Gwon Yul

For the winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, see Yul Kwon (Survivor).

Gwon Yul
Portrait of General Gwon Yul.
Korean name
Hangul	권율
Hanja	權慄
Revised Romanization	Gwon Yul
McCune–Reischauer	Kwŏn Yul
Courtesy name
Hangul	언신
Hanja	彦愼
Revised Romanization	Eonsin
McCune–Reischauer	Ŏnshin
Posthumous name
Hangul	충장
Hanja	忠莊
Revised Romanization	Chungjang
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ungchang

Kwon Yul (1537-1599) was a Korean Army General and the Commander-in-chief of the Joseon Dynasty, who successfuly led the Korean forces against Japan during the Japanese invasions of Korea. He is best known for the the Battle of Haengju where he defeated a force of about 30,000 Japanese with 2,800 troops.

Early life

Kwon Yul hailed from the prestigious Andong Kwon clan; his father, Kwon Cheol, was the Yeonguijeong (영의정, 領議政), the Prime Minister of the Joseon court. Focusing on his study of Confucian philosophy, however, Kwon did not enter political nor military career until he was 46. In 1582, he was first appointed a position in the Joseon government and promoted to several different positions including the mayor of Uiju in 1591. When the Japanese forces invaded Korea in 1592, Kwon was appointed the mayor of Gwangju and given the military command of the province.

Seven-Year War

Main article: Imjin War

At the time of the Japanese invasion, in 1592, he gathered around 1,000 militia near the city of Namwon with his commander Yi Gwang and headed towards Seoul to join the main force. Yi Gwang eventually lost to Japanese, but Kwon managed to lead his forces to Ichi (Geumsan), where his militia encountered Kobayakawa Takakage (小早川隆景)'s army. Kwon's men fought and won the battle, which resulted in the recapture of the province of Jeolla.

The Joseon Government recognized Kwon's heroics, and named him the new Governor of the province the following year. Kwon then led an army of 2,000 to Gyeonggi to recapture Seoul once more, where he was joined by local militia and monks, which enabled Kwon to gather up to 10,000 men. However Kwon's troops were running out of food supplies, so Kwon planned to retreat to his base, but the government ordered Kwon to march northward and combat the Japanese in Seoul. Since Kwon knew well about the failure of Yi Gwang's campaign, he moved his regiment slowly to the north, and camped on fortress Doksung (禿城山城 or 禿王 Dokwang), near present-day Suwon. Japanese general Ukita Hideie (宇喜多秀家), upon hearing the news, led his forces to lay siege on the fort. However Ukita was unable to seize the fortress due to the heavy resistance of Kwon's forces, and at last he gave order to withdraw to Seoul. Kwon chased the retreating Japanese, inflicting heavy casualties. There he met supporting Chinese soldiers and marched toward Seoul.

Battle of Haengju

Main article: Battle of Haengju

Kwon and his men set up camp in the run-down fortress of Haengju (幸州山城); although his forces were joined by many local militias and monks, his entire unit in Haengju was no more than 2,800 men. Threatened by this action, Japanese commanders Kato Kiyomasa (加藤清正) and Ukita, attacked Haengju fortress with 40,000 men, trying to finish off Kwon's troops once and for all. Ukita, who never led the attack in the frontline directly, led the Japanese toward the fortress. The commencement of the Battle of Haengju, early in the morning of 12 February, 1593. Almost 70,000 Japanese under Kato and Ukita, armed with muskets, surrounded the fortress and launched several massive attacks; however, Kwon's forces and the civilians at the fortress resisted heavily, and the Japanese, with heavy casualties, were compelled to retreat. It was one of the greatest Korean military victories during the Seven-Year War. Inflicting over 10,000 casualties on the Japanese, Ukita and his remaining troops fled the region.

After the Battle

After the battle, he kept his position, until the peace talks between Ming Dynasty and Toyotomi Hideyoshi began. Then he moved to the Jeolla province, and from then on, Kwon Yul became the Dowonsu (도원수, 導元帥), the Commander-in-chief of Korean forces. He was briefly removed from office due to his harsh treatment of deserters, but was restored back again in the following year. He ordered the Admiral of the Navy, Won Kyun, to battle the Japanese in the Battle of Chilchonryang, which was won by Japanese. However Admiral Yi Sun Shin was able to defeat the Japanese navy under Todo Takatora in the Battle of Myeongnyang.

In 1597, Kwon and Chinese commander Ma Gui planned to combat the Japanese in Ulsan, but the Chinese commander-in-chief ordered Kwon to withdraw. Then Kwon tried to attack Japanese in Suncheon, but the idea was again rejected by Chinese. After the war, Kwon retired from all of his posts; he died in July 1599. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of Yeonguijeong (영의정, 領議政), and equivalent of Prime Minister in Joseon government, and awarded the title of the Ildung Seonmu Gongshin (일등선무공신, 一等宣武功臣) along with Yi Sun Shin and Won Kyun, the most prestigious award for the generals who fought during Japanese invasions of Korea. Kwon is remembered in the Korean history as one of Korea's most successful and patriotic military commanders.

See also

• Military history of Korea
• List of Joseon Dynasty people
• Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea

References

• Gyohaksa. (1983). 새國史事典 [New Encyclopedia of Korean History]. Seoul, Korea: Gyohaksa. ISBN 8909005068
• Doosan Encyclopedia Online
• Information on Kwon Yul from Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism Web site