2026-06-25 –, Room 201 (Seats 42)
The Imjin War, also known as “The Japanese Calamity of 1592,” “The Rescue of Korea,” “The Glorious Conquest of Korea,” or “The East Asian War,” was the largest military conflict of the sixteenth-century in terms of the number of combatants, yet it still remains obscure outside of East Asia. This is despite the fact that the war was witnessed and chronicled by Western observers and its outcome had significant and far-reaching implications for the subsequent histories of all the major belligerents and indeed, for international trade in the region. It marked the most serious challenge to China’s international hegemony in East Asia prior to the nineteenth century and featured the integration and deployment of the latest military technologies from both the West and the belligerent states. Its memory continues to impact relations between China, Korea, and Japan in both the cultural and diplomatic realms. Bringing in primary sources from all the major participants and examining the impact of this war down to the present, the papers in this panel seek to redress this omission by focusing on several key facets of this seminal conflict, ranging from strategy and alliance building, to the production and dissemination of nautical knowledge, to the creation of extensive genealogies to document positive participation in saving the Korean state from destruction at the hands of the Japanese invaders. Together, the papers demonstrate the permeability of borders and boundaries of various kinds, helping to highlight the broader global significance of this war and suggests fruitful areas for future comparative research.
Imjin War, Diplomacy. Grand Strategy, Genealogy, Nautical Knowledge, Memory
Nautical Knowledge, Field Surveys, and Mapmaking during the Imjin War
Title for Additional Participant 1:Nautical Knowledge, Field Surveys, and Mapmaking during the Imjin War
Abstract for Additional Participant 1:The Imjin War profoundly stimulated the interactions of materials, knowledge, and personnel among Northeast Asian states. The production and circulation of nautical knowledge between the Ming and Chosŏn allies exemplify this noteworthy development. Before the War, both states lacked systematic accumulation of empirical knowledge of coastal navigation. However, wartime urgency facilitated the legal and illegal exchange of confidential maps and gazetteers among Ming, Chosŏn, and Japan, rapidly advancing logistical and topographical knowledge based on military operations, field surveys, and strategic considerations.
This research traces the Ming-Chosŏn collaborative efforts to conduct field surveys, explore coastal routes, and produce regional maps during the Imjin War, focusing on the close interactions between empirical knowledge, geographic texts, and military practice. The various roles played by Ming and Chosŏn actors will also be examined. This research further investigates the enduring influence of the newly developed nautical knowledge into the Ming-Qing transitional period.
Abstract for Additional Participant 1:The Imjin War profoundly stimulated the interactions of materials, knowledge, and personnel among Northeast Asian states. The production and circulation of nautical knowledge between the Ming and Chosŏn allies exemplify this noteworthy development. Before the War, both states lacked systematic accumulation of empirical knowledge of coastal navigation. However, wartime urgency facilitated the legal and illegal exchange of confidential maps and gazetteers among Ming, Chosŏn, and Japan, rapidly advancing logistical and topographical knowledge based on military operations, field surveys, and strategic considerations.
This research traces the Ming-Chosŏn collaborative efforts to conduct field surveys, explore coastal routes, and produce regional maps during the Imjin War, focusing on the close interactions between empirical knowledge, geographic texts, and military practice. The various roles played by Ming and Chosŏn actors will also be examined. This research further investigates the enduring influence of the newly developed nautical knowledge into the Ming-Qing transitional period.
Title for Additional Participant 2:Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Peripheral Players in The Imjin War
Title for Additional Participant 2:Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Peripheral Players in The Imjin War
Abstract for Additional Participant 2:The Imjin War was one element in Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s grand strategy to supplant Ming hegemony in the region. However, in parallel he pursued a blunting strategy, using diplomacy to reduce Ming influence without confronting it directly. Hideyoshi’s foreign policy was both stubborn and aggressive, yet it was not monolithic. He sought to recruit allies, persuade neutrals to continue supplying essential materials, and dissuade potential rivals from joining the fray. To date, research on the war has naturally focused on the belligerents—Toyotomi Japan, Chosŏn Korea, and Ming China—but it is important to incorporate the perspectives of peoples indirectly involved. What expectations were placed upon them and to what extent were they fulfilled? How were they impacted by the conflict? Looking beyond the roles of the three East Asian regimes, this paper will explore the conflict as a global historical event by examining the involvement of third parties.
Abstract for Additional Participant 2:The Imjin War was one element in Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s grand strategy to supplant Ming hegemony in the region. However, in parallel he pursued a blunting strategy, using diplomacy to reduce Ming influence without confronting it directly. Hideyoshi’s foreign policy was both stubborn and aggressive, yet it was not monolithic. He sought to recruit allies, persuade neutrals to continue supplying essential materials, and dissuade potential rivals from joining the fray. To date, research on the war has naturally focused on the belligerents—Toyotomi Japan, Chosŏn Korea, and Ming China—but it is important to incorporate the perspectives of peoples indirectly involved. What expectations were placed upon them and to what extent were they fulfilled? How were they impacted by the conflict? Looking beyond the roles of the three East Asian regimes, this paper will explore the conflict as a global historical event by examining the involvement of third parties.
Title for Additional Participant 3:Transborder Migrations and the Reconstruction of Lineage: The Collective Memory of Post-Imjin Ming Diaspora in Korea
Title for Additional Participant 3:Transborder Migrations and the Reconstruction of Lineage: The Collective Memory of Post-Imjin Ming Diaspora in Korea
Abstract for Additional Participant 3:The Imjin War (1592–1598) triggered significant cross-border population movements, including the deployment of Ming military personnel to assist the Chosŏn kingdom in fighting Japanese invaders. Although the Ming troops withdrew by 1600, some of their offspring settled in Korea. These diaspora lineages have preserved their distinct identity as heirs of the Ming generals and officials who helped save Korea. This study explores the long-term history of these communities from the Imjin War to the present, focusing on how they have constructed narratives about their ancestry and migration routes. Genealogical records have played a central role in preserving these memories, but they may contain factual inaccuracies. By comparing these Korean genealogies with Chinese historical materials, this study examines the historical accuracy of the memory of the Ming refugee descendants. It also unravels the mechanisms of reconstruction, or even falsification, in the writing of their genealogical history.
Abstract for Additional Participant 3:The Imjin War (1592–1598) triggered significant cross-border population movements, including the deployment of Ming military personnel to assist the Chosŏn kingdom in fighting Japanese invaders. Although the Ming troops withdrew by 1600, some of their offspring settled in Korea. These diaspora lineages have preserved their distinct identity as heirs of the Ming generals and officials who helped save Korea. This study explores the long-term history of these communities from the Imjin War to the present, focusing on how they have constructed narratives about their ancestry and migration routes. Genealogical records have played a central role in preserving these memories, but they may contain factual inaccuracies. By comparing these Korean genealogies with Chinese historical materials, this study examines the historical accuracy of the memory of the Ming refugee descendants. It also unravels the mechanisms of reconstruction, or even falsification, in the writing of their genealogical history.
Title for Additional Participant 4:Transborder Migrations and the Reconstruction of Lineage: The Collective Memory of Post-Imjin Ming Diaspora in Korea
Title for Additional Participant 4:Transborder Migrations and the Reconstruction of Lineage: The Collective Memory of Post-Imjin Ming Diaspora in Korea
Abstract for Additional Participant 4:See above; joint presentation with Sangwoo Han.
Abstract for Additional Participant 4:As above, joint presentation with Sangwoo Han.
Kenneth Swope is Professor of Strategy & Policy at the United States Naval War College as well as Professor of History and Senior Fellow of the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the author of several books and articles on East Asian military history, international relations and grand strategy and is currently writing a book on the Three Feudatories Rebellion.
Kizaki Braddick graduated from the Australian National University in Asia-Pacific Studies (2015). This was followed by an MA in Japanese Studies from Leiden University (2018). He recently completed a DPhil in Oriental Studies at Oxford University (2025) with a dissertation on ‘The Grand Strategy of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1582-1598: Peace Through Hegemony’.
Sangwoo HAN received his Ph.D. in East Asian Studies (Chosŏn History) from Sungkyunkwan University. He served as a postdoctoral researcher with the university’s Chosŏn Household Register Digitization Project, as well as on the ERC project at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of History at Ajou University. His research explores Korean society, population, and family within the broader East Asian context.
Byung-Ho LEE is Associate Professor of Sociology at Ajou University, South Korea. He received his MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan and was a Lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research spans the fields of sinology, comparative and historical sociology, and demography, with a focus on ethnicity, identity, and social policy.
Jing LIU earned her PhD at Syracuse University. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Institute of China Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Her research focuses on Northeast Asian history, specifically Sino-Korean relations, trade, and knowledge production and dissemination in the 16th-17th centuries.
Kizaki Braddick graduated from the Australian National University in Asia-Pacific Studies (2015). This was followed by an MA in Japanese Studies from Leiden University (2018). He recently completed a DPhil in Oriental Studies at Oxford University (2025) with a dissertation on ‘The Grand Strategy of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1582-1598: Peace Through Hegemony’.
Sangwoo HAN received his Ph.D. in East Asian Studies (Early modern Korean History) from Sungkyunkwan University. He served as a postdoctoral researcher with the university’s Chosŏn Household Register Digitization Project, as well as on the ERC project at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of History at Ajou University. His research explores Korean society, population, and family within the broader East Asian context.
Byung-Ho LEE is Associate Professor of Sociology at Ajou University, South Korea. He received his MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan and was a Lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research spans the fields of sinology, comparative and historical sociology, and demography, with a focus on ethnicity, identity, and social policy.