The Jinju National Museum, headed by Director Jang Yong-jun, announced Wednesday the publication of "Japan's Imjin and Jeongyu Wars," a Korean-language translation with annotations of Japanese military records from the Imjin War (1592) and the Jeongyu War (1597).
The book contains four works: "Joseon Jingi" (Records of the Joseon Campaign), "Goryeo Ilgi" (Goryeo Diary), "Seojeong Ilgi" (Western Expedition Diary), and "Joseon Ilil Gi" (Daily Journal of Joseon). Following earlier Korean-language editions presenting the perspectives of Joseon and Ming China, this publication completes a historical archive series on the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars reflecting the viewpoints of all three East Asian nations involved.
"Joseon Jingi" is a compilation by the Tsushima Domain chronicling the entire course of the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars, covering records from 1592 to 1598. "Goryeo Ilgi" is the diary of Tajiri Akitane, who participated in the Imjin War as part of the forces led by Kato Kiyomasa and others, covering records from 1592 to 1593. These two sources reflect the perspectives of field commanders who conducted actual combat, providing detailed records of battle operations and the thoughts and actions of Japanese forces during the campaigns.
"Seojeong Ilgi" is the 1592 diary of the monk Tenkei, who accompanied forces commanded by Konishi Yukinaga and others during the early phase of the Imjin War. "Joseon Ilil Gi" is the diary of the monk Kyonen, who accompanied Ota Kazuyoshi, a Japanese military inspector, during the Jeongyu War, covering records from 1597 to 1598. These two diaries, written by monks who did not directly participate in combat, present the horrors of war in a relatively objective manner.
The Korean translations were undertaken by scholars specializing in Japanese and Korean history, with Lee Gye-hwang, professor emeritus at Inha University's Department of Japanese Studies, serving as principal researcher. The translators rendered difficult documents written in classical Chinese and archaic Japanese into fluent Korean, while carefully providing annotations to aid comprehension for readers.
The Jinju National Museum has been promoting its "Imjin War Records Korean Translation Project" since 2017, translating and publishing materials that documented the wars from the perspectives of Joseon and Ming China. Previously published translations include "Swaemirok," the refugee diary of O Hui-mun (2018); Song Yingchang's "Jinglüe Fuguo Yaobian" (Essential Compilation on Recovering the State, Ming China's Imjin War), published in 2020 and 2021; and Xing Jie's "Jinglüe Yuwo Zouyi" (Memorials on Strategies to Defend Against the Japanese, Ming China's Jeongyu War), published in 2024.
"With the publication of all the major records of the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars from the three East Asian nations, it is now possible to shed objective and comprehensive light on these international conflicts involving all three countries," an official from the Jinju National Museum said.
