Reexamination of the Naseon Campaign in the mid-17th century : Focusing on its connection with Joseon’s northern territorial consciousness

The Naseon Campaign was an incident that took place twice during the Joseon Dynasty, in 1654 and 1658, at the request of the Qing Dynasty. Joseon gunners were dispatched to repel the Naseon(Russian) forces that had advanced south from the Heilongjiang River basin to the upper reaches of the Songhua River, together with the Qing army. The Campaign changed the situation in the border conflicts between Qing and Russia from 1649 to 1688 in favor of the Qing dynasty. Many of contemporary Korean historians share the negative perception of the Naseon Campaign which was prevalent among the ruling class of Joseon who had a strong anti-Qing sentiment because of the invasion of Qing in 1636. Historically, it is very common for a country to unite with another country regardless of national power to fight a common enemy. What is important is not whether Joseon at the time properly understood the true nature of Naseon (Russia), but whether Joseon understood Naseon(Russian) force as a threat to Joseon as well, or in other words, whether Joseon understood Naseon as a common enemy. It is not objective to disparage the role of Joseon's musket units. Since Joseon's all soldiers who participated in the campaign at the time were musketeers, it is right to consider them more important than ordinary infantry or cavalry. The role of the Joseon’s musket units should not be underestimated as the Qing army was not sufficient in firearms to cope with the Naseon(Russian) forces, equipped with excellent individual firearms. According to Chinese data, Joseon's musket units made a significant contribution. According to historical records, when the Qing’s envoy came to request that Joseon’s troops be dispatched, the Joseon court decided to participate in the Naseon campaign immediately and even decided on who would be the commander of Joseon force for the campaign. Although Joseon had surrendered to the Qing at Samjeondo(삼전도) in 1637, it was against common sense that the decision to dispatch troops was made so quickly, unlikely the previous cases such as campaigns to attack Ming. In particular, I believe that the location of the 'barbarians (Naseon),' the battle target of the Joseon-Qing allied forces, was a factor that could not be ignored. The Yeonggotap region, where the Naseon forces had reportedly appeared, was such a region that could never be overlooked in Korean history. The region is related to Balhae(발해)'s Sanggyeong Yongcheonbu(상경 용천부), Goryeo(고려)'s Hwaju(화주), and in particular, the stronghold of the family of LEE Seong-gye, who was the founder of he Joseon dynasty. It was probably under the jurisdiction of Gyeongwon Dohobu(경원 도호부) or a nearby region from Joseon's another administrative districts. Therefore, the fact that the unidentified foreign enemy called Naseon appeared in the vicinity of Joseon's northern border, could not be overlooked in terms of security. In academic research, it is neither desirable to denigrate nor glorify the Naseon Campaign. It would be very regrettable that the fact that Qing initiated the campaign were to hinder an objective evaluation of the Naseon campaign itself. The fact that the Qing initiated the campaign only shows that the Qing had a sense of crisis about Naseon and that at least at that time, they were anxious about Joseon’s help. If the Naseon(Russian) expeditionary force had not been stopped from advancing south, anyone would have thought that they could come down to the Tumen River. In my judgement, from the perspective of border history research, it is particularly meaningful to find that the Joseon court's perception of the northern border or northern territory consciousness at that time was one of the factors in deciding to dispatch troops to fight against Naseon forces.