Ko Kyŏngmyŏng (; 1533–1592) was a

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

scholar and ''yangban'', who became a

righteous army Righteous armies (), sometimes translated as irregular armies or militias, were informal civilian militias that appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance. The first righteous armies emerged d ...

leader during the 1592–1598

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

. He was killed while attacking

Geumsan Geumsan County () is a county in South Chungcheong Province (Before 1963, Geumsan was in Jeollabuk-do), South Korea. It borders Muju County, North Jeolla Province (Jeollabuk-do), which is famous for its ski resort nearby. History Administrative ...

in 1592.Turnbull, Stephen: ''Samurai Invasion. Japan's Korean War 1592–98'' (London, 2002), Cassell & Co

Background

Ko was a ''yangban'' from the town of Changhung in

Jeolla Province Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as well as J ...

. He had failed the civil service examinations, and was therefore denied a post in the bureaucracy. In 1592, the armies of Japanese regent

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

invaded Korea. They advanced north from Busan and occupied Seoul, forcing King

Seonjo Seonjo (; 6 December 1552 – 6 March 1608), personal name Yi Yeon (), was the 14th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was known for promoting Confucianism and attempting reforms at the beginning of his reign. However, he later gained ...

to flee. Ko, then sixty years old, began recruiting civilians into a

militia. He planned to join forces with another Righteous army led by

Cho Hŏn Cho Hŏn (, 1544 – 1592) was a Joseon dynasty, Joseon official and militia leader in Korea at the time of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), Imjin war. He believed that Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi posed a threat to Korean securit ...

, and recapture Seoul from the Japanese. While on the way to Seoul, he heard that the Japanese were planning to attack Chonju, capital of Cholla, his home province, from the captured city of Geumsan.

Attack on Geumsan and death

Ko decided to attack the Japanese at Geumsan to prevent them from invading Cholla. He joined forces with Korean regulars led by General , and marched to Geumsan. The Japanese forces inside the city were led by the Daimyo

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal military lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of ...

. Although the government forces were pushed back, Ko's militia succeeded in breaching the outer walls and setting several buildings ablaze. Despite this initial success, the Japanese forces eventually halted the militia's advance, forcing them to retreat. On the second day of fighting, the Japanese forces counterattacked. The government forces and most of the militia fled, but Ko refused to retreat. He was killed along with two of his sons and a small group of fighters in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese soldiers.

Aftermath

The Japanese army, after repelling the attack on Geumsan, moved to take Jeonju. The ensuing

Battle of Jeonju The Battle of Jeonju was one of the first battles fought in Korea during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Even though this was a rather minor battle compared to others during the Korean Campaign, it would be one of the very most i ...

ended with a Korean victory. One of Ko's surviving sons, Ko Chŏnghu, became a Righteous army leader. He went on to fight alongside

Kim Ch'ŏnil Kim Ch'ŏnil (; 1537 – July 27, 1593) was a Korean military leader in the 16th century. He was a Joseon dynasty official and became a righteous army leader during the 1592–1598 Imjin War. He was killed in the second siege of Jinju in 1593. ...

in the second siege of Jinju.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Kyŏngmyŏng People of the Imjin War 16th-century Korean poets People from Gwangju Joseon jangwon