and Warning, will be on display. It is a painful war memoir written by Ryu Seong-ryong (1542-1607), who served as first state councillor during the Japanese Invasions. Also on view will be an epitaph for Lady Hong (1626-1682), daughter of Hong Ik-han(1586-1637), testifying to her life of perseverance after losing her family amid the second Manchu Invasion. (Figure 2)

A novel written by an anonymous author, Imjinrok is an epic of military heroism set against the Japanese Invasions. It served to heal the wartime wounds of people in the years following the devastating armed conflict. (Figure 3)

In the wake of the Manchu Invasions, renowned Neo-Confucian scholar and official Song Si-yeol (1607-1689) wrote Samhaksa-jeon, or Biographies of Three Patriotic Scholars, in memory of three scholar-officials who were taken to Qing and executed there for ardently opposing peace talks.

For more information, please contact:

Assistant Curator Kim Jin-sil, Archaeology and History Division

02-2077-9463