Timeline of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) explained

See main article: Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).

Pre-war

Year Date Event
1544 Wokou raid Saryang-jin
1555 Wokou raid Joseon
1583 Yi Sun-sin defeats a Jurchen force near the Tumen River
1587 Yi Sun-sin is demoted to a common soldier after annoying I Il
Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends an insulting letter to the Joseon court
1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends envoys asking the Joseon court to aid them in invading the Ming dynasty
1589 Toyotomi Hideyoshi orders Shō Nei of the Ryukyu Kingdom to suspend trade with the Ming dynasty, but he refuses and reports the matter to Ming envoys instead
1590 4 August Siege of Odawara (1590)

The Later Hōjō clan is defeated and most of the northern daimyō submit without a fight

August Joseon envoys arrived in Japan
1591 March Envoys return to Joseon and refuse to aid Japan in invading the Ming dynasty
8 March Yi Sun-sin is appointed to the post Left Naval Commander of Jeolla following Ryu Seong-ryong's recommendation
A Chinese trader captured by the Japanese sends a message to Zhejiang stating that 100,000 Japanese troops are being amassed to invade the following year
The Wanli Emperor orders coastal defenses to be strengthened
Joseon sends a request for help to the Ming dynasty
1592 April The Japanese army assembles at Nagoya

1592

Year Date Event
1592 23 May The Japanese First Division under Konishi Yukinaga and Sō Yoshitoshi arrive at Busan
24 May Siege of Busanjin

Japanese First Division takes Busan

Battle of Dadaejin

Japanese First Division takes a neighboring coastal fort

25 May Siege of Dongnae

Japanese First Division takes Dongnae

26 May Japanese First Division takes Yangsan and Miryang
28 May Japanese First Division takes Daegu
Japanese Second Division under Katō Kiyomasa arrives in Busan and takes Ulsan, Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, Sinnyeong, and Gumi
29 May Japanese Third Division under Kuroda Nagamasa arrives west of Busan and takes Gimhae before heading north
3 June Battle of Sangju

Japanese First Division takes Sangju

4 June Japanese Third Division takes Cheongju
5 June Japanese First and Second divisions meet up at Mungyeong
6 June Battle of Chungju

Japanese First Division takes Chungju

8 June Gwanghae is installed as prince
9 June The Joseon royal family departs from Hanseong and the city descends into chaos
11 June Katō Kiyomasa's Second Division crosses the Han River
12 June Japanese First Division takes Hanseong and the Second Division arrives a few hours later
13 June Yi Sun-sin's fleet of 39 warships depart from Yeosu
14 June Yi Sun-sin arrives at Dangpo to rendezevouz with Won Gyun, who doesn't show up
15 June Won Gyun arrives at Dangpo with 4 warships and together they depart for Geoje
16 June Kuroda Nagamasa's Third Division and Ukita Hideie's Eighth Division arrive at Hanseong while the other five divisions have landed at Busan
Yi Sun-sin's fleet reaches Okpo where they find Japanese ships at anchor
The Joseon royal family arrives at Pyeongyang
17 June Battle of Okpo

Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun defeat a fleet of 50 Japanese transport ships, but split up and return home after receiving news of the fall of Hanseong

18 June Yi Sun-sin arrives back at Yeosu
7 July Battle of Imjin River (1592)

The Korean defense is defeated and the three vanguard Japanese divisions cross the river and take Gaeseong

8 July Battle of Sacheon (1592)

Yi Sun-sin destroys more than 12 large Japanese ships at Sacheon

9 July Battle of Dangpo

Yi Sun-sin defeats a fleet of 21 Japanese warships

12 July Battle of Danghangpo

Yi Sun-sin's fleet destroys 26 Japanese ships

16 July Konishi Yukinaga arrives at the Daedong River and Kuroda Nagamasa joins him a few days later
18 July The Korean fleet dissolves and each commander heads back to their respective ports to recuperate
19 July Seonjo of Joseon departs from Pyeongyang and heads for Yeongbyeon
24 July Siege of Pyongyang (1592)

Japanese First and Third divisions take Pyeongyang

26 July Seonjo of Joseon meets a token force of 1,000 from the Ming dynasty at Gwaksan
30 July Seonjo of Joseon arrives at Uiju with Tai Zhaobian and Shi Ru
July Gwak Jaeu leads a force of 1,000 in resistance against Japanese occupation in the south but later enters government service when he's accused of robbery
7 August Go Gyeong-myeong dies in a failed attack on Japanese held Geumsan
8 August The Ming dynasty decides to dispatch troops to Joseon
10 August I Eokgi joins with Yi Sun-sin at Yeosu to practice naval formations
12 August Yi Sun-sin and I Eokgi rendezvous with Won Gyun at Noryang
14 August Battle of Hansan Island

Yi Sun-sin, I Eokgi, and Won Gyun defeat a Japanese fleet

15 August Battle of Hansan Island

Yi Sun-sin, I Eokgi, and Won Gyun defeat another Japanese fleet at Angolpo

Zhao Chengxun arrives at Uiju with a force of 5,000
23 August Battle of Pyongyang (1592)

Zhao Chengxun and Shi Ru attack Pyeongyang and are defeated

August Gim Cheonil entrenches himself on Ganghwa Island
6 September Battle of Cheongju

Jo Heon takes Cheongju

12 September Konishi Yukinaga heads to Hanseong to discuss future defense plans with Ukita Hideie
22 September Jo Heon attacks Geumsan and dies and the monk Yeonggyu follows up soon after and dies as well
29 September Yi Sun-sin and I Eokgi set sail from Yeosu with a reconstructed fleet of 166 ships and Won Gyun joins them the day after
3 October Kuroda Nagamasa fails to take Yeonan
4 October Yi Sun-sin's fleet reaches Nakdong River
A 50-day armistice is signed by Shen Weijing at Pyeongyang
5 October Battle of Busan (1592)

Yi Sun-sin's fleet bombards the Japanese fleet and destroys 130 ships before retreating

6 October The Wanli Emperor sends an edict to Seonjo of Joseon stating his support for driving out the Japanese
Yi Sun-sin's fleet is disbanded and he returns home for resupplies
Kuroda Nagamasa fails to take Yeonan again
12 October Bak Jin retakes Gyeongju
October Hamgyong campaign

Katō Kiyomasa's Second Division occupies Hamgyeong

Nurhaci offers to join the war against the Japanese but is rejected by both the Ming dynasty and Joseon
13 November Siege of Jinju (1592)

Japanese Seventh Division fails to take Jinju

23 December Shen Weijing returns to Pyeongyang and tells the Japanese that there would be no further negotiations until they retreat all the way back to Busan
29 December Konishi Yukinaga tells Shen Weijing that they would withdraw from Pyeongyang if the Ming dynasty gave them rights to ports along China's coast

1593

Year Date Event
1593 5 January Wu Weizhong leads 5,000 men across the Yalu River
26 January Li Rusong's army of 35,000 reaches the Yalu River
6 February Siege of Pyongyang (1593)

The allied Ming-Joseon army lays siege to Pyeongyang

The Ayutthaya Kingdom's offer to send ships is rejected by the Ming dynasty
8 February Siege of Pyongyang (1593)

Konishi Yukinaga's First Division retreats from Pyeongyang, ending the siege

17 February Konishi Yukinaga's remaining men reach Hanseong
19 February Li Rusong takes Gaeseong
22 February Katō Kiyomasa and Nabeshima Naoshige's Second Division depart from Anbyeon and make their way back to Hanseong
27 February Battle of Byeokjegwan

The Ming army's advance towards Hanseong is repelled

8 March Yi Sun-sin leaves for Geoje where he and Won Gyun rendezvous
9 March I Eokgi joins Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun
14 March Battle of Haengju

The Japanese fail to take Haengju on the Han River

20 March Yi Sun-sin destroys 10 Japanese vessels near Ungchon
24 March Yi Sun-sin attacks Ungchon and releases five Korean prisoners
3 May Yi Sun-sin returns to Yeosu
7 May Li Rusong returns to Gaeseong
18 May The Japanese abandon Hanseong
19 May The Ming army retakes Hanseong
May "Big Sword" Liu Ting crosses the Yalu River with 5,000 Southern Chinese reinforcements
22 June Xie Yongzu and Yu Yihuan negotiate with Konishi Yukinaga at Nagoya
June The Japanese retreat to 17 fortresses on Korea's southern coast and the allied army makes camp at Uiryeong and Changnyeong
27 July Siege of Jinju (1593)

The Japanese conduct a massacre at Jinju

1 September Hideyoshi Toyotomi gives the order to withdraw 40,000 troops from Korea.
16 September Most of the Ming army departs from Korea, leaving a garrison force of 16,000
24 October Seonjo of Joseon returns to Hanseong

1594

Year Date Event
1594 April Yi Sun-sin destroys 39 Japanese ships
December All Ming soldiers are withdrawn from Korea

1596

Year Date Event
1596 22 October Negotiations break down as Hideyoshi Toyotomi realizes the Ming and Joseon envoys aren't in Japan to show obeisance to the greatness of Nippon civilization

1597

Year Date Event
1597 1 March Katō Kiyomasa lands at Jukdo with 10,000 men
2 March Konishi Yukinaga arrives at Busan with 7,000 men
12 April Yi Sun-sin is arrested and replaced by Won Gyun
16 May Yi Sun-sin is released from prison
June Yang Yuan crosses the Yalu River with 3,000 soldiers
31 July Won Gyun leads a fleet east from Hansando but returns after meeting a small squadron of Japanese ships at Geoje
July Yang Yuan reaches Namweon
15 August Ma Gui arrives at Hanseong with 1,000 troops
17 August Won Gyun takes the entire fleet and sails east to Busan
20 August Battle of Chilcheollyang

The Korean fleet is repelled near Busan

28 August Battle of Chilcheollyang

Nearly the entire Korean fleet is destroyed, Won Gyun and I Eokgi are both killed

August Total Japanese forces in Korea reach 141,900
11 September Ukita Hideie marches west from Busan with a force of 49,600
13 September Yi Sun-sin is reinstated
23 September Siege of Namwon

A Japanese army of 50,000 lays siege to Namweon

26 September Siege of Namwon

The Japanese take Namweon

The Japanese take Hwangseoksan
28 September Yi Sun-sin arrives at Hoeryeong
30 September The Japanese take Jeonju
4 October Yang Yuan retreats to Hanseong
8 October Yi Sun-sin scares off an advance Japanese scout party at Oranpo
16 October Battle of Jiksan

The Japanese advance north is checked by Ming forces and forced to retreat

17 October The Japanese take Oranpo but are repelled at Jindo
24 October 200 Japanese ships approach Oranpo
26 October Battle of Myeongnyang

The Japanese fleet is repelled by Yi Sun-sin

23 November Ma Gui arrives at Jeonju

1598

Year Date Event
1598 26 January Yang Hao, Ma Gui, and Gwon Yul meet at Gyeongju, forming an army of 50,000
29 January Siege of Ulsan

The allied army lays siege to Ulsan

19 February Siege of Ulsan

The allies fail to take Ulsan and retreat, suffering heavy casualties

23 May Yi Sun-sin leads his ships to establish base at Gogeum
May Chen Lin arrives at Tongjak with the Ming fleet
26 June Toyotomi Hideyoshi orders the withdrawal of half his troops from Korea
July Liu Ting arrives at Hanseong with 20,000 troops
12 August Yang Hao leaves Hanseong to face charges against him in Beijing
17 August Chen Lin arrives at Gogeum and joins with Yi Sun-sin
18 September Hideyoshi Toyotomi dies
19 October Siege of Suncheon

Allied forces lay siege to Suncheon

October Second Siege of Ulsan

Allied forces lay siege to Ulsan

2 November Second Siege of Ulsan

Allied forces retreat from Ulsan

Siege of Suncheon

Allied forces retreat from Suncheon

6 November Battle of Sacheon (1598)

Allied forces lay siege to Sacheon

11 November Battle of Sacheon (1598)

Allied forces are forced to retreat from Sacheon

16 December Battle of Noryang

The Japanese fleet is defeated by Yi Sun-sin

24 December The last Japanese ships leave Korea

See also

Bibliography

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