Forty thousand soldiers were killed when Korean dynasty ignored the importance of the duty of military service in peace time.

There is the sole house at a foothill of Namhan mountain of which address is 87-1, Daessangyoung-ri, Chowol-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyunggu-so, Korea. This house is decorated with the red bars and located at a retreated area where no road is constructed. It is a shrine called as Jeongchungmyo.

At every third day of January lunar calendar, peoples of Ssangryong-ri village have worshiped at this shrine for the memorial defeat when Korean soldiers were defeated by Cheong Chinese soldiers. There have been four military officers fought and died at Saangryong hill battle in time of Byungjahoran(Cheong offensive war).

It is nonsense that forty thousand Koreans forces were demolished by the only three hundreds Chinese soldiers. It is the result of haughty Korean government ignoring the importance of military force and state of the world.

In China, Cheong race had flourished long time, dominating over Myong race. King Gwanghae tried to keep neutrality between Cheong and Myung nations but, in may 1623, the king was ruled out from the crown. The revolt party changed the diplomatic policy, favoring Myung nation. They revolted for the king’s crime killing his family member so they had to respect Myung.

In 1627, Cheong’s king invaded Korea and made Korean government to surrender at the term of agreement that Cheong should be respected as an older brother country. When two governmental diplomats attended at Chinese king crowing ceremony in 11 Apr. 1636, they did not drop down their head as an expression of respect in Korean way. Korean king Injo declared that Korea is the alliance of Myung nation and he could not pocket Choeng’s insult anymore in 17 Jun/ 1636. Eventually Chinese force crossed Yalu river, border in date of 9 dec. 1637. It was the second attack and Korean force was too easily destroyed.   

Korean government trying to evacuate to Ganghwa island had to evacuate to Namhan Mountain Fortress with the seventy days of food. The fortress was surrounded by Chinese force in 16 Dec. 1937. A psychological warfare was begun to send the Korean prince and Korean king camouflaged the governmental officer as the prince to send. The prisoner of the war, Korean officer disclosed he was not the prince and killed by Chinese.

On that day, Korean king Injo ordered to mobilize all force to fight against China and every provincial government responded to the order. The force called upon in Youngnam provice arrived Ssangryong hill at the eastern part of Namhan Mountain Fortress on the third day of January, 1938. The commanders are Shim Yon supported by the leftist cavalry commander 68 years old Hur Wan and rightist commander 50 years old Min Young, leading 40,000 soldiers.

The force mobilized in the hardest winter time was forced to march without rest and half of the force were not arrived at the hill. The assistant commander Doh KyungYoo dispatched by the commander Shim pushed the soldiers to keep marching. Doh was not a professional military officer but was a high administrative officer. He punished Min Young’s assistant officer Park ChungKyum appealing to the order to march without rest, cutting his head with a long knife. He was prisoned for the accusation of fleeing from the battle of Ssangyoung hill and was assassinated after the war. 

All soldiers arrived the hill. The commander Hur placed the camp on the left area of the hill and the commander Min did at the foothill of right mountain. Even though the assistant commander Doh was advised that camping at the lower was as too risky to be attacked, he shortly ordered to attack tomorrow the Namhan Mountain Fortress surrounded by Chinese. The old military commanders could not make the administrative officer to be understood. The commander Hur was disheartened to follow the inappropriate order from Doh. 

On the 3^rd day of lunar January of 1637, the enemy forehead comprising of 33 soldiers came down from the Nam mountain. While the center section of Korean force shot the rifles consecutively, the ammunitions were gone. The soldiers were shouting to get more ammunitions and the enemy got this situation to accelerate their attack. Some soldier shot them with their archer but all arrows were placed on Chinese shields.

All the archeries were killed by the enemy and the resistance line was outnumbered by attacking Chinese. The commander Hur was injured and assisted to ride on horse back but he was fallen down from the horse and put under horses feet to death. Chinese soldiers wielded their short knives on the line of Korean death along the resistance wooden fence. When the cannon was placed on the ammunition dump in the commander Hur’s force on the east side of the hill, the ammunitions were exploded. Chinese force utilized this chance to all-out attack and the Hur’s soldiers were all killed. The dead were stripped and burnt out by Chinese.

The collected dead were counted less than four thousands after the battle and most of the dead were abandoned to be taken by crows and wild dogs with scattered skeletons. The forty thousand soldiers were formed their resistance line under the mountain and were all wiped out by the only three hundred enemy soldiers coming down from the mountain top.

44 years ago before this war, a Chinese Myung military commander dispatched to help Korea in the war of Imjin told the Korean King Seonjo that Korea had been strong but it became weak due to Korean policy focusing on farming and art in the face of his reporting to arrive Korea.

300 years ago more earlier before this war when Koryo was attacked by northern barbarians, Dang Chinese government raised the question to the governmental messengers asking help. “ Why do you fear yourself so much to these small herds of thief? Your country have been strong enough so Dang first king and we could not defeat.”

The real problem was in the national security system and military service. All men had to serve in the military from 16 years old to 60 years old based on the military system developed by Jeong DohJon. There had been no war since the first day of Choseon dynasty for abou 200 years, there were change in the military system allowing men to be exempted from the military duty when they paid with money and grains for their service. The administrative officers and studying students were also exempted from the duty. Many young men were became the fake student studying for the administrative officer test to be free of the duty. The king Injo accepted these request asked by his followers to revolt against the previous king Gwanghaegun.

After nine years later, the war Byungjahoran(Chinese infiltration) was broken and its results were disastrous as we have known.