Discussion On Gwon Ryul's Anti-Japanese Activities During The Japanese Invasions Of Korea

Gwon Ryul(1537-1599)was a Korean Army Marshal and the Commander-in-chief of Korea,who successfully led the Korean forces against Japan during the Japanese invasions of Korea and as known with Yi Sun-sin are two supreme Korean generals.When the Japanese forces invaded Korea in 1592,Gwon was appointed the mayor of Gwangju,Jeolla province and given the military command of the region.Gwon and his troops followed his commander Yi Gwang and headed towards Seoul to join the main force.However,Yi was eventually defeated by Japanese at Yongin.At the beginning of the war Gwon has commanded the Battle of Ichi,Doksan and Haengju,which defeated the Japanese troops with a force inferior in number and inspired the great will of combating the invaders of the Korean army and the people.After the second Japanese invasions of Korea in the year of 1597,the Korean navy was defeated in the battle of Chilcheollyang,Kwon recommended Yi Sun-sin to rebuilt the Korean navy and won the battle of Myeongnyang afterwards.Gwon organized japanese military strategy for marching north overland and planned to combat the Japanese with Ming Dynasty.Not long after Toyotomi Hideyoshi died the Japanese started to withdraw the army from Korea.After the war,Gwon retired from all of his posts;he died in July 1599.After his death,he was given the posthumous title of Yeongui jeong,and awarded the title of the Ildung Seonmu Gongshin along with Yi Sun-sin and Won Kyun,the most prestigious award for the generals who fought during Japanese invasions of Korea.Gwon is remembered in Korean history as one of Korea' s most successful and patriotic military commanders.This paper takes the anti-Japanese War of Gwon as the main line and discuss the anti-Japanese struggle by Korean army and people with Ming Dynasty in depth,to look through this international war in East Asia from a microscopic perspective.This paper is divided into three parts:introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction part introduces the purposes,significance,research status and research methods.The main body includes four chapters.In the second chapter I state the Gwon's lifetime and his early anti-Japanese activities,which includes the following there parts:First part is the introduction of Gwon's birth and growing experience before the outbreak of Japanese Invasion in 1594;In the second part I discuss the reason why Yeonguijeong Yu Seongryong recommend Gwon after the outbreak of Japanese Invasion;The third part is the sketch of Gwon's recruitment activities in Jeolla.The third chapter states the Gwon's military activity during the Japanese Invasion in 1594 centers on the Battle of Ichi,the Siege of Doksan and the Battle of Haengju.Based on the analysis of the battles'background,results and meaning to evaluate the nature of three battles and the role of Ming's army in a objective and fair way.The fourth chapter states Gwon's anti-Japanese activities during the second Japanese Invasion in 1597.Base on the analyse of the cause of war I focus on discussing the appointment of Yi Sun-sin and the combined operation with Ming's army.Although as the supreme commander of Korea during the second Japanese Invasion Gwon has not gained more victory in the war,but he led the Korean army and people to fight with Ming Dynasty.The fifth chapter states the end of war and the great achievement of Gwon.In the last of conclusion I evaluate Gwon's merits and demerits during Japanese Invasion comprehensively as well as revealing his precious spiritual wealth that is left to the posterity.