Battle of Namdaemun

Battle of Namdaemun
	; Contemporary French artistic depiction of the Battle of Namdaemun, showing Korean and Japanese soldiers in heated contest.
Date	1 August 1907
Location	Namdaemun Gate, Seoul, Korea
Result	Japanese victory
Belligerents
Japan	Korea
Commanders and leaders
Imperial Japanese Army	Imperial Korean Armed Forces
Strength
1,100 (approx.)	1,200 (approx.)
Casualties and losses
4 dead; 40 wounded;	68 dead; 100 wounded; 516 captured;

The Battle of Namdaemun was an insurgency by the Korean army against Japanese forces in Korea. It was a reaction to the disbandment of the Korean army following the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907. It took place at Namdaemun Gate in Seoul on August 1, 1907.

Overview

In June 1907, the Japanese forced the Sunjong Emperor disbanded the Armed Forces of the Korean Empire. As a consequence, the Armed Forces of the Korean Empire went on a revolution with arms.[1]

The location of the Battle of the Armed Forces of the Korean Empire is the site and street where the battle exploded, which corresponds today to the current location of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Because of an important unequilibrium between numbers of soldiers in both side, Korean forces did not overcome their inferiority, and the Korean base was therefore occupied by Japan. The disbanded army joined the Righteous Armies and together they solidified a foundation for the Righteous Armies’ Battle of 1907.

This led to the Anti-Japanese War of the Righteous Armies.

Historical context and description

Emperor Gojong

The 1st Battalion Commander, Major (Park Seung-hwan)

In 1906, the installation of the Japanese Resident-General directed by Prince Ito Hirobumi in Korea. The Japanese Resident-General of Korea was installed in 1906, during the 44th year of the King Gojong’s reign. After this event, Imperial Japan hurried to annex Korea outright.

Japan forced Emperor Gojong to abdicate the throne of Korea in June 1907. This was possible because of the Hague Secret Emissary Affair, also called the Jeongmi Treaty, which concluded the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907. The treaty disbanded the Armed Forces of the Korean Empire, which was the last military force.

On August 1 at 8:00 a.m., the 1st Battalion (unarmed 1st Infantry Regiment) was about to depart for the training center where the disbandment ceremony was supposed to happen.

The 1st Battalion Commander Major Park Seung-hwan (1869-1907), wrote a note on a paper in protest against the disbandment of the armed forces, "I could die ten thousand times because I couldn’t protect my country as a soldier”. Then Park committed suicide by shooting himself, this enraged the soldiers, which extorted ammunition and armaments, arranged sentries around the barracks and started to open fire with guns against the Japanese army.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment or 1st Battalion inside Sungnyemun Gate, heard the gunshots around Seosomun Gate, they directly came and opened as well fire on the Imperial Japanese Army.

Around 9:30 am, the Imperial Japanese Army put its 51st Infantry Regiment, first second and third Battalions, to fire indiscriminately with machine guns installed on the rampart of Sungnyemun.

Without any element of surprise, the Korean forces were in numerical inferiority, and it was impossible for them to overcome their armament and soldiers' imbalance. Therefore, the Namdaemun Barracks was occupied around 10:50 a.m. and the Seosomun Barracks was taken by the Imperial Japanese Army around 11:40 a.m.

A major part of the Imperial Korean Armed Forces kept on resisting outside Seosomun Gate. As well, the disbanded soldiers joined the righteous armies to fight. They strengthened a foundation for the Righteous Armies’ Battle of 1907, which phenomenon led to the Anti-Japanese War of the Righteous Armies.

The geographical map of Gyeongseong in 1903, shows that the Barracks of the 1st Battalion (currently 120 in Seosomun-dong) and the Barracks of the 2nd Battalion (currently 34 in Namchang-dong), were located in the southeast of Seosomun Gate and Sungnyemun Gate respectively.

Seosomun and Sungnyemun are the place where the street battle exploded. This site now corresponds to the current Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Analysis

The Battle of Namdaemun against Japan was sparked by the desire to resist dissolution of the Korean army.

From an international point of view, the battle is seen as a small combat action because of the small size of the Korean forces. Indeed, Korean soldiers numbered only 3,000 during this battle.

On another hand, from a national Korean point of view, this event was important because almost all of the capital guards were committed in it. As a matter of fact, there were 20,000 Korean soldiers in the country and only 4,000 in the capital city.

Aftermath

Righteous army of Jeongmi (1907); the man dressed in all-black is an Imperial Korean Army soldier.

Many of Korean Empire Armies died or captured in Battle of Namdaemun. Part of korean empire armies were join in the Righteous army (Resistance) and they raised the Righteous army of Jeongmi in 1907.

Righteous army of Jeongmi

Basically, Righteous army composed only about poor peasants, fishermen, tiger hunters, miners, merchants, and laborers. After the Battle of Namdaemun many of regular army (Korean Empire Armies) joined the Righteous army in 1907.

Cultural references

2018 Mr. Sunshine (Korean Drama)

References

Seth, Michael J. (2010-10-16). A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742567177.

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[1] Seth, Michael J. (2010-10-16). A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742567177.