임진왜란기 조선의 북방 여진족에 대한 위기의식과 대응책 - '南倭北虜'란 측면에서 -

Abstract

In the studies of the Imjin War, we can find only a little data about the Jurchen tribes. Based on Seonjosillok (Annals of King Seonjo), however, we can find that first the Joseon dynasty was recognizing the crisis of facing against both the Japanese of the south and the northern tribes during the Imjin War period. It was not just the Japanese people of the south that Joseon was fighting against. The dynasty was in very antagonistic relationships with the tribes of the northeast and the northwest. It was in a rush to try to overcome the crisis with an awareness of having enemies both to the north and the south and concerns about troubles. Second, the Japanese of the south and the Jurchens of the north can be compared to a pair of cogwheels geared into each other. Only the Japanese was the bigger one. In October 1595, Myeongryeon Han, an officer of the provincial guards in the Eastern Gyeongsang Province, and Deokryeong Kim, a commander of the militia, who had been fighting against the Japanese, were dispatched to the northwestern frontier, and Eungseo Kim, a senior military officer in charge of soldiers and horses of the Eastern Gyeongsang Province, was ordered to go to fight against the Jurchens of the north with soldiers under his control, who were supposed to fight against the Japanese. This is because the Jurchens of the north was a bigger concern than the Japanese at that time. Third, the relationship with the Jurchens was significant during the Imjin War period in terms of resources including provisions. At that time, the Joseon dynasty had difficulties in securing foodstuffs for the army rather than soldiers. They also had to supply the foodstuff that they had secured with difficulty to the troops of the Ming dynasty. Therefore, the Joseon troops' combating power was being weakened and people were on the verge of starvation across the nation. Against this backdrop, Joseon often talked about supplying materials to the Jurchens as an appeasement policy and it actually supplied materials to them. As described in the above, the Jurchens of the north was a big obstacle to the Joseon dynasty both mentally and materially in its all-out war against the Japanese.