Prelude

The battle of Sangju was one of the first Korean battles in the First Invasion of the Imjin War. The Koreans attempted to stop the Japanese invasion and prevent the siege of Fort Ch'ungju

Battle of Ch'ungju

The Battle of Chungju or the Battle of Tangumdae was the last battle of the Chungju Campaign fought between the Koreans and Japanese during the Japanese Invasion of Korea. This battle was an early battle in the Imjin War and the failure to defend it led to the capture of Seoul.Chungju is located...

. However, the Japanese' superior technology of the arquebuses proved again effective. Like nearly all the Korean generals at the start of the war, Yi Il performed terribly. The Japanese were victorious and pushed on to Chungju

Chungju

Chungju is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Namsan is a mountain located on the outskirts of the city.The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon grew up here....

.

Sangju

Yi Il gathered 1,000 men from among the local peasantry in Sangju. Yi Il did not want to be annihilated inside Sangju so he arranged his men on a small hill nearby. When a messenger arrived, warning of the Japanese approach, Yi had him beheaded, so that his announcement would not lower his men's morale.

Yi Il then sent out a scout to locate the position of the Japanese army. Unfortunately, the scout was shot by a Japanese sniper and was killed. When the scout did not return, Yi Il assumed the Japanese were nearby. Soon, the Japanese soldiers under general Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...

 appeared.
Konishi and his generals then ordered his ashigaru

Ashigaru

The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...

 to fire upon the Koreans with arquebuses. Then he had the Japanese charge up the hill. As the Japanese began to charge up the hill, Yi ordered his men to return fire but their arrows fell short. Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...

 split his force and began to encircle the Korean emplacement, trying to surround the Koreans. Yi Il knew that his army was going to be destroyed so he turned his horse around, and retreated with his remaining army. Konishi's army killed 300 of the Koreans and were victorious. Konishi then led his men to Chungju

Chungju

Chungju is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Namsan is a mountain located on the outskirts of the city.The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon grew up here....

for another victory.