Imjin namhaeng illok (Daily Record of a Journey South in 1592)

O Hŭimun ( 1539–1613), Michael C. E. Finch

Acta Koreana, Volume 22, Number 2, December 2019, pp. 369-398 (Article)

Published by Keimyung University, Academia Koreana

For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756395

[ Access provided at 25 Sep 2021 17:10 GMT with no institutional affiliation ] ACTA KOREANA Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019: 369–398

Imjin namhaeng illok 壬辰南行日錄 (Daily Record of a Journey South in 1592)

By O HŬIMUN (吳希文 1539–1613) Translated, annotated, and introduced by MICHAEL C. E. FINCH

O Hŭimun (吳希文 1539–1613), the author of “Daily Record of a Journey South in 1592” (Imjin namhaeng illok 壬辰南行日錄), was a scion of the Haeju O ssi (descent group) and his gravesite can be found today at Osan-li, Mohyŏn-myŏn, Yongin, Kyŏnggi Province. Although O Hŭimun never rose to political prominence or even passed the civil service examination, he was the father of O Yun’gyŏm (吳允謙 1559–1636), who acted as Korea’s “communication envoy” (t’ongsinsa 通信使) to Japan in 1617 some twenty years after the conclusion of the Japanese invasions of Korea at the end of the sixteenth century. O Yun’gyŏm eventually rose to the position of chief state councilor (yŏngŭijŏng 領議政) in the reign of King Injo (r. 1623–1649). O Hŭimun was also the grandfather of O Talche (吳達濟1609–1637), who as one of the “three learned gentlemen” (samhaksa 三學士) was executed at the age of twenty-eight for his opposition to Chosŏn’s peace negotiations with the invading Manchu forces in 1636 (Pyŏngja horan 丙子胡亂).1 Although finally attaining the junior ninth rank post of supervisor in the office of carpentry and works (sŏn’gonggam kamyŏk 繕工監監役) through the influence of his son O Yun’gyŏm at court, O Hŭimun has earned his place in the history of the Chosŏn era as one of the pre-eminent diarists of the Imjin War (1592–1598) period. His diary Swaemirok (瑣尾錄 Record of a refugee), which was registered as Treasure No. 1096 by the government of the Republic of Korea in 1991, provides a vivid first-hand account of the experience of a civilian and his family during the war, thus complementing the better known Nanjung ilgi (亂中日記 War diary), a record of the naval campaigns of Yi Sunsin (舜臣 1545–1598) and Chingbirok (懲毖 錄 Book of corrections), political reflections on the same period by the chief state councilor Yu Sŏngnyong (柳成龍 1542–1607).2

MICHAEL C. E. FINCH ([email protected]) is a professor in the Department of Korean Studies, Keimyung University, Korea. 1 For a genealogy for O Hŭimun see Appendix A at the end of this translation. 2 English translations of these works are Yi Sunsin, Nanjung ilgi (The War Diaries of Admiral Yi), translated by Ha Tae-hung (Seoul: Yonsei University Press, 1977); Yu Sŏngnyong, The Book of Corrections: Reflections on the National Crisis during the Japanese Invasion of Korea: 1592–1598, translated by Choi Byonghyon (Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2002). A recent valuable addition to these translations of materials relating to the Imjin War is JaHyun Kim Haboush and Kenneth R. Robinson eds. and trans., A Korean 370 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

O Hŭimun began writing his diary several months before the onset of the Japanese invasion of 1592 (Imjin waeran) on the twenty-seventh day of the second lunar month of 1591 (Sinmyo) and continued until the twenty-seventh day of the second lunar month of 1601 (Sinch’uk). The diary comprises a total of seven books. The first book (121 pages) contains the “Imjin namhaeng illok” (Daily record of a journey south in 1592), which is translated in full here, and the “Imjin illok” (Daily record of the year 1592). The second and third books (113 and 121 pages) cover the lunar years 1593 (Kyesa) and 1594 (Kabo) respectively. The fourth book (194 pages) contains the records of the lunar years 1595 (Ŭlmi), 1596 (Pyŏngsa) and the first lunar month of 1597 (Chŏngyu). The fifth book (63 pages) covers the second month to the eighth lunar month of 1597, and the sixth book (86 pages) contains the records for the ninth to twelfth lunar month of 1597 and the lunar year 1598 (Musul). The seventh and final book (117 pages) contains the records for the lunar years 1599 (Kihae), 1600 (Kyŏngja), and from the first day of the first lunar month until the twenty-seventh day of the second lunar month of 1601 (Sinch’uk) when O Hŭimun and his family finally returned to their home in Seoul. The title O Hŭimun gave to the complete work Swaemirok 瑣尾錄 is a literary reference to a line from the ode “Mao qiu” (K. Mogu: Banner Hill) in the Classic of Poetry (Shijing 詩 經), which is described by the translator James Legge as a “complaint of the ministers of Le against those of Wei for not assisting them.”3 The relevant line in the poem is “Fragments and a remnant, / Children of dispersion [are we].” (C. Suoxi weixi liuli zhi zi; K. Swaehye mihye yuri chi cha). “Swae” (C. suo 瑣) meaning “fragment” and “mi” (C. wei 尾) meaning “remnant” are combined to form “Swaemirok” (literally “Fragment, remnant record”), which I have translated based on its original context in the Classic of Poetry, as “Record of a refugee.” The first section of Swaemirok translated here is titled, “Imjin namhaeng illok” (Daily record of a journey south in 1592) and comprises a record of O Hŭimun’s journey from his home in Seoul southwards through Kyŏnggi, Ch’ungch’ŏng and Chŏlla Provinces and describes his experiences travelling, sightseeing, and visiting relatives, including his younger married sister’s family at Hwanggye on the south coast of Chŏlla Province and his brother- in-law Yi Pin in Changsu north of Namwŏn in the same province. It is during these travels that on the sixteenth day of the fourth lunar month of 1592 O Hŭimun first hears of the Japanese invasion force that had landed at Pusan three days earlier on the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month. His leisurely travel itinerary is thrown into confusion as he receives news of the Japanese forces’ rapid progress northwards to Seoul and Pyŏngyang, making the usual routes of travel impassable.4 As a consequence, O Hŭimun is

War Captive in Japan, 1597–1600: The Writings of Kang Hang (New York: Columbia University Press, 2013). Kang Hang (1567–1618), like O Hŭimun, was a non-combatant in the war, but he was less fortunate insofar as he was captured by the Japanese during the second invasion of 1597 and held captive in Japan until 1600. For the best overall account of the Imjin War in English, see Samuel Hawley, The Imjin War: Japan’s Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China (Seoul: RAS-KB and IEAS University of California Berkeley, 2005). 3 See “Maou-k‘ew” (Mao qiu 旄丘) (Legge 1871, 59–60). 4 For a complete list of the places that O Hŭimun visited during his travels recorded in the “Imjin namhaeng illok,” see Appendix B at the end of this translation. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 371 separated from his elderly mother, wife and children, who he had left behind in Seoul, and is forced to stay at Changsu in Chŏlla Province under the protection of the local magistrate, his brother-in-law, Yi Pin, and later to flee to the nearby Mt. Yŏngch’wi 靈( 鷲山) as the Japanese forces encroach into the region. As a “diary of situation” “Imjin namhaeng illok” provides an invaluable insight into a civilian’s response to the onset of the Japanese invasion of 1592.5 O Hŭimun recounts his daily concerns for the safety of his own family and even for that of the memorial tablets of his ancestors. Due to his closeness to the local administration because of his family ties to the local magistrate Yi Pin, O Hŭimun is also relatively well-informed about the progress of the war. He records his feelings of indignation and humiliation at the news of the collapse of Chosŏn’s land forces in the face of the Japanese assaults, which were exacerbated by the ignominious flight of King Sŏnjo 宣祖( 1552–1608) from Seoul to P’yŏngyang and then to Ŭiju on the southern bank of the Yalu River. He was somewhat assuaged, however, by reports of the naval victories of Yi Sunsin and the exploits of the righteous armies (ŭibyŏng 義兵). The diary is not primarily a political commentary on the progress of the war but rather is filled with intimate details of O’s personal life and interpersonal relations, especially his interactions with members of his own yangban (gentry) class. Throughout the diary we can clearly see the importance of the mutual support system of this class in Chosŏn, which became a vital means of survival in a time of crisis. This translation of the first section of the diary “Imjin namhaeng illok” is based on the printed version of the original text in classical Chinese that has been made available on-line by the Jangseogak Royal Archives at the Academy of Korean Studies.6 In carrying out this translation, I have been greatly assisted by the Korean translation of Swaemirok undertaken by Yi Minsu and published in two volumes by the Ch’ut’an kongp’a chongch’inhoe in 1990.7

Daily Record of a Journey South in 1592

At dawn on the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh lunar month (chiwŏl 至月) of 1591, I departed from the capital (Seoul) and spent the night at the village school (sŏdang 書堂) of Yi Kyŏngyŏ (李敬輿).8 On the following day I arrived at a farming village (nongch’on 農村) in Yangsan (陽山) in order to prepare provisions for the journey.

5 A “diary of situation” is a term coined by the American historian Steven E. Kagle to denote diaries that document unusual events such as journeys or wars (Kagle 1986, 3). 6 This printed version was originally published in two volumes by the Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe (O Hŭimun 1962) and Swaemirok (Jangseogak Royal Archives, 31.01.19, http://yoksa.aks.ac.kr/main.jsp). The on-line version also provides photographic reproductions of the original manuscript. 7 For additional bibliographical information on Swaemirok and biographical information on its author, see Sŏ (1992, 75–96);­ Finch (2009, 55–77). 8 The Yi Kyongyŏ mentioned here does not appear to be the mid-Chosŏn scholar Paekkang (白江) Yi Kyŏngyŏ (李敬輿, 1585–1657), a seventh generation descendant of King Sejong and the author of Paekkangjip (白江集), as he would only have been six years of age in 1591. 372 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

I departed early on the next day and arrived at the country house (nongsŏ 農墅) of a deceased friend Pyŏn Sinjin (邊伸珍) at Chiksan (稷山). At that moment, the slave (no 奴) Ŏjildong (於叱同) who had served Sinjin (伸珍) saw me coming, promptly welcomed me, and provided me with a warm room to sleep in. He treated me as though I were his master. It must be said that he is a good slave, and I naturally felt sad and moved in my heart.9 I left early in the following morning and entered Mangilsa (望日寺 Viewing the Sun Temple).10 After eating breakfast there, I proceeded toward Mokch’ŏn (木川). Midway [through the journey] it happened to rain, and with difficulty I arrived at the local administrative office (imso 任所). Just at that moment Kim T’aesuk (金太淑) and Cho Chaok also (趙子玉) arrived there. The county magistrate (t’aesu 太守) Cho Hyŏngyŏn (趙瑩然) heard that I had arrived and immediately came out of the magistrate’s office (ahŏn 衙軒). Together with T’aesuk and Chaok we unburdened our hearts to one another. So I stayed there for three days. We enjoyed ourselves, and as I drank so much that I became inebriated, I left and went to rest in my sleeping quarters. They entertained me in a very generous way. Hyŏngyŏn is my cousin by marriage (injong 姻從), and because we lived together from when we were young, our affection [for one another] is the deepest. Chaok is Hyŏngyŏn’s younger brother (moje 母 弟). Also, because we have been friends since we were young, he provided me with plentiful supplies for my journey. I left early on the following day, but because of the heavy snow that had fallen on the previous day, the road was arduous, and when it was almost sunset, I went to Im Soyŏl (任少說), the county magistrate (hyŏn’gam 縣監) of Yŏn’gi (燕岐). Soyŏl is also my cousin by marriage (injong 姻從). In the end, because of the absence of the magistrate (t’aesu 太守), he was so busy that we were unable to meet each other, which was annoying. On the following day I ate breakfast on the banks of the Kŭm River (錦江) and slept at my lodgings. Because a mixture of rain and snow had fallen during the night, when we departed the road was muddy and difficult. As a consequence we arrived at the entrance (chŏnwŏn 煎院) to Ŭnjin (恩津) when the sun was already setting. First of all, we looked for somewhere to sleep, but because there were so few houses we were afraid of robbers. We pressed on recklessly through the night, therefore, to the entrance of Yŏsan-gun (礪山郡). Because it was night time, every house was already filled with travelers. There was no place to stay, but finally we found an empty house where the householder welcomed me and served me some wine. We had just finished drinking when an upset slave came running in and started arguing with the householder, who was drunk. This caused a great commotion. I chastised the slave severely, calmed down the drunken householder, and with difficulty managed to separate them. We wanted to move to another house, but because it was by then so late at

9 Concerning the term nobi (奴婢) used to designate male slaves (no 奴) and female slaves (pi 婢), who belonged to the lowest social class in Chosŏn, Kichung Kim writes, “What should the nobi be called in English? Slaves, serfs, or servants? They were one or the other, or all three, their individual status varying not only with the place and time of their bondage but also with the particular character of the relationship between the individual nobi and his master” (Kim 2004, 108–109). 10 Mangil (望日) also refers to the fifteenth day of the month, during the night of which the full moon appears, in the lunar calendar. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 373 night, we had to stay where we were. On the following day, I went to the house of Song Insu (宋仁叟), and we unburdened our hearts to one another for a long time. After eating breakfast, I went to lodge in the home of the magistrate (chuin) of Changsu (長水) outside the south gate of Wansan-bu (完山府). On the following day I arrived at the house of a local conscript soldier (chijŏngbyŏng 地正 兵) from Chinan (鎭安) Kim Yunbo (金允輔) and lodged there. He is from Changsu, too. He served soju (paekchu 白酒) to me. On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, we arrived at Chungdaesa (中臺寺 Central Dais Temple) and after eating breakfast, finally arrived at Changch’ŏn-hyŏn (長川縣). Everyone from the local government office greeted me warmly, and for several days in a row, I was able to unburden all my pent-up emotions to them all night long. [Changch’ŏn (長川) is in fact Changsu-hyŏn (長水縣) and the county magistrate (hyŏn’gam 縣監) is Yi Pin (李贇), whose courtesy name is Chami (子美), a fifth generation descendant of Chŏhŏn 樗軒( ) and the brother-in-law of O Hŭimun.] On the eighth day I had received some tribute items and sent them to my home with a slave and the horses, who returned after the twentieth day of the first month of this year. In order to rest the horses, I only went to Hwanggan (黃澗) after the tenth day of the second month. Hwanggan is the hometown of my maternal grandparents. After leaving Changch’ŏn, I arrived at the home of the Im family (任內) at Changgye (長溪) and spent the night there. Instead of sleeping, Chong Yun (宗胤) visited me with some other people and then departed. On the following day I arrived at Muju (茂朱). When I first entered the road leading into the prefecture (hyŏn 縣), I heard that the deputy envoy (asa 亞使) to this province (to 道) is staying in this prefecture to inspect the military forces. Consequently, I left and slept at the house of the slave Insu (仁守). On the following day we passed Muju (茂朱) and arrived at the house of my maternal uncle (samch’on 三寸) from Yŏngdong (永同), who was critically ill with symptoms of edema (pujŭng 浮症). Many of my cousins had gathered there, and we were extremely glad to see each other, but we were unable to enjoy ourselves together because of my uncle’s illness. I stayed [at my maternal uncle’s home] for one day and then proceeded to the home of Nam Paegwŏn (南百源) of Hwanggye (黃溪). Paegwŏn is my elder cousin, and as we were raised together by my maternal aunt (oemo 外母) in our childhood, our affection is like that of “bone and flesh” koryuk( 骨肉). On being able to meet again at last after having been separated from one another for fifteen years, my heart was filled with a mixture of happiness and sadness. Upon returning to my hometown, as soon as I saw everything I felt filled with emotion. Living and dying are different [for everyone] in this world, and my tears fell of their own accord in a release of emotion. While staying there for several days, I visited the mountain graves of my maternal grandparents, and as I thought of the kindness of all their efforts in raising me in the past, tears fell without my realizing it. I was born in this countryside and was raised by my maternal aunt, whose kindness was as boundless as that of my own mother. I offered the remaining cup of wine [as a libation] 374 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 before the graves of my maternal aunt and uncle. I also received much kindness from my uncle and aunt who protected and nurtured me when I was a child, and between them both, my uncle who was a local military official ch’ŏmsa( 僉使)11 was the most warm-hearted. Because of this I had prepared the sacrificial offerings in Changch’ŏn and brought them with me. At this time my elder relative (hyŏng 兄) Nam Chasun (南子順) was in Kŭmnŭng (金 陵), and when he heard that I had come, he sent me a horse so that we could meet. For this reason, I went there and slept during the day in one room and then stayed up until dawn unburdening my heart. Chasun (子順) hyŏng is also one of my maternal cousins, and as we played together when we were young, we are of one mind and are united in spirit. Consequently, our affection for one another is even greater than our affection for our other cousins. Meeting here now, we feel double the happiness. My host’s wife also came out to see me, and their daughters came forward and bowed. Their appearance was upright and pure and their actions graceful. They are truly worthy of the name of “modest, retiring, and virtuous young ladies” (yojo sungnyŏ, 窈窕淑女).12 They [Chasun and his wife] said that they had selected a match for their eldest daughter and that she was now married. I returned to Hwanggye (黃溪) together with Chasun hyŏng. On the twenty-fourth day it is Hansik (寒食).13 On the second day after I arrived here, I sent a slave to Sŏngsan (星山) to collect tribute (kong 貢). After staying there a long time, on the way back I went to the house of my maternal uncle from Yŏngdong (永同) and found that his illness had worsened. How will he be able to survive such life-threatening symptoms at the age of eighty-four? On the following day I arrived back in Muju-hyŏn and climbed to Hanp’ungnu (寒風樓 Cold Wind Pavilion). The stream Changch’ŏn (長川) flows in front of the pavilion. I slept at Samch’ŏnggak (三淸閣 Three-purity Pavilion), and the pavilion was very pure and clean. This place was so refreshing, it seemed to reawaken my spirit. It was just as if I had climbed up to the abode of a Daoist immortal (sinsŏn 神仙). It has already been many years since I first heard about the charms of Samch’ŏnggak, so coming here now and seeing it has satisfied a long-held desire. The only pity was that I was not accompanied by someone with whom I could appreciate [the scenery] together. The magistrate sent me breakfast and supper. This was because of Chami’s letter [to the magistrate]. Early on the following day I returned again to my slave Insu’s house to tell him the reason why the inheritance had been shared. Insu and his niece (och’on chilyŏ 五寸姪女) were apportioned to us as part of our inheritance. All the slaves (nobi 奴婢) there became separated, and many of them went to my cousin in Yŏngdong. I was very pleased to hear that they had now been shared out and were living [with different members of our family].

11 A short form of ch’ŏmjŏlchesa (僉節制使). 12 This expression “modest, retiring, and virtuous young lady” (K. yojo sungnyŏ; C. yiaotiao shunu 窈窕淑女), embodying the Confucian ideal of womanhood, is from the Classic of Poetry and is repeated no less than four times in the poem in which it appears. See “The Odes of Chow and the South,” Gwan ts‘eu (Gwan ju 關雎 Osprey) (Legge, 1871, 1–5). 13 Hansik (lit. cold food) is a traditional holiday in the lunar calendar that falls on the 105th day after the winter solstice. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 375

After eating breakfast I went to the house of Son Inŭi (孫仁義) Tŏngnam (德男) in Changgye (長溪) and lodged there. In the morning of the next day Lord Son (Son kong 孫 公) gave me some dried meat (p’o 脯) he had prepared. This was for the anniversary of the passing of my maternal grandparents on the twenty-ninth day [of the second lunar month]. On this day I returned to Changch’ŏn-hyŏn. On the second day of the third lunar month the southern defense inspector (namch’albang kunsil 南察訪君實) received news from Puan (扶安) that his mother was seriously ill. He hurried to Puan, but a letter soon arrived announcing her death, and so he returned home for her funeral. I was overcome with sadness at this. On the seventeenth day of this month all the local administrative officials climbed to Mangunjŏng (望雲亭 Viewing Clouds Pavilion) to watch the troops practice strategic maneuvers (chinbŏp 陣法). Afterwards a small table of wine was prepared, and as I became extremely inebriated, I went back [to the place where I was staying]. It is said that when So Kongsu (蘇公遂) became the magistrate (t’aesu) here, he gave this pavilion its name because of his longing for his parents. The difference between the [pavilion’s] name and the actual place is ridiculous. On the morning of the eighteenth day, I started out on the journey south. I arrived at Yongsŏng-bu (龍城府) and lodged at a private home inside the east gate. The local magistrate (t’ongpan 通判) came out and sent food for the morning and evening meals for myself and my slaves. When it was still not that late at night, a fire broke out within the gates of the house, and even the rooms on both sides of the gate were burned down. The flames were so bright that it seemed like daylight outside the windows. Shocked, I flung on my clothes and barely escaped by climbing over the wall of a neighboring house. The travel supplies for my horses and slaves were almost all burned to ashes. In the end, as there was no wind, and the people exerted themselves in providing assistance, we were just able to avoid [a major disaster]. I heard that because the householder is a domestic slave of a chief councilor (chaesang 宰相), he trusted too much in his own power. Consequently, many people resented him because of his evil conduct, and for this reason this disaster befell him. In the morning of the following day, I headed south from the city. After passing Ojakkyo (烏鵲橋 Magpie Bridge),14 I intended to visit the clear scenery of Kwanghan (廣寒),15 but because I heard that the district magistrate (pusa 府使) had gone there, I went no further. Upon reaching the Koksŏng (谷城) region, I lodged for the night at the pavilion of the scholar (sain 士人) Sin Taech’un (申大椿). The large river that flows in front of the pavilion is a branch of the Naktong River (Naksu 洛水).16 It is said that this pavilion was given the name

14 The mythical bridge formed by a flock of magpies across the Milky Way enabling Kyŏnu (牽牛 Cowherd), symbolizing the star Altair, and Chingnyŏ (織女 Weaving maid), symbolizing the star Vega, to meet each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. 15 Kwanghan (廣寒) refers to the pavilion Kwanghallu (廣寒樓) in Namwŏn (南原). Ojakkyo and Kwanghallu provide the setting for Yi Mongnyong’s first encounter with Ch’unhyang in the pansori classic Ch’unhyang ka (Song of Ch’unhyang). 16 O Hŭimun appears to have mistaken the Sŏmjin River (蟾津江), which flows past Namwŏn through Chŏlla-do, for the Naktong River (洛東江), which he refers to by its Chosŏn era name “Naksu” (洛水), which flows through 376 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

Nŭngp’ajŏng (凌波亭 Approaching Wave Pavilion) because there is a large meadow to the south and a rocky bank to the north with the river flowing through the center. Lord Sin (Sin kong 申公) is in fact the younger brother of the man of letters (munin 文人) Sin Taesu (申大壽), who after studying for the civil service examination (kwagŏ 科擧) from a young age, failed to pass it and is now living in the countryside. He said himself that after living in Sunch’ŏn (順 天), he had moved inland because of the Ŭlmyo Incident17 and built his home on the site of a derelict house. He treated me generously and provided me with an evening meal. Because it was raining the following day, I was unable to go far. But I did cross the Naktong River (Naksu 洛水)18 and visited Songgwangsa (松廣寺 Spreading Pine Temple) in Chogyesan (曹溪山). Songgwangsa, in the Sunch’ŏn area, is a temple that is well-known throughout the southern region. I had heard of its fame and had wanted to visit it for a long time.19 I stayed in Ch’imgye-ru (枕溪樓 Pillow Creek Tower), which faces the mirror hall (kyŏngdang 鏡堂). The central hall (chungdang 中堂) has been newly built, and its multicolored decorative painting (tanch’ŏng) is very bright. Bending down to look through the red balustrades (nan’gan), [I could see] the reflection of clear water like a belt, and in the water I could count the fish swimming and felt as though I could grasp the blue wavelets in my hand. The temple room was clean and refreshing so my spirit became clear and reinvigorated. It is said that when the bones are cold the mind becomes clear. Consequently, I was unable to sleep deeply. After eating breakfast on the following day, I arrived at Posŏng-gun (寶城郡). This district is where I used to spend time together with Nam Chasun (南子順), which was more than thirty years ago now. I had intended to go to the place where I had lived in the past, but I was not acquainted with the magistrate (t’aesu), and the gates were firmly closed so I could not enter. I slept in a private house outside the north gate instead. I went to look for senior licentiate (kongsaeng 貢生) Im Hŭiryŏng (林希齡) and was told that he had gone to Seoul. Im (林) is someone with whom I spent time at a temple in Sŏsan (棲山) in the past. I departed early in the morning of the following day and arrived at Changhŭng-bu (長興 府). After resting for a while at a pavilion by a stream near the eastern side of the city walls (sŏngdong 城東), I went into the city and slept at a private house inside the south gate. The magistrate came out [to see me] and sent food that had been prepared with care for myself and my slaves. In the morning of the following day, [the magistrate] met me, and we ate a meal together. The Haenam prefect (海南太守) Lord Pyŏn Ŭngjŏng (邊公 應井) finally came after he had been beaten with fifteen strokes at the special army envoy’s office (sunch’also 巡察所). This

the neighboring province, Kyŏngsang-do. 17 This is a reference to the Ŭlmyo Waebyŏn (乙卯倭變), a large scale Japanese raid on the southwest coast of Chosŏn in 1555. 18 O Hŭimun appears to have mistaken another river for the Naktong River here also. 19 Songgwangsa is one of the “Three Jewels Temples” of Korean Buddhism and represents the sangha (monastic community). The other two are T’ongdosa (通度寺), representing the Buddha, and Haeinsa (海印寺), representing the dharma. Songgwangsa was originally founded in 867, but after falling into disuse, it was re-established by Chinul (知訥 1158–1210) in 1190. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 377 happened because of military problems. When Lord Pyŏn (邊公) was young, he studied for the preliminary civil examination (ch’osi 初試) and passed it several times, but later he studied martial arts and took the military examination. First, he was appointed to the position of palace guard (kŭmwi 禁衛) and was then promoted to a post in Namsŏng (南城). But as he had now suffered the indignity of a beating, he very much regretted having abandoned his career as a civil official. Pyŏn (邊) is in fact related to me by marriage (inch’in 姻親), and even though we had never met until now, his name was familiar to me. When he heard that I had come here, after first sending people to ask how I was, he showed me the utmost courtesy. Subsequently, after I returned to Seoul, he sent various items to the home of Im Kyŏnghŭm (林景欽) for me, including arrows (chŏnjuk 箭竹) and p’yogo (票古 shiitake) mushrooms. He was also a friend of Yun’gyŏm (允謙) [O Hŭimun’s eldest son] when he was a boy. Chungbang (中房) Song Kang (宋江), a petty local official ajŏn( ) who Yun’gyŏm had treated with kindness, also came to see me every day. I sent someone to catch my slave in the town (pu 府), but if I deliver him to be punished, I will not be able to protect him from the local administration. The local government accused his mother of hiding the slave and beat her, but to the end she did not confess. If the local officials govern people with such harsh punishments, I worry that the slave will lose his life. Consequently, I just released him immediately, but my scruples are ridiculous. Because the person called Tŏksu (德守), who hid the slave, appeared himself, it seemed extremely strange. When I asked [he told me that] he now has a position as a low ranking clerical official karajang( 假羅將) at the military barracks (pyŏngyŏng 兵營), and the forced labor he does is extremely difficult, so he wanted to be removed from the list through me. After receiving a personal letter from the provincial governor (pangbaek 方伯), Pak Hyogong (朴孝恭) arrived here from Sunch’ŏn one day ago. We talked about the troublesome slave for several days, helping each other a lot to get over our loneliness as travelers. He set off for Kangjin (康津) ahead of me. Pak (朴) is in fact my second cousin’s son. This district is a large one in the southern region. As soon as the special army envoy (sunch’alsa 巡察使) arrived, the people built fortifications, dug moats, drilled soldiers, mended weapons and herded livestock. They also repaired houses and even cleaned bowls in order to avoid his wrath. But because all this work was undertaken at the same time, it imposed great hardship on the people. Even though the magistrate (t’aesu) and I previously lived in the same village, we had a rather casual acquaintance with one another and originally did not have a close friendship. But this time, as soon as I arrived, he treated me kindly and even gave me money for my journey (noja). After staying here for four days, I departed late and after passing the military barracks (pyŏngyŏng 兵營), I lodged at the house of the magistrate (chuin) of Changsu (長水). The magistrate brought wine and meat and treated me very generously. On hearing a drum being beaten in the fortress, I asked the reason why and was told that it was because the marshal (wŏnsu 元帥) was practicing archery. Buddhist monk soldiers 378 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

(sŭngbyŏng 僧兵) have been gathered together from several districts to build fortifications and dig moats.20 Their shouts to one another as they dragged rocks and lifted them up reverberated through the mountain valleys. If they made the slightest mistake, they were immediately beaten. As a consequence, they all feel tormented and are filled with resentment. On the following day after eating breakfast, I arrived at Yŏngam-gun (靈岩郡). This district is also where my paternal uncle (samch’on) was once the magistrate. My elder cousin (hyŏng) Chasun (子順) and I accompanied him, and we had many very happy times together while staying here for half a year. Coming here now after more than twenty years, I asked Ch’unhwa (春花) at the wine shop about what had happened in the old days, and she told me in detail. As it is already a long time since my uncle passed away, if I think about the past, my heart is filled with feelings of sorrow. When I returned, the prefect (t’aesu) gave me some gifts for my journey. After eating lunch, I went to Ch’irimch’on (鴟林村) the home of my younger sister who is married to a member of the Im (林) descent group. When my younger sister heard that I had arrived, she came out of the middle gate barefooted to see me. As much as we were exceedingly happy, we also felt sad and wept with sorrow as we faced each other. While I stayed there for nine days, we went to Chukto (竹島 Bamboo Island) and relaxed watching the fishing. We went to Togap (道岬 Way Headland) to spend time enjoying splashing [in the water]. In between [these excursions] we met at a pavilion thatched with reeds (mojŏng 茅亭) in front of the house, and I enjoyed playing paduk together with my relatives, the brothers Pak Kyŏngin (朴敬仁) and Pak Sŏnggi (朴成己). In the evening of the day before my departure my younger sister had an ox slaughtered, made side dishes, and provided wine and music. We also sang songs and danced, and after enjoying ourselves immensely we broke up. The people who gathered together at this time included five or six people from the village. The chikchang chonjang (直長 尊丈)21 was the oldest and Ch’ŏnjŏng (天挺) Pak Sangsa (朴 上舍) from Kwangsan (光山) also spent time together enjoying himself with us. His courtesy name (cha 字) is Ŭngsun (應順), and his younger brother Chongjŏng (宗挺) [whose courtesy name is] Ŭngsŏn (應善), moved to this village. He said that his wife was suffering from an illness, which is why he came here. Ŭngsŏn (應善) did not attend because of his wife’s illness. As a leading scholar (kŏbyŏk 巨擘) in the southern region, Ŭngsŏn impressed the royal court on several occasions. It is extremely regrettable, however, that his home is impoverished and his fortune ill-fated. Ŭngsŏn heard that I was travelling back northward, and as his home is on the road to Kwangsan (光山), he invited me to visit him. But because I took the wrong road, I did not pass his house and could not keep my promise [to visit him]. He will definitely

20 In times of crisis Buddhist monks were mobilized into monk armies (sŭngbyŏng 僧兵), and during the Imjin War, under the capable leadership of such senior monks as Hyujŏng (休靜 1520–1604), they proved to be a more disciplined and effective fighting force than the often reluctant conscripts in Chosŏn’s official armies. O Hŭimun’s observation here shows that the monks were already being mobilized for conscript labor even before the outbreak of the war itself. 21 Chikchang chonjang (直長 尊丈): “chikchang” is a low ranking civil official and “chonjang” is a term of respect for someone who is older than the speaker. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 379 not believe me [when I explain this to him]. How shameful and regrettable. For nine days there was not a single day when I did not become inebriated. There was not a day when we were not provided with costly delicacies from the land and the sea, and not only was my own stomach extremely full, but even my slaves’ stomachs were full also because no one wanted to leave any of the delicious food. My sister wanted to treat me with all her heart, but if Im Kyŏnghŭm (林景欽) [i.e. her husband] had not been of the same mind, how could she have done all this on her own? As our siblings are all in Seoul, and only my younger sister is living separately in the south a long distance away from her parents and brothers and sisters, can we be certain that we will ever meet again across a thousand li (里)?22 On the day we parted, my younger sister wept, and I sobbed. We looked at each other without saying a word. When life is like this, how can one not be sad? My sister gave me a parting present of underwear and socks that she had made with her own hands. On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, we suppressed our feelings [of sorrow] and parted. I arrived in the Namp’yŏng (南平) region and lodged in a village house. Because we had taken a short cut, the horse carrying our baggage stumbled into a rice paddy and all our bedding got soaked. On the following day we passed Nŭngsŏng (陵城) and arrived at a raised pavilion (nusang 樓上) at the entrance (chŏnwŏn 前院) of Hwasun-hyŏn (和順縣). While resting, we fed the horses with grain and then continued on to the Kyŏngyang post horse station (Kyŏngyang- yŏk 景陽驛) in Kwangsan (光山) and lodged there overnight. Post station chief (ch’albang 察 訪) Lord Kim Yŏbong (金公汝峰) was not at home because he had just departed to join the entourage of an envoy. In the morning on the following day, we arrived at Ch’angp’yŏng (昌平), but the magistrate of Ch’angp’yŏng (昌平) Sim Sahwa (沈士和), who is in fact my elder second- cousin, was unable to come out at that time because he was ill. With difficulty my name was conveyed to him, and he invited me into the local government office, greeting me while still lying down. Im Chikpo (任直甫) and his nephew Chajang (子張) had also come here because of Sahwa’s illness. As Sahwa’s brothers and relatives by marriage, they were also my friends in my youth. I could not help but be overwhelmed with happiness at meeting them so unexpectedly one thousand li away from home. While spending the night together in a room in the administrative office, we unburdened our hearts to one another all night long. My elder cousin the magistrate (chu hyŏng 主兄) gave me ample travelling expenses. We departed early on the following day and passing Okkwa (玉果), we continued over the Taeryŏng (大嶺) pass, arriving at Yongsŏng-bu (龍城府) at night and slept in the house of the magistrate’s family. We set out again at dawn on the following day, but we had not traveled very far before we stopped by a stream to cook and eat a meal. We also left the horses in a grassy field to feed. The white stones and clear water were extremely lovely and worth seeing. Washing my feet

22 One li is approximately 400 meters. 380 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 and arms to rid myself of the dust made me feel invigorated and happy. We arrived at Subunwŏn (水分院), which is on the boundary of Changsu (長水). After feeding the horses with grain and eating lunch, we galloped to Changch’ŏn (長川) and arrived there before dusk. This day was, in fact, the thirteenth day of this month. I am originally from Seoul, but since I have been a guest here for four or five months, both I and my slaves feel as though everything is familiar. When I came south and looked at this district, it was just like [looking at] my hometown, and now that we have crossed over its border, my heart is also full of joy. Human affection is just like the saying, “Suddenly looking at Bingzhou (幷州)23 [I realized] this is my hometown.” They say Yi Siyun (李時尹) returned to Seoul yesterday. The reason I had galloped all the way here was so that I could arrive before he left. It is very regrettable that I was unable to meet him. On the sixteenth day I heard the news that several hundred Japanese ships (waesŏn 倭船) had appeared at Pusan (釜山). In the evening when I heard that Pusan and Tongnae (東萊) had both fallen, I was overwhelmed with shock. I think that the reason this happened was because the fortress commanders (sŏngju 城主) did not put up a stout defense.24 On the seventeenth day the local county government official hyŏlli( 縣吏) Chŏn Ch’ŏnu (全天祐), while on a trip to Seoul, took letters and some of the items most necessary for performing the ancestral rites to my home. This was because I was worried that my slave would not arrive in time for the ancestral rite on the twenty-ninth day and that this would make my elderly mother anxious. On the nineteenth day I sent two of my slaves on horseback up [to Seoul]. Since then reports of the trouble in Yŏngnam (嶺南 present-day North and South Kyŏngsang Provinces) arrived three times in the evening, and all I heard about was how [our] gallant generals and valiant soldiers scattered if they so much as heard reports of the Japanese army and that large prefectures and stout fortresses have been defeated without even putting up resistance for as long as a single day. The Japanese army has divided and is taking three routes heading towards the capital, traversing mountains, crossing rivers, and entering [the land] just as though it were uninhabited. The two generals Sin25 and Yi26 were trusted by the court and were expected to mount a strong defense. After receiving battle-axes (pu 斧) and halberds (wŏl 鉞), they mounted a defense but were defeated at Chungdo [Chungju]. They were unable to defend the rugged terrain of Choryŏng (鳥嶺 Bird Pass) and as a result the robbers entered Seoul. The king’s chariot (taega 大駕, i.e. the king and his entourage) has fled westwards, and the capital has been left unguarded. How sorrowful. My people (saengnyŏng 生靈) are all shedding their blood at the point of cruel spears, and my elderly mother, wife, and children are fleeing from place to

23 Bingzhou was one of the twelve provinces of ancient China. It covered the areas around present- day Baoding, Hebei, and Taiyuan and Datong in Shanxi. 24 In fact both the Pusan fortress commander Chŏng Pal (鄭撥 1553–1592) and the Tongnae fortress commander Song Sanghyŏn (宋象賢 1551–1592) died bravely as they resisted the Japanese invading forces to the bitter end. 25 Sin Rip (申砬 1546–1592) 26 Yi Il (李鎰 1538–1601) Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 381 place, while all I can do is grieve night and day not knowing whether they are alive or dead. After the two slaves went to Seoul, I heard that cavalry troops (kunma 軍馬) were seizing the horses of people travelling along the highway. When a local official kwanin( 官人) who had been with Siyun (時尹) came back down the road [from Seoul], he met them [the two slaves] along the way at the Ŭnjin (恩津) horse [grazing] meadow (maya 馬野), but as he said he did not hear which way they went after that, I feel even more disconcerted and anxious. If the two slaves arrived at Seoul, they will have been able to take my elderly mother, my wife, and my children away to seek refuge before the enemy crossed the river with their spears. I also heard that after the twenty-seventh day, the capital gates (tomun 都文) were firmly closed so that it was impossible to enter or leave and that at dawn on the last day of the month his majesty abandoned the royal ancestral shrine (chongmyo 宗廟) to go on an inspection tour. On the third day of the fifth lunar month, they say that the robbers entered the capital and that in the meantime for two or three days all the yangban men and women of Seoul were struggling to leave through the city gate, trampling on one another and even killing one another, or that they lost each other in the melee and died. As this is just hearsay, it is impossible to know whether it is true or not, but as it seems quite likely, I cannot stop myself lamenting bitterly. If His Majesty (chusang 主上) had defended the capital stoutly and commanded his generals to defend [the city] and block [the enemy] by patrolling up and down the river and constructing many wooden barricades after first sinking all the boats to cut off that route, then no matter how strong and fierce the robbers might be, they still could not possibly have swiftly traversed the river.27 Not using this strategy here but just retreating of his own accord and running away is extremely regrettable. Furthermore, my elderly mother and my wife and children have never been in the outside world in their entire lives. If they had to flee in a single morning, they would not know which way to walk, so I do not know whether they might not be huddled together weeping somewhere along the way. When I think like this, I wish that I had just died and did not know anything about what is happening. I have faith in one thing that gives me some comfort and that is that my two sons would definitely have escaped in advance. Then again, when I think about it, my elderly mother and my wife and children do not know that I am safe, and they will surely think that I have died. As Yunsŏng (尹誠) (O Hŭimun’s fourth and youngest son) is at the home of his wife’s family in Haesŏ (海西),28 he will not know whether his parents are alive or dead and will undoubtedly be weeping, which is extremely sorrowful. At an early age, when I read in history books about how in the midst of a crisis people fled to the east and to the west with everyone trying to save their own lives, and parents, wives and children, brothers and sisters, and relatives being unable to protect each other, I would close the book with an aching heart. How could I have known that I would be facing just such a situation today? At the moment there are no urgent matters in this prefecture, and we have food to eat in

27 In his diary entries O Hŭimun refers to the Japanese troops simply as “robbers” (chŏk 賊). 28 Present-day Hwanghae Province. 382 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 the morning and in the evening as in the past. On the other hand, when I think of my elderly mother, wife, and children’s situation on some mountain, eking out a living, starving and crying together, I get a lump in my throat and weep. Tears flow into one another. How can I bear to raise my spoon and swallow? Oh Heaven! Oh Earth! How awful! How truly awful! I heard from a person from Yŏngnam29 that the island barbarians (toi 島夷: i.e. the Japanese) dreamed up this calamity, and even though the people’s hearts were not in it, there was no one who could resist it. From the beginning of last year the governor (pangbaek 方 伯) of this province Kim Su (金晬) coerced many of the people of the southern region to build fortifications that they could not defend, and even by this spring they had been unable to complete this forced labor. As a result, they had missed the ploughing and planting seasons and felt resentful, and as a consequence the streets were filled with the sounds of complaining. What was worse, the people even composed a song (kayo 歌謠) that went like this, “Even if we build high fortress walls, who can easily defend them from the enemy? A fortress is not a fortress; the true fortress is the people.” In order to encourage respect among his soldiers, the military commander of Kyŏngsang Province (chwado pyŏngsa 左道兵使) Sin Rip (申砬) boiled a large cudgel in water, and wherever he went, he administered severe punishments [with it]. As an extremely large number of the people who were beaten [with it] died, all the people awaited the arrival of the enemy with angry and bitter hearts. Consequently in a single morning when the crisis happened, not one person exerted himself to deal with the threat, defeat the robbers, and sweep away the shame of His Majesty (kunbu 君父). Instead they ran away into the woods and marshes to save their lives for the time being. This is not just happening in the Yŏngnam region. The people’s attitude in this province is just the same. Before the troops are called up, their minds are already filled with confusion and defeatism, lies are spread, and the people do not have a strong will. In advance they bury their possessions in the ground and move to a different place, or they wait for the robbers to come and then run away to avoid them. People whose names are in the military register (pyŏngjŏk 兵籍) generally either stay at home and then run away ahead of time or desert along the way. I also heard that the vice-prefect (t’ongp’an 通判) of Wansan (完山) Yi Sŏngim (李聖 任) stationed troops at Uju (牛朱) granary (ch’ang 倉) but that they were routed in a single morning, and former special army officer chŏnch’ŏmsa( 前僉使) Paek Kwangŏn (白光彦) took command of the troops at Kŭmgu-hyŏn (金溝縣), but that these troops all ran away. This is a sad situation. As the people’s mind is like this, how can someone like Kongming (孔明)30 emerge again to deal with this situation? It is a truly wretched state of affairs. The other day the special army envoy (sunch’alsa 巡察使), on the orders of the king, mustered troops at Kongsan (公山) and took over the command. Upon hearing that His Majesty had fled from the palace, the special army envoy disbanded the troops and departed.

29 Present-day North and South Kyŏngsang Province. 30 Kongming (孔明) is the courtesy name of Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮, 181–234), the brilliant military strategist of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) in China. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 383

If at that time they had come directly to the Seoul region and dug deep moats and constructed forts with high ramparts (poru 堡壘), even without fighting by just holding those key strategic places (yohaech’ŏ 要害處), we could have stopped the robbers from advancing and retreating. People everywhere would have put their trust in each other, and in this situation the capital city would have trusted in them and could have stood firm. It would not have suddenly fallen to the robbers. At the same time troops would have gathered from all four directions so that no matter how deeply the robbers had penetrated into our land and spread and dispersed, they would have lost their power, and before a month was out we would have seen them collapse of their own accord. But without thinking to do this and instead making the excuse that there were insufficient food supplies, they just returned of their own accord to their military headquarters (ponjin 本陣). However, His Majesty has been so humiliated it would have been truly better if his officials had died. But just as the actions of those above will be followed as an example by those below, how can we prevent the common soldiers from running away and scattering? If we consider the meaning of the Spring and Autumn period [in relation to our current situation], it will be difficult for us to avoid the punishment inflicted by the Donghu董狐 ( ).31 As discussing this now is pointless, what is the point of being indignant? If [what I have heard] is to be believed, there is one thing that makes me feel more at ease and that is the movements of the righteous armies (ŭibyŏng 義兵) now. I heard that as the [conscripted] soldiers in various districts are simply looking at one another and half of them have run away and scattered, how can they accomplish any great task? In peace time they take pride in living off their stipends (nok 祿), and boast of their loyal hearts. But when they encounter a time of crisis such as today, they do not consider the shame of their sovereign and only think about how they can preserve their own lives. They give no thought to the safety of the royal ancestral shrine or the gods of earth and grain that have endured for hundreds of years.32 With my useless, rotten life I kneel down and lament endlessly. All I can do is shed tears of rage. Since this disturbance arose I have forgotten to eat and to sleep. In the middle of the night I could not sleep, and the bright moon was shining in the window. I went out into the courtyard, took off my headgear and prayed, “I pray that if I can just see my elderly mother again, even if I die I will have no regrets.” As heaven and earth (hwangch’ŏnhut’o 皇天后土) are truly watching [over us], they will certainly not turn their back on us. If I had only known to travel to Seoul alone before my two slaves departed, I would have arrived before [my family] left [Seoul]. Being together with my elderly mother and wife and children, whether we won or lost, stumbled or fell flat on our faces, whether we ate or went without food while experiencing difficulties together, whether we lived or died, if we encountered the difficulties together, no matter how many countless hardships we

31 The Donghu were a semi-nomadic people who excelled at mounted archery and held slaves captured through war (Schellinger, et al. 1996, 744). O Hŭimun is suggesting that the trouble caused by Japan for the Chosŏn people is similar to the trouble caused for the Han Chinese people by the Donghu. 32 The phrase “royal ancestral shine and the gods of earth and grain” is also used as a metaphor for the state. 384 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 encountered, what would we worry about, and what would we regret? But now I am in a comfortable place eating and sleeping just like before, but my elderly mother, wife, children, and younger sister are experiencing this catastrophe, and perhaps even now my elderly mother, wife, children and younger sister could be spending the nights together in the open fields, eating roots of grass. Writing this makes me lament deeply and want to die. I also heard that after the Japanese robbers entered the capital, their troops dispersed in all four directions to plunder. If they go through the mountains and search the forests, the people surviving in the mountain valleys will definitely not be able to hide from them, which is even more lamentable. As my mother is very sensitive even in ordinary times, if there is even a small thing that she does not like, she suddenly rejects her food and refuses to eat all day. Now that she is encountering this great crisis, I think that she will definitely be anxious. When I think of the boundless debt of gratitude [I owe to my mother], how can I not lament? My wife’s legs were already painful and she is unable to walk even a short distance. Encountering this crisis, she will have to flee by crossing mountains and streams, and she will certainly be in difficulty. When I think of her tying up her hair by herself, how can I not feel anxious? Our two elder daughters have never failed in their womanly duties, and as our house is poor they have had to go without meals and make do with rice gruel even in normal times. Even when they ate, they were unable to eat their fill, and even though they had clothes, they were never able to dress warmly. But they have always been obedient to their parents and have never refused to do a single task. Therefore, I have always loved them and felt compassion for them. Our youngest daughter Suktan (淑端) has a beautiful, cheerful face, and her character is extremely graceful. I have always been very fond of her. Her lovely mind and eyes are before me night and day, and she brings to mind the lines from the Classic of Poetry, “It is (this) sympathetic and reverent young lady (who) truly captures my heart.”33 As I write these few words, how can I prevent sorrowful tears from falling of their own accord? Because my son is lazy by nature and does not work hard, early last spring I beat him excessively. When I think about my severity now, however, no matter how much I regret it, there is nothing I can do about it. As my younger brother Hŭich’ŏl (希哲) is having to deal with this great disaster on his own and is fleeing with our mother, how will he be able to escape this catastrophe? As his wife is delicate, she always suffers from headaches, and as she has a child that is still breastfeeding, how will she be able to stay healthy in these chaotic times? My younger sister who became the wife of Nam Sangmun (南尙文) will certainly have fled

33 This quotation from the Classic of Poetry appears to have been taken from two different poems. The first phrase “you qi ji nu” (有齊季女) is from the poem Ts‘ai pin (Cai ping 采蘋 Gathering water clover) and is translated by Legge as “It is (this) reverent young lady” In this phrase, however, O Hŭimun adds the character “憐” before the character “齊”, changing the meaning to “It is (this) sympathetic and reverent young lady”. See James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Vol. 4, Part I, Lessons from the States, Book II, “The Odes of Chow and the South,” 1. Ts‘ai pin (Cai ping 采蘋) (London: Trübner and Co., 1871), 25–26. The second phrase “shi huo wo xin” (實獲我心) is from the poem Luh e (Luyi 綠衣 Green clothes) and may be translated here as “truly captures my heart.” See “The Odes of P‘ei” (Bei), 1. Luh e (Lu yi 關雎) (Legge 1871, 41–42). Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 385 to the house of Chung On (仲溫) in Chŏksŏng (赤城) and will be safe there. My sister who is married to Kim, however, has hardly anywhere to flee to, but as her husband Chajŏng (子定 [Kim Chŏngnam 金正男]) is there, how can I worry that she will have no place to take refuge? What worries me deeply as our whole family is fleeing now, however, is that as they flee to the west and run to the east, there will be nowhere that is safe for them. If Sim Yŏl (沈 說) looks after our elderly mother and flees to Kangnŭng 江陵( ), they will have just been able to survive, but how can they have done this? As my wife and children were with Yun’gyŏm (尹謙) in the capital [Seoul], they will definitely live or die together, but if Yun’gyŏm 尹謙( ) went early to the royal mausoleum (nŭngso 陵所) to take care of the portraits of the deceased kings, he may not have been able to abandon his duties there to take care of the private affairs of his family, and there will be no man in his wife’s family to take care of the family members. Yunhae (允諧 O Hŭimun’s second son) also has his adoptive mother (yangmo 養母) and his wife and children with him. When he is so rushed and in such an urgent situation, they may not be able to keep up with each other, especially as they have children that are still breastfeeding and cannot walk yet. I am constantly thinking about this, and it makes me feel utterly miserable. What has my younger brother done to take care of the memorial tablet (sinju 神主) of our late father? It would be good if he has buried it in a clean place, but I am worried that he may simply have paid his respects [at the ancestral shrine] and then departed and not kept the memorial tablet safe. There is no one to whom the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the head family (chongga 宗家) can be entrusted. If he has discarded them and fled, they will undoubtedly be burned. This also makes me feel miserable and anxious. Our extended family (munjung 門中) is approximately 100 people, and when they scattered to escape this crisis, they will all have been fleeing for their lives and will not know whether the others are alive or dead. Therefore, as well as for my elderly mother, my wife and children, and my younger brother and younger sister, my heart is also filled with anxiety and sorrow for them. Also, the slave from our house in the capital who was in this district left the capital on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth lunar month and only arrived here on the last day of the month. My mother and my wife’s letters also arrived [with him] and both of them had been written on the twentieth day. At that time the disturbance was not as serious as it is now, but even though I cannot know their misery and suffering from their letters, my tears fell of their own accord. I cannot know from my elderly mother’s letter how much she is suffering, but can only think how I and my sister, who is married to Im, are homeless and miserable, which is truly lamentable. I am keeping these letters safely in a document case, and when I sometimes pore over them, my entrails are torn asunder and sad tears soak my lapel. Since [receiving those letters] not only has there been no news at all concerning our whole household, but I have also not been able to receive any news about Seoul, just as Master Du (杜子)34 wrote, “A letter from home is worth more than 10,000 pieces of gold.”35

34 The Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (杜甫; 712–770). 35 This is a reference to Du Fu’s poem “Spring View” (Chun wang 春望), which has the line “A letter from home is worth 10,000 pieces of gold” (jia shu di wan jin 家書抵萬金). 386 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

If the emperor of heaven (hwangch’ŏn 皇天) does not watch over us our fortune will come to an end in the future. The past generations of royal ancestors (yŏlsŏng 列聖) should take care of us, therefore, and all the generals should exert themselves to quickly sweep away corruption in order to cleanse the royal palace. The king’s chariot should return to the capital so that the royal ancestral shrine and the gods of earth and grain may be at ease again. All the people can then return to their homes and safely take up their livelihoods again, and my elderly mother, wife and children, younger brother, younger sister, and all my relatives will be able to meet gladly to share a cup of wine, while talking about our hardships when we were fleeing [from the enemy] not knowing whether we would ever be able to meet again. How joyful that will be, and how fortunate we will be to be able to meet one another again. If we pray in silence day and night to the gods of heaven and earth, no matter how far apart the high and the low may be, it is a law that the utmost sincerity will move even deities and that the complaint of just a single woman can cause a drought that lasts for three years. So how much more must this be the case for the people in our land of Chosŏn, who have been slain by spears and arrows, their bones left scattered on the battleground, or have been fleeing into the forests and marshes and sleeping outdoors. I do not know how many tens of thousands of people are spending the night in the cold wind, or how many lonely widowers and widows are complaining and weeping as they starve in some ravine. How can we know how bitter their feelings must be? The heart of heaven must also be moved and regret this calamity. Since the disturbance arose, if I touch things, I feel moved and sorrowful; even insects, plants or wriggling things fill me with emotion. In the front courtyard the magpie chicks following their mother around chirping, beating their wings and tweeting as they enjoy themselves searching for food brings to mind some words from the Classic of Poetry, “I should rejoice to be like you without consciousness” (lezi zhi wuzhi 樂子之無知).36 I deeply admire the deep red sunflowers in full bloom at the base of the wall, turning towards the sun. If I cannot be benevolent as a person, I am not even as good as these things. Looking at these things, thoughts arise and tears fall of their own accord moistening my lapel, just as Master Du (杜 子) wrote, “Sensing the moment, the flowers shed tears.”37 When the Tang dynasty emperor fled west, and when the Song dynasty ruler fled south, even though people say these were wretched situations, the two monarchs had employed deceitful people, indulged themselves in wine and women, and incurred the resentment of the people, thus causing the northern barbarian disaster. As a consequence, the palace was moved to Yuexi Province (越西州), and the emperor was taken captive in Qingcheng (靑城). The imperial ancestral tombs and gods of earth and grain toppled and collapsed, and all the

36 This is a line from Section I, Lessons from the States (Guo feng 國風), Chapter 13, The Odes of Kuai (Kuai feng 檜風), No. 148, Kaou k‘ëw (Gao qiu 羔裘 Lamb skin) in the Classic of Poetry. In the poem the speaker is addressing a tree and envying its lack of consciousness and familial cares (Legge 1871, 217). 37 This line is also from Du Fu’s poem “Spring View” (Chun wang 春望): gan shi hua jian lei 感時花濺淚. The poem was composed in 757 in Chang’an at the time of the An Lushan Rebellion, to which O Hŭimun alludes in the subsequent paragraph. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 387 people fell into distress. But, in fact, they brought this upon themselves, so it is not to be wondered at. For more than twenty years since he became king, our sovereign (sŏngsang 聖上) has not sought pleasure outside [the palace] or enjoyed himself by going out hunting. Inside the palace, he has not engaged in the vulgar pursuits of music and womanizing, but day and night he has paid attention to his duties and been meticulous and indefatigable. As he has respected the great [China] with the utmost sincerity and engaged with our neighbor [Japan] faithfully, how could the island barbarians (toi 島夷) think they could spout their poison, massacre everyone in the cities they capture, kill our generals, and capture our capital? Now the capital’s one million homes have become the dens of dogs and goats, and the [ceremonial] clothes and headgear and our national treasures have been shamefully defiled. The king blames himself and strives to help the nation, but there are no ardent officials willing to die for their loyalty, and no matter how loyal the official pronouncements of the local governors may be as they recruit troops, there is no one willing to go to the front line of this conflict in the countryside. If we want to raise a righteous army and deploy troops to win back the two capitals,38 how many people are there with the martial vigor of Guo Fenyang (郭汾陽)39 and people who can spit on their hands and cross the river to sweep away the Yan (燕)40 with loyalty and courage like Yue Wumu (嶽武穆)?41 There are just countless people who are running away to save their own lives. Pak Chin (朴晋)42 dashed into the robbers’ camp and returned after wildly stabbing to death more than ten people. Also, at Sŏngsan (星山) he went to the place where the robbers were encamped, beheaded some robbers and dragged them out. This is so gratifying. He can truly be said to be a warrior. I also heard that the Yŏngnam right naval commander (ususa 右 水使) Wŏn Kyun (元均 1540–1597) in the middle of last month burned ten of the robbers’ ships. The left naval commander (chwasusa 左水使) of this province Yi Sunsin (李舜臣) at the beginning of this month, directing all the ships under his command together with the naval commanders of this province, also burned and destroyed forty-two enemy ships and captured two robbers alive, beheading three of the robbers so that the others jumped into the water and swam to land, where they hid cowering in the forests and marshes. It is a pity that they did not seize this opportunity to press on directly to Pusan, as there cannot have been many of the robbers guarding their ships, and there would have

38 The “two capitals” appears to be a reference to Seoul and P’yŏngyang, both of which fell to the Japanese forces in the early stages of the Imjin War. 39 The Tang dynasty general Guo Ziyi (郭子儀, 697–781) Prince Zhongwu of Fenyang (汾陽忠武王) who successfully suppressed the An Lushan Rebellion and was subsequently revered in Chinese mythology as the god of wealth and happiness. 40 Yan (燕, eleventh century BCE–222 BCE) was an ancient state during the Zhou dynasty, but here the term is being used by O Hŭimun to refer to the Jurchen (Jin) dynasty. 41 The Southern Song dynasty general Yue Fei (岳飛, 1103–1142) was best known for his exploits against the Jin dynasty in the twelfth century. 42 Pak Chin (1560–1597) was a successful Chosŏn general during the Imjin War who died in 1597 as a result of a beating ordered by the Ming general Lou Chengxian (婁承先). 388 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 been many of our countrymen and women being held captive there, too. If the robbers had heard the news that many ships had arrived, undoubtedly they would have gone ashore and run away in all directions. Then their deserted ships could have been burned, and the captured prisoners could also have returned alive. On the other hand, because the king and his entourage fled from the palace, they lamented bitterly and turned back. Even though the circumstances were such, in reality they lost their nerve. In such a moment, the king leaving the palace temporarily may have been some kind of strategy. If they had just thought a little about the victory or defeat of the country, they could have wiped away our shame, but our success crumbled away like a pile of earth, which is even more painful and lamentable. I also heard that when the Yŏngnam defense commander (pangŏsa 防禦使) Cho Kyŏng (趙儆) was attacked by a robber at the Battle of Kŭmsan (金山), he grabbed the robber around the waist and wrestled with him. Another officer rushed to them and beheaded the robber, and Cho Kyŏng only injured his hand. On the sixteenth day of this month my elder brother-in-law the magistrate Yi Pin (李贇) arrived at Chinan (鎭安) at the head of a righteous army, but seven or eight men ran away and returned [to their homes]. Because their parents, wives and children and neighboring families were imprisoned, many people came out into the streets [to protest]. This is not something that has happened in this district alone. There are also many soldiers in other districts who have fled and scattered. It is said that the Namwŏn (南原) soldiers set up camp in Samnye (參禮) but were temporarily scattered. The Sunch’ang (淳昌) troops rebelled along the way and set up a camp, and other soldiers who had deserted all fled to that camp, stealing weapons and military provisions. What was worse was that even the Changsŏng commander (kunsu 郡守) Paek Sujong (白守宗) was maltreated by them and only just managed to escape. People say that by taking advantage of such a public mood, they intended to carry out unrighteous deeds. The Sunch’ang commander, therefore, lured the uncle and nephew (sukchil 叔侄)43 of the wicked leader of the renegades into a trap by enticing them out of the camp and having them attacked with arrows by soldiers waiting in ambush along the way. After they killed them, the rest of the group scattered. Although I do not know the precise details, the fact that people are talking about this is lamentable. They say that after this happened the scattered soldiers gradually regrouped, and defending themselves, travelled north along the main road, while the itinerant inspector (sunch’al 巡察) Yi Kwang (李洸) crossed the river at Yongan (龍安) and went northward via a road through the interior of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, and that they all left this province on the twentieth day of this month. I also heard that there are many people from Yŏngnam who have crossed over the Japanese robbers’ lines and are showing them the way, or that many of them, befriending the Japanese and speaking their language, wildly attack people’s homes so that the people are forced to run away and scatter. They then seize all their valuables. After the righteous army left, as the monsoon rains never stopped, and the streams

43 The character 侄 is a variant of 姪 meaning ‘nephew’ or ‘niece’. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 389 swelled and overflowed, the main army could not get through. Therefore, there are definitely many people who are suffering and resentful, and also many bows and arrows have been discarded. Our country can be proud of its bows and arrows, but if bows and arrows are treated this way, what can we put our faith in? It is difficult to believe that even the blue heaven above does not help. What does this mean? All I can do is turn my face upwards in lamentation for a long time and roll back my sleeves with bitter feelings. Also, people say that loyal men from Yŏngdong have banded together to take revenge on the enemy and have risen up vigorously and written a circular, distributed it widely, and intending to take action together with various ardent gentlemen (yŏlsa 烈士), they held a meeting on the seventeenth day at the local government office (sach’ŏng 射廳) in that region. The ardent men (yŏlbu 烈夫) of Kobu (古阜) also wrote a manifesto and distributed it to various villages. Raising up loyal men and righteous army troops to attack the robbers, they gathered together on the twenty-seventh day of this month in front of Chamnye (參禮) at Wansan (完山). Even though success or failure are beyond my control, hearing about this spirit of loyalty, this old and infirm person, wandering far from home, and who has no strength to lend his support, can only express his admiration and sigh. Changch’ŏn Prefecture (長川縣) is located in a remote gorge and there are very few people, but even in a village of ten inhabitants, there should be some loyal and faithful people. Although many manifestos from those two places [i.e. Kobu and Chamnye] have arrived here, it is truly lamentable that not even a single person has responded. Also today is the twenty-fifth day and my elderly mother’s birthday. If these were normal times, we children would all prepare rice cakes and wine and take care of our mother all day long and talk together. But are they now wandering around and gathering somewhere to weep together? Thinking about all these things, my tears fall like rain. On the night of the nineteenth day, I saw my wife in a dream looking just as she did in the past. Since coming south, I had not dreamed of her once, so why did I dream about her on that day? Is she living or is she dead? It is so sad. It is so sad. The twenty-second day was the memorial rite day for my father-in-law. I and the descendants of my descent group (chongyun 宗胤) held a memorial rite. My elder brother-in- law Yi Pin, who became a magistrate, led troops to Yŏsan (礪山) and has not returned. Also, at the beginning of the month Wŏn Chungsŏng (元仲成) came here in order to avoid the crisis at the Yŏngnam right naval base (usuyŏng 右水營), intending to go to his hometown immediately. But because the way was blocked and he was unable to depart, we spent every day and night talking together, greatly comforting one another as [fellow] wanderers. As he felt embarrassed to stay at the local administrative office for such a long time, he went to the home of his uncle in the prefecture and sometimes comes here to unburden his heart before going back there. The Yangjae (良才) post station officer yŏngni( 驛吏) Im Ŏnbok (林彦福) went to Yŏngnam in the early spring to deal with some matter and also came here last month to avoid the crisis. He stayed here because he could not go north. As Im Ŏnbok’s house is located on the eastern side of the post station (yŏkkwan 驛館), whenever he goes out he always lodges here 390 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 as a favor. As he was the former magistrate of Chinwi (振威) when my elder brother-in-law the magistrate was there, he is treated very generously, and was given plenty of food from the administrative office. But because Im (林) felt sorry for accepting this food from the administrative office for such a long time, he now pays for it. As he is wandering far from home separated from his family, he is more or less like me except he does not have an elderly mother. Even though we only came to know each other the day before yesterday as “the Todang (土塘) mountain tomb is not far away, even if you only see it once, it is as though you have seen it in the past.”44 Living far from home, I feel most fortunate that he comes to see me every day to talk. Also, the second wife (kyesil 繼室) of the magistrate (mok 牧) of Sŏngju (星州) is the youngest daughter of Kim T’aesuk (金太淑). In order to avoid the disturbance after the twentieth day of the fourth lunar month when the fortress fell and the enemy troops spread out in all directions to capture people, she barely escaped by fleeing into the mountains. Walking or riding on horseback, she crossed mountains and traversed valleys. Finally arriving here, she intended to go to her former home in Yongsŏng (龍城). As T’aesuk’s second son accompanied her on the way here, he clearly explained how the robbers are spreading out. He said his younger brother had fallen behind and had not yet arrived. When he arrived somewhat later, he said he had been attacked by the robbers and had barely escaped to come here. There was a scar on his neck, and when I saw it, I was extremely shocked. I also heard that because it was difficult for him to be separated from his beloved kisaeng, he took her with him into the mountains to hide, so he had not been able to come with his younger sister and had only just arrived now. As T’aesuk and I are in-laws and because we have the same hometown, even though his son is young, we are also acquainted with each other. After hearing this news, people were thrown into confusion, and even people belonging to the administrative office also considered running far away. First they buried unnecessary items in the grounds of the administrative office and later clothing was buried under the floor of the prefectural shrine. But one month later when the items buried in the administrative office were dug up, half of them had become damp or were rotted so they could no longer be used. When I saw the items [buried under] the prefectural shrine, however, they were the same as before because they had been buried in a place where the earth was dry. The ground inside the administrative office is damp because it is low lying. A few of my clothes were also buried inside the prefectural shrine (hyŏnsa 縣司). At the beginning of this month my wife’s father’s concubine (ch’ŏsŏmo 妻庶母) took Yŏngjin (英眞) to Sŏkch’ŏnsa (釋天寺 Śakra Temple) first. That is in fact the place to which the people belonging to this administrative office are intending to flee. Her brother Sŏnyun (善胤) also went to the same temple with her. That place is quite a distance (pansik 半息) from this prefecture and is on a high mountain ridge. When you cross over the pass, the conditions are such that you cannot ride a horse and can barely walk, because the pass is extremely high

44 This expression appears to be a saying used to refer to someone who seems like an old acquaintance even though one has just met. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 391 and steep. In order to avoid this disturbance, there is nowhere as good as this temple for taking refuge in this situation. It has just one weak point. When you go over the pass, there is nothing to hide behind. But as there is a deep ravine behind the temple, if the enemy should enter the region, we will be able to go even deeper [into the mountains] to hide. For this reason first Yi Ŭngil 李應一( ) planned to have Chongyun (宗胤) search for a good place to hide and build a shelter against a tree with a temporary roof. This is because usually when the women (naesil 內室) of Sŏngsan (星山) went into the mountains, the robbers surrounded the mountain and searched for them, and it was difficult for them to escape. I have heard that so many places have fallen in Sŏngju County (城州郡). Even worse, the people who fled into the mountains were all hunted down, killed, and robbed. Among all these places, [the situation at] Sŏngsan was the most terrible. Among the administrative office female slaves pi( 婢), those who had children also sent them in advance to the mountain pass (sanch’am 山岾), and when the magistrate’s wife (suju 嫂主) heard that the enemy had invaded a nearby area, she made up her mind to flee. If the people in the administrative office flee first, the entire prefecture will definitely be shocked and be thrown into turmoil. For this reason, they have gradually made preparations [in advance]. I also heard that the Japanese robbers have selected pretty, yangban women in Yŏngnam and have loaded them onto five boats. Before sending them to their country, they made them comb their hair and put on powder and black eyeliner. If they did not do this, the Japanese became enraged. As they were afraid of death, they all obeyed. In fact, these were all women who had first been raped. The remaining women who were not considered satisfactory were gang raped in turn by the robbers, which is even more heartbreaking. As this was heard personally by the prefecture commander of ambush troops (pokpyŏngjang 伏兵將) Kim Sŏngŏp (金成業) from people who had returned after being prisoners of war, it is definitely not an unfounded rumor. The day before yesterday at the Battle of Kŭmsan, there was one woman who had been taken captive by the robbers but had then hidden in a granary. After the battle was over, she came out and begged for mercy. They [our soldiers] asked her where she was from. At first she would not answer, but then she told them the truth. She had originally lived in Sŏngju (星州) and was the daughter-in-law of a scholar. The cruel robbers had unexpectedly entered her village, and when she had run away with her aunt (kumo 舅母), she had been captured by the robbers and brought to that place. She had been raped in turn by many soldiers. She could not bear the pain and had wanted to die but could not. She said she did not know whether her aunt was alive or dead. She just had a torn undergarment around her waist and no skirt. They say the soldiers raised her undergarment and saw that her lower parts were completely swollen so she was unable to walk. How cruel! How wretched! Someone from this district who followed the army saw this incident with his own eyes and told me. The fate of this country is not a fortunate one. For the last ten years there have been disturbances in the north and in the south, and this year it has become even more extreme. In the winter of 1583 when the northern barbarians invaded Kyŏngwŏn (慶源), I was indignant at our failure to defend it, and in the spring of 1587 the southern barbarians became strong 392 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019 and defeated us as though they were splitting bamboo. Late in the autumn of 1589 the traitorous official chŏksin ( 賊臣) Chŏng Yŏrip (鄭汝立 1546–1589), who was formerly a minister in the government, secretly intending to betray the king, plotted future wicked deeds with the foolish commoners of Hwanghae Province but failed and was executed. It is sad that many high-ranking officials were also implicated by his words and as a consequence many of them were put to death. The magistrate my elder brother-in-law Yi Pin arrived at the River Kŭm (Kŭmgang 錦 江) at the head of a righteous army and after leaving the soldiers there finally arrived here on the twenty-sixth day of this month. I heard from him that the robbers who had entered the fortress had swollen feet, were exhausted and at night they scattered and fell into a deep sleep. Our side gathered fifty soldiers who were given rewards and were willing to die. Under the cover of darkness, they fiercely attacked the enemy and hacked them to death. They were sent away on the eighth day of last month. 〔The following section of the text was removed with a knife〕 As the army numbers no less than 10,000 men at this moment, if three wise and courageous generals choose people who are good at shooting with powerful bows, they can man the fortifications and make it difficult for the enemy to scale them. If guerilla forces get behind [the enemy troops] sometimes to cut off their escape, as they [the Japanese] are also just people who are undoubtedly afraid of dying, why should we hesitate to urgently engage in such a conflict. Ah, because of this [situation] we can realize even more deeply that there is no worthy general or chief state councilor! It is lamentable. I also heard that the Yŏngnam Confucian scholar Kwak Chaeu (郭再祐) alone showed exemplary courage, personally leading four brave soldiers to attack three of the robbers’ ships, and then he also led thirteen people and repelled eleven of the robbers’ ships. I also heard that more than thirty robbers on horseback entered and occupied Hwanggan (黃澗), and when they came and invaded Yŏngdong (永同), first charging in wildly and burning people’s houses, two ranking officials (p’umgwan 品官) together with some administrative officials 官( 人) attacked them fiercely by shooting arrows at them so that they all scattered and ran away. Subsequently, fifty to sixty of the robbers returned, and when they crossed the border to attack, the county magistrate (hyŏn’gam 縣監) alone at the head of six or seven archers fiercely shot at the robbers, and several of the robbers died when they were hit by the arrows. Hereupon, the robbers after running away divided into two groups and attacked wildly from the front and the rear, and as the six or seven soldiers were unable to hold them off, they retreated into the mountains. The robbers killed one of our soldiers, set fire to the administrative office storehouse and guesthouse and then went away. If we had had twenty or thirty warriors all arise at once to block their way, we would not have had to worry about them rashly charging at us. I also heard that the robbers who were occupying the fortress at Sŏngsan were also only around 100 persons in all, and that when they made officials (mok 牧) from among our commoners, assistant prefects (p’angwan 判官), and our country’s Buddhist monks and distributed grain from the administrative office granary, [thus] winning over the hearts of the Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 393 people. The commoners all fought each other to receive [the grain] and bowing to the ground begged for their lives saying, “The new masters have saved our lives.” These are just words that have been picked up on the road, so even though I cannot say that they are factual, when I heard them, my liver and gall boiled over so that I put down my spoon and chopsticks and gave no thought to eating. I also heard that the governor of Miryang (密陽) … 〔The following page was removed with a knife〕 Also, a [Korean] robbers’ army has spread out to various places such as Hapch’ŏn (陕川), Ch’ogye (草溪), Kosŏng (固城), and Chinju (晋州) and even pillaged goods from the storerooms of the administrative offices. These are nothing more than scattered and fleeing soldiers who have banded together to rob because they cannot endure their hunger. Collecting grain far and wide to divide and share out, in various ways we must persuade them and correct their minds to enable them to return and gather together in peace, but as amongst them there are soldiers who have rebelled and disobeyed, they must be eliminated in the future. Also, looking at the circular that arrived from Unbong (雲峯) on the twenty-fifth day of this month, recruiting officer ch’oyusa ( 招諭使) Kim Sŏngil (金誠一) secretly sent word from Chinju to various districts stating, “The Japanese robbers in Ch’angwŏn (昌原) have been on the road together with the Chŏlla provincial governor (kamsa), censor (ŏsa), assistant governor (tosa), and defense inspector (ch’albang) for twenty-two to twenty-three days and have been shown the way to Chŏnju (全州) via Tansŏng (丹城), Haman (咸安), Ŭiryŏng (宜 寧), Hamyang (咸陽), Unbong (雲峰), Namwŏn (南原), and Imsil (任實),” which is extremely strange and shocking. But I doubt whether this is true. If the Japanese robbers first post announcements and pass through various districts in Yŏngnam and reach Honam, of course, they will defend themselves first, so there is no definite reason for them to do that. As there has been no news of them after four or five days, we can be even more certain [that there is no truth in this news]. I also heard that mobile border commander (sunbyŏnsa 巡邊使) Yi Il (李鎰) arrived at Pukch’ŏn (北川) about fiveli from Sangju (尙州) and engaged with the enemy. When the lead- shot fell like rain and the sound shook heaven and earth, he was forced to retreat and as it is not known where chief administrative officer (chongsagwan 從事官) Yun Sŏm (尹暹) went, he may have died. Also, Sin Rip, receiving the sunbyŏnsa’s command, arrived at Ch’ungju (忠州) but he did not take the enemy seriously. Without preparation, he gave the enemy an opportunity and suffered a crushing defeat in which many soldiers died, and Rip (砬) fell into a pond and committed suicide. As Kim Yŏmul (金汝岉) was also in the army and fell into the water and died together with him, I lament and cannot stop myself from weeping. Originally Sin Rip was greatly valued and was depended upon by His Majesty as a valiant general who had served with distinction in the north. When he set out for battle leading his troops, he took all the best weapons from the arsenal in Seoul. But he was defeated in a single day and died in the water. It was also because of this that His Majesty abandoned the capital. The desecration of the royal ancestral shrine (chongmyo 宗廟) and the altar to the gods of earth and grain (sajik 社稷) is even more lamentable. 394 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

Also, the twenty-ninth day of last month was the anniversary of my father’s death. Because I am in this district, my elder brother-in-law who is the magistrate prepared many ritual foods that he gave to me in order to conduct the ancestral rite. If I think about the situation of my home in Seoul now with the Japanese robbers drawing ever closer, the entire capital must be in a state of confusion, so how would there be time to conduct the ancestral memorial rite? It is fortunate, really fortunate. The twentieth and twenty-ninth days of this month are the anniversaries of my adoptive uncles’ deaths. Not knowing whether my wife and children in my home in the capital are alive or dead, and because there are so many things to do in this district that I cannot even offer a libation, my heart is even more sorrowful. Also, in a dream last night I saw many friends and relatives just as if I was in Seoul, and I even saw my wife once again. Could this be because she thinks that I must have died? Or is it because she has already died, and it was her spirit appearing in my dream? Why is it that within ten days [my wife] has appeared twice in my dreams? She has had to live with hardships in a poor home all her life, and there was not a single day when she could relax her face, and suddenly she has encountered a crisis like this. If she dies before we can meet again, how will I be able to overcome my grieving heart? This happened on the twenty-eighth day of this month. On the following day, the former naval sub-commander (manho 萬戶) Yi Ch’ung (李 沖) went early to the military headquarters (pyŏngmak 兵幕) of the Kyŏngsang Right Naval Commander, and naval commander (susa 水使) Wŏn Kyun set fire to twenty-four of the robbers’ ships and beheaded seven robbers. Subsequently, taking a letter to the king, he [Yi Ch’ung] passed through this district. We met each other by accident, and my worries seem to be greatly increasing. I entrusted some letters home to him, and he promised to pass them on to Yun’gyŏm without fail. But I am worried that as [Yun’gyŏm] may be seeking refuge in a different place, he [Yi Ch’ung] will not know where he is and will not be able to pass the letters on. But as Lord Yi (李公) said, “As soon as I have gone to where the king is and delivered the letters, I will go to Yangju (楊州) to find my elderly parents,” if he gives them to his younger brother Yi Chŏng (李淸), he will be able to send them via Pong Sŏnjŏn (奉先殿) because Kwangnŭng (光陵) and Yangju are not far apart from each other. As Lord Yi and I lived in the same district, we are good friends, and his younger brother Chŏng is a childhood friend of Yun’gyŏm. Second day of the sixth month. 〔The passage below has been removed with a knife〕45

45 “Imjin namhaeng illok” ends abruptly at this point, and “Imjin illok” (Daily record of the lunar year 1592) begins on the first day of the seventh lunar month, 1592. From this point onward the diary becomes a true daily record with each diary entry beginning with the exact date. The only break in the diary until its conclusion on the twenty-seventh day of the second lunar month of 1601 is for forty-five days from the thirteenth day of the first lunar month of 1593 until the first day of the third lunar month of 1593 due to O Hŭimun’s illness. Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 395

Appendix A

Genealogy of Lord O Ch’utan’s Line of the Haeju O Descent Group*46 (Haeju O-ssi Ch’ut’an kong p’a kagyedo 海州吳氏楸灘公派家系圖)

Okchŏng (玉貞) 11th gen.

Kyŏngmin (景閔) 12th gen.

Hŭich’ŏl (希哲) Hŭiin (希仁) Hŭimun (希文) 13th gen.

Yunsŏng (允誠) Yunham (允諴) Yunhae (允諧) Yunhae (允諧) 14th gen.

Talche (達濟) Talo (達吾) Talsip (達什) Talyang (達壤) Talwŏn (達遠) Talcho (達朝) Talchu (達周) Talch’ŏn (達天) 15th gen.

Toil (道一) Toryung (道隆) Tojong (道宗) 16th gen.

Suwŏn (遂元) Suyang (遂良) Suhyŏn (遂顯) 17th gen.

Myŏnggu (命久) 18th gen.

Ŏnsŏ (彥舒) 19th gen.

T’aeyŏng (泰榮) 20th gen.

T’aeyŏng (泰榮) 21th gen.

Sangmuk (商默) 22th gen.

Usŏn (愚善) 23th gen.

Hwayŏng (和泳) 24th gen.

Chŏnggŭn (鼎根) 25th gen.

* Note: This genealogy is based on a table in Sŏ Pyŏngp’ae, “Swaemirok haeje” [A bibliographical introduction to Swaemirok], (Kyegan sŏji hakpo, No. 8 December 1992), 81. 396 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

Appendix B

O Hŭimun’s Itinerary in “Imjin namhaeng illok”

Place Province Yongin (龍仁) Kyŏnggi-do Yangsan (陽山) Ch’ungch’ŏngbuk-do Chiksan (稷山) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do Mangilsa (望日寺 Viewing the Sun Temple) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do Mokch’ŏn (木川) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do Yŏn’gi (燕岐) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do Kŭm River (錦江) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do (source in Chŏllabuk-do) Ŭnjin (恩津) Ch’ungch’ŏngnam-do Yŏsan-gun (礪山郡) Chŏllabuk-do (present-day Iksan-si) Wansan-bu (完山府) Chŏllabuk-do (present-day Chŏnju-si) Chungdaesa (中臺寺 Central Dais Temple) Chŏllabuk-do (Sŏngsusan [聖壽山], Chinan-gun) Changch’ŏn/Changsu-hyŏn (長川/長水縣) Chŏllabuk-do Hwanggan (黃澗) Ch’ungch’ŏngbuk-do Changgye (長溪) Chŏllabuk-do Muju (茂朱) Chŏllabuk-do Hanp’ungnu (寒風樓 Cold Wind Pavilion) Muju, Chŏllabuk-do (still extant) Samch’ŏnggak (三淸閣 Three-purity Pavilion) Muju, Chŏllabuk-do Mangunjŏng (望雲亭Viewing Clouds Pavilion) Muju, Chŏllabuk-do Yongsŏng-bu (龍城府) Chŏllabuk-do Ojakkyo (烏鵲橋 Magpie Bridge) Namwŏn, Chŏllabuk-do (still extant) Kwanghallu (廣寒樓 Broad Cold Pavilion) Namwŏn, Chŏllabuk-do (still extant) Koksŏng (谷城) Chŏllanam-do Nŭngp’ajŏng (凌波亭 Approaching Wave Pavilion) Chŏllanam-do Songgwangsa (松廣寺 Spreading Pine Temple) Chogyesan (曹溪山), Sunch’ŏn, Chŏllanam-do Ch’imgye-ru (枕溪樓 Pillow Creek Tower) Chogyesan (曹溪山), Sunch’ŏn, Chŏllanam-do Posŏng-gun (寶城郡) Chŏllanam-do Changhŭng-bu (長興府) Chŏllanam-do (present-day Changhŭng-gun) Yŏngam-gun (靈岩郡) Chŏllanam-do Ch’irimch’on (鴟林村) Chŏllanam-do Chukto (竹島 Bamboo Island) Chŏllanam-do Togap (道岬 Way Headland) Chŏllanam-do Namp’yŏng (南平) Chŏllanam-do Nŭngsŏng (陵城) Chŏllanam-do (present-day Hwasun-gun 和順郡) Hwasun-hyŏn (和順縣) Chŏllanam-do Kyŏngyang post horse station (景陽驛) Kwangsan (光山), Chŏllanam-do Ch’angp’yŏng (昌平) Chŏllanam-do Finch: Imjin namhaeng illok 397

Okkwa (玉果) Chŏllanam-do (present-day Koksŏng-gun 谷城郡) Taeryŏng (大嶺) pass Chŏllanam-do Yongsŏng-bu (龍城府) Chŏllabuk-do Subunwŏn (水分院) Chŏllabuk-do Changch’ŏn (長川) (Changsu 長水) Chŏllabuk-do 398 Acta Koreana, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 2019

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