임진왜란과 호남의병에 대한 새로운 관점

Abstract

The Imjin war occurred on the Korean peninsula at the end of 16th century which shook the foundations of the East Asian world. How should we, living in the 21st century, recognize the Imjin war. When examining the relationship between Korea, China, and Japan in the pre-modern period, it is necessary to understand it from tripartite perspective: China as the central country, Korea as the neighboring country, and Japan as the outer country. At the end of the 16th century Japan as the outer country reacted sensitively to contact with the western world. As soon as the unification of Japan was achieved by actively accepting western scientific civilization, Japan attempted to overthrow the existing structure of East Asia during the Imjin war. Such an attempt was reproduced in the same way in the second half of the 19th century, When the powers of western powers were spreading to East Asia. But at that time Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s ambition ended in failure, there was an existence of the Joseon volunteer soldiers who didn’t exist in Japan. The spirit of the Honam volunteer soldiers is located at the heart of the history of the Korean people and continues to this day.