Negotiating the Costs of the Imjin War (1592-1598): The Debate over the Retention of Ming Troops in Korea in 1593

This study examines the underexplored debate over the retention of Ming troops in Korea during the early phase of the Imjin War (1592-1598). Drawing on the writings of Chosŏn and Ming officials alongside the records of the two courts, it traces how the question of retaining troops (yubyŏng/liubing 留兵) in Korea emerged as a major source of contention—not only between the Chosŏn and Ming courts but also among Ming officials—following the recapture of P’yŏngyang in early 1593. Although the Chosŏn court initially requested the continued presence of Ming troops, its officials soon voiced concern over the substantial financial burden this would impose, especially amid the nationwide devastation wrought by the Japanese invasion. Song Yingchang 宋應昌 (1536-1606), the Ming commissioner of military affairs, strongly advocated maintaining a sizable Ming force in Korea to guard against future Japanese aggression, even as he pursued peace negotiations with the Japanese. He pressed the Chosŏn court to assume responsibility for provisioning these troops, while simultaneously seeking to persuade the Ming court to shoulder a greater share of the financial costs. His proposal, however, was ultimately rejected, and the Ming court ordered the complete withdrawal of its forces from Korea. The debate over the retention of Ming troops in Korea in 1593 thus reveals the centrality of financial considerations in shaping the scope of Ming assistance and highlights the divergent ways in which Chosŏn and Ming officials envisioned the aftermath of the Imjin War—and the costs it entailed. The 1593 debate on the retention of Ming troops also foreshadows the diplomatic tensions that would resurface between the Chosŏn and Ming courts after the Japanese withdrawal in 1598. Considering these continuities situates the 1593 debate within a longer trajectory of postwar planning and deepens our understanding of the underlying tensions between the two courts that persisted well beyond the cessation of active hostilities with the Japanese forces in 1598.