Battle of Ungchi (熊峙戰鬪) was one of the battles in the early stages of the Imjin War. On 13 August 1592 (7th day of the 7th lunar month, Seonjo 25), it was fought at the Ungchi defensive line in Jeolla Province. Government forces led by Gimje Magistrate Jeong Dam (鄭湛) and his subordinates Park Jeong-yeong and Park Seok-jeong joined with righteous army forces led by Hwang Bak, Yi Gwang, and others. Naju Magistrate Yi Bok-nam (李福男) and Haenam County Magistrate Byeon Eung-jeong (邊應井) also took part, but four generals and 3,000 soldiers died and the defenders were defeated.
Background
Ungchi is a pass linking Sinchon-ri in Soyang-myeon, Wanju County, and Sedong-ri in Bugwi-myeon, Jinan County, on the border between Jeonju and Jinan. During the Imjin War, the Japanese army led by the 6th Japanese unit, Kobayakawa Takakage (小早川隆景), occupied Geumsan in Chungcheong Province on 31 July 1592 (23rd day of the 6th lunar month) and built fortifications there. Kobayakawa Takakage's subordinate general Ankokuji Ekei (安国寺恵瓊) led 10,000 troops and tried to advance on Jeonju Fortress through Ungchi. In response, all government forces and 1,000 righteous army soldiers in Jeolla Province gathered and fought at Ungchi.
In early July, the Japanese army hurried to prepare for an advance into Jeolla Province.1 The Japanese army formed a special unit (別軍) and placed it under the command of Ankokuji Ekei (安國寺惠瑗). He was a monk who founded Ankokuji temple and took the name of the temple as his surname. He called himself the Jeolla governor and scattered proclamations to various counties. He planned to pass through Namwon from Changwon and occupy Jeonju, but was unable to break through the resistance of Gwak Jae-u's (郭再祐) righteous army at Uiryeong, the midpoint, and turned toward Seongju.1
Japanese Entry into Ungchi and Deployment of Joseon Forces
Kobayakawa Takakage (小早川隆景), Ankokuji's superior, was in Hanseong. After receiving a report that Ankokuji's route had encountered problems,1 he passed through Jirye and Muju, went through Geumsan, and joined Ankokuji.2
To enter Jeonju from Geumsan, one had to cross the steep Ungchi (Gomtijae) pass between Jinan and Jeonju. Another route from Geumsan to Jeonju required crossing the Ichi (Baejae) pass in Jinsan.2 At this time, Gwangju Magistrate Kwon Yul personally led about 1,500 soldiers he had recruited in the Gwangju area and defended Ichi. Hwang Jin, the Dongbok County magistrate who had distinguished himself in Japan, also joined this force. Gimje Magistrate Jeong Dam (鄭湛) was assigned to block Ungchi, and the Naju Magistrate's unit Yi Bok-nam (李福男) was deployed as the advance force. Many righteous army units, including Hwang Bak (黃璞), also joined.2
At the Ungchi defensive line, Jeong Dam, Bang Jeong-yeong, Park Seok, Hwang Bak, Yi Bok-nam, Byeon Eung-jeong, Oh Jeong-dal, and others gathered and established the line in three tiers. The first line at the foot of the mountain was held by righteous army leader Hwang Bak and Oh Jeong-dal, the second line on the mountainside by Naju Magistrate Yi Bok-nam, and the third line at the summit by Gimje Magistrate Jeong Dam. On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, Ankokuji Ekei led his troops in a full-scale attack. The first and second defensive lines collapsed, while the third line under Jeong Dam continued to fight. However, Japanese casualties were also heavy, and when night fell, they halted the battle and withdrew.
Course of the Battle
On 7 July, the Japanese vanguard advanced up Ungchi firing arquebuses but was met with fierce resistance and temporarily retreated. The next day, in the late morning, the Japanese army mobilized all its forces and advanced. Righteous army units under Hwang Bak and government forces under Oh Jeong-dal held the first line, but were pushed back, and Oh Jeong-dal was killed by the Japanese commander Ankokuji Ekei (安国寺恵瓊). The unit of Yi Bok-nam took over the second line. The enemy pushed past the second line and climbed to the summit.2 Jeong Dam's troops were deployed at the summit.
Jeong Dam rode a white horse and shot down the enemy commander who came up, and he did not retreat even as the enemy kept pressing, attacking fiercely from the front. As night fell and arrows ran out, his soldiers began to scatter, but he fought hand-to-hand to the end and finally met a heroic death.2
However, when the Joseon arrows ran out, the Japanese cancelled their withdrawal, attacked again, and in this process the Joseon forces were pushed back. The Naju government forces led by Yi Bok-nam retreated to Andeok-won, and Jeong Dam, Kang Un, Park Hyeong-gil, and others, who could not escape, died in battle. The Yi Bok-nam unit, nearly out of arrows, lay in ambush in the Andeok-won valley and wiped out one unit of Ankokuji Ekei's force that had entered the ravine.
Result and Impact
After the battle, the long pass of Ungchi was covered with the bodies of Joseon soldiers.2
After the government forces and righteous army were defeated at Ungchi, Yi Jeong-ran (李廷鸞), a former Sungkyunkwan official of senior sixth rank, entered Jeonju Fortress to gather the people, and Jeolla Governor Yi Gwang firmly held the walls. Eventually Ankokuji Ekei retreated to Geumsan, but on the way he gathered the bodies of Joseon soldiers who had died at Ungchi, built a large burial mound for them, and erected a marker reading 弔朝鮮國忠肝義膽 ("Mourning the loyal hearts and righteous gallbladders of the Joseon nation") to honor their loyalty.
Significance of the Battle of Ungchi
- Positive aspects
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The Joseon military, previously divided between government forces and local militias, formed a systematic alliance and took the field as a forward-looking example, which became a good opportunity for civilian and government forces to unite in the many battles that followed the battles of Ungchi and Ichi.
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Through the combined land and sea strategy, it delayed the attack on the main camp of Yeosu Left Naval Commander Yi Sun-sin and on Jeolla Province, the granary region, thereby buying time for the Joseon navy and the Jeolla provincial army to assemble.
Population Losses
Notes