Yi Gwal (1587 – 15 February, 1624) was a general during the

Joseon Dynasty 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 ...

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 ...

, known for the failed

Yi Gwal's Rebellion Yi Gwal's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in the Joseon dynasty led by General Yi Gwal, who helped Injo ascend to the throne and incited a rebellion against him for being rewarded poorly and trying to arrest his son. He led 12,000 of his soldie ...

. His family belonged to the Gosung Yi clan. He rebelled against

King Injo Injo of Joseon (7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), born Yi Jong, was the sixteenth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of King Seonjo and son of Prince Jeongwon. He was the king during the Later Jin invasion of Joseon, ...

in 1624, but failed. Yi Gwal was then killed by his own troops. Yi Gwal's rebellion put Korea into a state of chaos before it was invaded by the Manchu Qing dynasty.

Background

In 1622, he joined the Injo revolution, which was a movement in Korea to get rid of the government of King

Gwanghaegun Gwanghae-gun or Prince Gwanghae (4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon (Hangul: 이혼, Hanja: 李琿), was the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name. ...

, who advocated evenhanded diplomacy between the

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 ...

and 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 ...

. At that time, the

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

Ming Dynasty had recently fallen to the invading Jurchen, who had renamed themselves 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 ...

. Historically, Korea was in a long time conflict with the Jurchen tribes, who inhabited the wide plains of Manchuria. The Jurchen took

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 ...

during the late Ming and established 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 ...

dynasty. Yi Gwal captured the capital of Hanyang and exile

. However, he was rewarded only as a second class helper and neglected by the King. As the relations with Later Jin deteriorated, the Korean government and Injo sent Yi Gwal to the border of

Pyongan Pyeong-an Province (, ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Pyeong'an was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyeongyang (now Pyongyang, North Korea). History Pyeong'an Province was formed in ...

Province to ward off invasions from the Jin. There, Yi strengthened the walls and fortresses around the border and maintained strict military order. Out of the fifteen thousand troops stationed in the northern border, Yi Gwal had command of ten thousand, stationed in

Yongbyon Nyŏngbyŏn County (in standard Southern dialect: Yŏngbyŏn) is a county in North Pyŏngan province, North Korea. It borders the cities of Kaechŏn and Anju, and covers an area of 504 km². Description The city was heavily fortified du ...

while the five thousand stayed with General

Jang Man Jang may refer to: *Jang (Marshall Islands), part of Maloelap Atoll, in the Marshall Islands *Jang, Nepal, a village development committee in the Rapti Zone of western Nepal * Jang, the Tibetan name for Naxi, a county-level district of Luzhou cit ...

( 张晚) in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

Yi Gwal's Rebellion

Korea's political stance at the time caused the downfall of Yi Gwal. Since the establishment of a Confucian dynasty by King Taejo, there had been political disputes between the parties in the government. Some disputes even ended up in bloodshed, like the one which occurred in the time of King

Yeonsangun Yeonsangun of Joseon or Prince Yeonsan of Joseon (23 November 1476 – 20 November 1506), personal name Yi Yung ( Korean: 이융; Hanja: 李㦕), was the tenth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Often considered the worst tyrant in Joseon's ...

. Also, during the time of

King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

just before the

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, the political parties had been divided between East and West. The Eastern Party gradually split up into two parties called the Northern and Southern Parties. In January 1624, the Western Party, recently unsatisfied with the success of Yi Gwal (who was part of the Northern Party), made a petition to the King stating that Yi Gwal and some members of the Northern Party were planning a rebellion. As these ministers all had a close relationship with the King, the petition was examined. However, the reports proved false, and the Western Party failed to condemn Yi Gwal. They tried again soon after, which provoked the suspicion of the King. The government soon sent an examination and arrest party to Yongbyon to arrest Yi Gwal's son Yi Jeon. As he suspected that he himself would be condemned if his son confessed, he decided on a pre-emptive strike. Finally, he killed the arrest party and the rebellion officially began on January 22, 1624. He and his ten thousand troops headed straight for Hanyang, to relieve the capital and capture the King. The first clash with the government troops happened on the

Hamgyong Hamgyong Province () was one of the Eight Provinces (Korea), Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hamgyŏng was located in the northeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Hamhung, Hamhŭng. Names The province was first establis ...

province, where the government troops were being led by Jeong Chung-sin and Nam Yi-hong. He tried to avoid these two generals and surpassed their troops. During the march to the capital, Yi Gwal met much opposition, but all were defeated. Injo soon abandoned the capital and Yi Gwal captured it on February 10. Since the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty, it was the first time a rebel army had captured the capital. Yi Gwal then put Heungangun on the throne, a royal relative of the King. Moreover, he put fliers all over the city so the people would support his troops. However, the rebel occupation of the capital did not last long. The

Hanseong Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

was soon threatened by Jang Man and other generals from the government forces. Yi Gwal sent Han Myeong-ryun to combat the enemy, but the rebels were defeated due to inferior geographical position. By this time, Yi Gwal tried to escape the capital as the rebel army had disbanded and separated. As Yi Gwal and Han Myeong-ryun tried to escape on February 15, they were murdered by their own troops led by Gi Ik-heon, who were seeking forgiveness from the government. Yi Gwal failed, but Joseon society effectively entered a period of chaos, which then provoked and facilitated the

First Manchu invasion of Korea The Later Jin invasion of Joseon occurred in early 1627 when the Later Jin prince Amin led an invasion of the Joseon Dynasty. The war ended after three months with the Later Jin establishing itself as sovereign tributary overlord over Joseon. ...

in 1627. Eventually Joseon would fall and become a vassal to the Qing dynasty.