Korea, Japanese invasions of (1592, 1597). The first Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as the first stage of a plan to conquer China. The Japanese troops landed at Pusan, and three armies proceeded northwards, taking Seoul with ease. The Japanese use of the arquebus was a considerable element in their success. P'yǒngyang fell within weeks, but several factors then came into play which halted the Japanese progress. The first was a vigorous Korean resistance movement whose irregular troops conducted a guerrilla war. The second was the Korean navy under the leadership of Adm Yi Sun shin, whose ‘turtle boats’, manoeuvrable oared vessels protected by iron spikes, played havoc with the Japanese lines of communication. The third factor was the intervention of Chinese troops. One Japanese division crossed briefly into Manchuria, but were driven back by the winter and lack of rear support. Another division were defeated at Haengju, and forced to evacuate Seoul in spite of a victory at Pyǒkje, a bloody pitched battle at which the superior Japanese swords came into their own. The progress of the Chinese forced the Japanese from the north of Korea into a series of fortified camps in the south where they remained for the winter and evacuated the peninsula in 1593. The second invasion followed in 1597. Adm Yi had been replaced and the Japanese troops landed unopposed. They first took Namwǒn, but their progress was restricted again by the Chinese and the Korean guerrillas. Once Yi was reinstated as Korean admiral the Japanese armies became progressively isolated. A major pitched battle was fought at Sa'chōn, but by now Hideyoshi was dead, and the Japanese armies were withdrawn. The departing transports were intercepted by Adm Yi, who was shot and killed as the invaders escaped.
— Stephen Turnbull
