All Topics  
Siege of Busan

 
Siege of Busan

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Siege of Busan
 
 
  Topics Siege of Busan Topic Home

The Siege of Busan was a battle fought at Busan
Busan

Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest seaport city in South Korea. Busan has a population of 3.65 million and is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul....
 on April 13th-14th, 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. Along with Tadaejin
Battle of Tadaejin

The Battle of Dadaejin, along with the Siege of Busan, was one of the first battles of the Japanese invasions of Korea . The Siege of Busan and the Battle of Dadaejin occurred almost simultaneously....
, Busan was the site of the first battle in the Imjin War. This battle marked the beginning of a long, terrible war on the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan on the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water....
.

stablish a bridgehead and control Busan
Busan

Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest seaport city in South Korea. Busan has a population of 3.65 million and is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul....
 shores, a strategy was planned based on So Yoshitoshi
So Yoshitoshi

So Yoshitoshi was a So clan daimyo of the island Tsushima Fuchu Domain at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo....
's local knowledge. It consisted of dividing their forces and leading simultaneous attacks against the main castle, and subsidiary harbour forts of Tadaejin
Battle of Tadaejin

The Battle of Dadaejin, along with the Siege of Busan, was one of the first battles of the Japanese invasions of Korea . The Siege of Busan and the Battle of Dadaejin occurred almost simultaneously....
 and Seopyeongpo.

Early on the morning of April 13th (according to Lunar Calendar) May 24, 1592 (Gregorian Calendar), So Yoshitoshi
So Yoshitoshi

So Yoshitoshi was a So clan daimyo of the island Tsushima Fuchu Domain at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo....
 attacked within the main city walls of Busan, while Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Japanese Christian daimyo under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryusa.In 1587, during the Invasion of Kyushu, he quelled the local uprising in Higo province and was awarded a fief in that province....
 led the assault on the harbour fort of Tadaejin.

The Japanese overwhelmed the Korean defences by scaling the walls under cover of the arquebuses.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Siege of Busan'
Start a new discussion about 'Siege of Busan'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Siege of Busan was a battle fought at Busan
Busan

Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest seaport city in South Korea. Busan has a population of 3.65 million and is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul....
 on April 13th-14th, 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. Along with Tadaejin
Battle of Tadaejin

The Battle of Dadaejin, along with the Siege of Busan, was one of the first battles of the Japanese invasions of Korea . The Siege of Busan and the Battle of Dadaejin occurred almost simultaneously....
, Busan was the site of the first battle in the Imjin War. This battle marked the beginning of a long, terrible war on the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan on the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water....
.

Prelude

To establish a bridgehead and control Busan
Busan

Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest seaport city in South Korea. Busan has a population of 3.65 million and is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul....
 shores, a strategy was planned based on So Yoshitoshi
So Yoshitoshi

So Yoshitoshi was a So clan daimyo of the island Tsushima Fuchu Domain at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo....
's local knowledge. It consisted of dividing their forces and leading simultaneous attacks against the main castle, and subsidiary harbour forts of Tadaejin
Battle of Tadaejin

The Battle of Dadaejin, along with the Siege of Busan, was one of the first battles of the Japanese invasions of Korea . The Siege of Busan and the Battle of Dadaejin occurred almost simultaneously....
 and Seopyeongpo.

Early on the morning of April 13th (according to Lunar Calendar) May 24, 1592 (Gregorian Calendar), So Yoshitoshi
So Yoshitoshi

So Yoshitoshi was a So clan daimyo of the island Tsushima Fuchu Domain at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo....
 attacked within the main city walls of Busan, while Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Japanese Christian daimyo under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryusa.In 1587, during the Invasion of Kyushu, he quelled the local uprising in Higo province and was awarded a fief in that province....
 led the assault on the harbour fort of Tadaejin.

The Japanese overwhelmed the Korean defences by scaling the walls under cover of the arquebuses. This new technology destroyed the Koreans on the walls. Again and again the Japanese would win battles with arquebuses (Korea would not begin to train with these protomuskets until the Korean General Kim Shi-min forged them at a Korean armory).

The Koreans retreated to the second line of defence after the surprise attack of So Yoshitoshi. General Jeong Bal
Jeong Bal

Jeong Bal was a Korean colonel who was placed command over a garrison at Busan port. He was killed in action in 1592 while defending the garrison from elements of the Japanese vanguard, led by the Christian warlord Konishi Yukinaga....
 (Hangul
Hangul

Hangul is the native alphabet of the Korean language, as distinguished from the logogram Sino-Korean vocabulary hanja system. It was created in the mid-fifteenth century, and is now the official writing system of both North Korea and South Korea, being co-official in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of China....
: ??, Hanja
Hanja

Hanja is the Korean language name for Chinese characters. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese language and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation....
 :??) regrouped the Korean archers and counterattacked. By now, the Koreans had retreated to the third line of defence. After hours of fighting, the Koreans ran out of arrows. The Japanese were taking losses and regrouped to attack again.

General Jeong Bal was shot and killed. Morale fell amongst the Korean soldiers and the main castle was overrun at around 9:00 in the morning--nearly all of Busan's fighting force was killed. The Japanese massacred the remaining garrison and noncombatants. Not even animals were spared. Yoshitoshi ordered his soldiers to loot and burn valuable items.

The Japanese army now occupied Busan. For the next several years Busan would be a supply depot for the Japanese. The Japanese continued to supply troops and food across the sea to Busan until Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-sin

Yi Sun-sin , also commonly transliterated Yi Soon-shin or Lee Sun-shin, Korean language: ???) was a Korean naval commander noted for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Japanese invasions of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty....
 attacked Busan with his navy.

Aftermath

With the fall of Busan Castle, the First Division of the Japanese Army completed its first objective, but there was one more thing to do to secure their bridgehead, because a few miles to the north of Busan lay the fortress of Dongnae. Early next morning, So Yoshitoshi led his wearied troops to attack the mountain fortress of Dongnae. These series of lightning-like attacks marked the beginning of the Seven Year War
Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea

Two Japanese invasions of Korea and subsequent battles on the Korean peninsula took place from 1592 to 1598. Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the newly unified Japan into the first invasion with the professed goal of conquering Korea, the Jurchens, Ming Dynasty China, and India....
.

See also

  • Castles in Korea


External links