Ka Island (alternately, Ga Island) is a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Pansong Archipelago The Pansong or Banseong Archipelago is a chain of islands located off the coast of Cholsan county, North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northe ...

in West Korea Bay. It lies just south of the Cholsan Peninsula. It includes Ka Island Village (, ''Kato-ri'') and forms part of

Cholsan County Ch'ŏlsan County is a ''kun'', or county, in North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It occupies the Ch'ŏlsan Peninsula, which juts into the Yellow Sea. Ch'ŏlsan borders Yŏmju and Tongrim counties to the north, and is bounded on all other si ...

Names

"Ka Island" or "Ka-to" is the official North Korean

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

of the island's name, using its form of the McCune–Reischauer system. Since 2000, its

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n equivalent has been "Gado". or using its

Revised Romanization system Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

. In Chinese sources, the same name appears as Jiadao. The names all translate as "

Pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

Island". In the 17th century, the Chinese knew Ka as " Hides Island", which appears in English accounts of the era as or Pidao.. It was also known as the DongjiangGarrison, from

Mao Wenlong Mao Wenlong (; 10 February 1576 – 24 July 1629), courtesy name Zhennan, was a Chinese military general of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for commanding Ming forces in the naval battles against forces of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in the Ye ...

's settlement there.

History

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

were stationed on the island during the reigns of the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

kings Gwanghae (.1608–1623) and Injo (.1623–1649).. Owing to the

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

invasion of

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, the island flooded with both Ming troops and northern refugees.. The Ming general

attacked from and retreated to Ka Island during the 1621 Battle of Fort Zhenjiang. He then used the island as a personal base of operations from 1622. Obliged to remain off the Korean mainland by Manchu pressure on the

court, Mao justified his occupation of the island as an "area of strategic importance" (, ''èyào qū'') able to "defend

Dengzhou Dengzhou (), formerly Deng County (), is a city in Nanyang, Henan, China. It has an area of and a population of 1,500,000. The urban area is 35 km², and the urban population is 300,000. The city is located in the southwest of Henan provin ...

and

Laizhou Laizhou, alternately romanized as Laichow, is a county-level city in the Prefecture-level city of Yantai, Shandong Province, China. As of 2008, Laizhou had a population of 902,000, out of which 188,000 are urban residents. Laizhou traditionally ...

southwards, stay in connection with

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

eastwards, and attack the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

northwards". By 1628, there were 26,000 troops who—together with their dependents—consumed 100,000 '' seom'' of rice.. Its supply was largely organized from the port of

(now Penglai) on the north coast of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Shandong Peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. G ...

, but—partially owing to continued Korean gratitude for the Ming's help repelling Japan—this was supplemented by a Korean levy known as the "western provisions tax" (''sŏryang''). that ultimately contributed about 260,000'' seom'' of rice. Because of the irregularity of Chinese supply and the frequency of Korean famines, Mao also established farming colonies on the nearby mainland at

Cholsan Ch'ŏlsan County is a ''kun'', or county, in North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It occupies the Ch'ŏlsan Peninsula, which juts into the Yellow Sea. Ch'ŏlsan borders Yŏmju and Tongrim counties to the north, and is bounded on all other sid ...

("Tieshan"),

Changsong Changsŏng County is a ''kun'', or county, in northern North Phyŏngan province, North Korea. It is bordered by Pyŏktong to the east, Tongchang and Taegwan to the south, Sakchu to the west; to the north, it faces China across the Yalu (Amrok ...

("Changcheng"), and

Uiju Ŭiju County is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 (2008 data). Name Ŭiju appears as Uiju in South Korea's Revised Romanization and as Yizhou in Chinese ...

("Yizhou").. After the fall of Lüshun to the Manchu, Mao was freed from most oversight and began to establish Ka as an independent maritime kingdom with open markets at Ka and Tieshan.. He attempted to negotiate an official

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

policy between China and Korea, ending their remaining

sea ban The Haijin () or sea ban was a series of related isolationism, isolationist policies in China restricting private maritime trading and coastal settlement during most of the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty. Despite official proclamations the M ...

s and restrictions on exportation of goods considered strategically important, but also aimed to restrict Korea's direct tributary trade with China, instead driving its goods to his markets. He charged visiting merchants high taxes but protected all comers, including raiders. and smugglers, and so drew in much of the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

trade between

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, China, and

. Scholars estimate he was able to collect tens of thousands of silver

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

Manchu's second invasion of Korea,

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

traveled to

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...

and sent

Abatai Abatai (Manchu: ; 27 July 1589 – 10 May 1646) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. Although an inconsistent and dissolute malcontent, he nevertheless showed considerable ability as a military leader and a ...

Jirgalang Jirgalang or Jirhalang (Manchu: 19 November 1599 – June 11, 1655) was a Manchu noble, regent, and political and military leader of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the Aisin Gioro clan, he was the sixth son of Šurhaci, a younger brother of ...

, and

Ajige Ajige (Manchu:, Mölendroff: ajige; 28 August 1605 – 28 November 1651) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. He was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the 12th son of Nurhaci, the khan of the Later Jin dynasty (th ...

to secure its western coast in the 12th

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...

of 1636.

Shen Shikui __NOTOC__ Shen may refer to: * Shen (Chinese religion) (神), a central word in Chinese philosophy, religion, and traditional Chinese medicine; term for god or spirit * Shen (clam-monster) (蜃), a shapeshifting Chinese dragon believed to create mi ...

was well ensconced in Ka Island's fortifications and hammered his attackers with heavy cannon for over a month. In the end, Ming and Korean defectors including

Kong Youde Kong Youde ( zh, c=, p=Kǒng Yǒudé; mnc, , v=; Transliterations of Manchu, Transliteration of Manchu: kung ioo de; died August 7, 1652) was a Chinese adventurer and Ming dynasty military officer who served under the warlord Mao Wenlong until Mao ...

landed 70 boats on the eastern side of the island and drew out his garrison in that direction. On the next morning, however, he found that the Qing—"who seem to have flown"—had landed to his rear in the northwest corner of the island in the middle of the night. Shen refused to surrender, but was overrun and beheaded by

. Official reports put the casualties as at least

10,000 10,000 (ten thousand) is the natural number following 9,999 and preceding 10,001. Name Many languages have a specific word for this number: in Ancient Greek it is (the etymological root of the word myriad in English), in Aramaic , in Hebrew ...

, with few survivors. The Ming general Yang Sichang then withdrew the remaining Ming forces in Korea to Denglai in northern

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. (The removal of the Chinese settlement is sometimes portrayed as reducing the tax burden on nearby Korean settlements, but in fact the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

merely continued them under another name.) In late October 1951, the

PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...

made a concerted push to remove UN troops from islands near the mouth of the

Yalu The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

. The most significant was Taehwa Island, but Ka Island was also assaulted during the night of 5 November and then strafed by Yak fighters on 14 November. During the second attack, the garrison was quickly overrun.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * {{citation , last=Werrell , first=Kenneth P. , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PlAAJReESsIC , title=Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Supremacy in Korea , location=Annapolis , publisher=Naval Institute Press , date=2005 , isbn=9781612513447 . Islands of North Korea North Pyongan Islands of the Yellow Sea