Kim Ch'ungsŏn


Kim Ch'ungsŏn, also known by his birth name Sayaka and art name Mohadang, was a Japanese general who defected to Korea during the Japanese invasion.
He originally invaded Joseon as the Left Vanguard Commander under Katō Kiyomasa. However, he defected to the Joseon side and surrendered to Gyeongsang Jwabyeongsa Pak Chin. He achieved military successes in areas like Gyeongju and Ulsan, for which he was granted the rank of Gaseondaebu and the title of Cheomji. Following the recommendation of Supreme Commander Gwon Yul and Royal Inspector Han Jung-gyeom, he was bestowed the surname Kim and the name Ch'ungsŏn by the King. He was subsequently promoted to Jaheondaebu. During the second Japanese invasion, he participated in the Uiryeong Battle alongside other surrendered Japanese generals, such as Son Siro, achieving significant merit.
After the war, when the border became unstable due to the invasion of northern Jurchen tribes, he volunteered for military service and defended the frontier for over ten years. In 1613, he was promoted to Jeongheondaebu.
When Yi Gwal's Rebellion erupted, he distinguished himself by capturing and executing Seo Ah-ji, a lieutenant of the rebel Yi Gwal. He was awarded Sapaeji for this service but declined it, requesting the land be used for the state-run military farms of the Royal Defense Command.
In 1636, when the Qing invaded Joseon, Kim without waiting for a formal call-up, he immediately went to fight in the Ssangnyeong Battle in Gwangju, where he is recorded as having killed over 500 Jurchen soldiers. In 1643, while serving as Oegoe Gwon-gwan defending the border, he was relieved of his post due to a protest from the Qing envoy. When the peace treaty was finalized, he wept bitterly and returned to his home in Nongni, Daegu. He married the daughter of the local Magistrate Jang Chun-jeom and settled in Urok-dong. He focused on local reform by establishing family precepts and local self-governance rules.
His collected works, Mohadangjip in 3 volumes, were published in 1798. The Nokdong Seowon in Urok-ri was erected in his memory in the same year. This seowon was abolished in 1864 as part of the regent Daewon-gun's general campaign against seowon, but was reestablished in 1914 under the Japanese colonial regime. The seowon remains a popular destination for Japanese tourists in Daegu.
In 1930, Hidetaka Nakamura of the Japanese colonial government's Korean History Compilation Committee conducted an investigation and confirmed that Kim Ch'ungsŏn was indeed a Japanese defector. Recently, a monument in memory of Kim was built in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.
Kim Ch'ungsŏn is the founder of one of the Korean clans, the Urok Kim clan. Kim's 6th-generation descendants compiled his collected works, which exist in two editions.

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