Japan’s Invasion of Chosŏn Korea and Abduction of Koreans

Abstract

abstract:The Japanese invasion of Chosŏn, known as the Imjin War (K. Imjin waeran 壬辰倭亂, 1592–1598), ravaged Korea. Japanese troops abducted twenty to one hundred thousand or more Koreans to Japan. Although a fraction were repatriated, most abductees lived their lives in slavery in Japan or beyond. I argue that the Japanese abduction of Koreans was an extension of Japanese “pillage and violence” (J. ranbō rōzeki 濫妨狼藉) wartime practices that had emerged during the extended period of civil war during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Moreover, the increase in abductions during the final years of the war derived from Japan’s failing military campaign. The Japanese abduction and treatment of Koreans reflects the slavery and human-trafficking practices that were still robust in Japanese society during the early seventeenth century.초록:임란에서 일본군은 2만에서 10만 혹은 그 이상으로 추산되는 조선인을 노 획물로 납치했다. 조선인의 대량 납치는 일본 전국시대의 약탈 관행과 실패로 끝나가는 침략 전쟁에의 좌절 그리고 보상 심리에 연유했다. 조선인은 납치된 후 일본사회의 만연한 노예 노동 및 인신매매의 희생물이 되었다.