임진왜란기 구미 지역의 사족 동향과 의병 활동

Abstract

This study analyzes the righteous army(uibyeong) activities that emerged in the former gunhyeon Seonsan and Indong that constitute the current areas of Gumi-si during the Japanese Invasions of Korea(1592~1598). More to the point, an analysis is conducted of how the local literati class(sajok) perceived the political situation before the Japanese Invasions of Korea. After reviewing the early responses of the local governors in Seonsan and Indong, this study examines the righteous army activities carried out by the local literati class. The Gumi area fell to the Japanese forces that had begun their march by occupying the port of Busan on April 14, 1592 and then marching on to Indong on the 22nd and Seonsan on the 24th, remaining in place until their complete withdrawal in May 1593. There were initially opposed by government armies led by the Magistrate of Seonsan Jeong Gyeongdal and the County Magistrate of Indong Jo Cheom. However, there were also righteous armies that voluntarily rose up in Seonsan and Indong. The righteous armies remained actively engaged until 1593, essentially replacing the collapsed government armies. As the Japanese forces came to be stationed in Seonsan and Indong, righteous armies rose up in outlying areas such as Geumosan, Haepyeong, Jangcheon, Cheonsaengsan and Yakmok. In the case of Seonsan, righteous army activities were led by Roh Gyeongim and Choe Hyeon from the Haepyeong area, and Go Hanun from the Geumosan area. These efforts were coordinated with those of Kim Gak, who operated out of the Sangju area. Meanwhile, in the Indong area, righteous army activities were led by Jang Jewon and Jang Naebeom based out of Indong, and Yi Bo and Jang Sajin based out of Gunwi, and coordinated with the efforts of Kim Hae based in Andong. In the case of Haepyeong, righteous army activities were organized under the leadership of Gil Undeuk and Pak Suil. However, transportation difficulties occasioned by the flooding of the Nakdong River meant that these forces were in closer communication with Kim Hae and his men based in Andong than with the righteous army in Seonsan based in Geumosan or the Jeong Gyeongdal-led government forces based in Yeonaksan west of Seonsan-bu. The situation faced by the righteous armies in Seonsan and Indong was an arduous one. Their lack of military weaponry and combat skills were further compounded by a severe lack of training. However, the battles waged by these righteous armies helped to decentralize the military strength of Japanese forces by taking advantage of Seonsan and Indong’s status as key traffic routes in the northern part of Gyeongbuk province. In addition, the participation of the leading members of the literati class from the Seonsan and Indong area such as the Angang Roh clan, Milyang Pak clan, Jeonju Choe clan, Haepyeong Gil clan, Andong Go clan, Sincheon Gang clan and Deoksu Yi clan from Seonsan area as well as the Indong Jang clan from Indong area served as the impetus for the preservation of the existing literati-led ruling structure and their continued exercise of influence in this area.