Military of the Korean Empire

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Imperial Korean Armed Forces
대한제국군
Flag of Korea (1899).svg
Founded13 October 1897
Disbanded1907
Service branchesFlag of Korea (1899).svg Imperial Guards
Flag of Korea (1899).svg Imperial Korean Army
Flag of Korea (1899).svg Imperial Korean Navy
Leadership
Emperor of KoreaEmperor Gojong
Emperor Sunjong
Personnel
Active personnel28,000 (1907)
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Korea

The Imperial Korean Armed Forces (대한제국군) was the military of the Korean Empire

Foundation[]

Imperial Korean Army

Succeeding the Joseon Army and Navy, the Gwangmu Reform reorganized the military into a modern western-style military. The foundation of the Imperial Korean Army started when Inoue Kaoru argued that the King should modernize the military and the commanding system in 1895. Korea established many military academies in Korea. Gojong of Korea tried to establish his guards, but because of the interruptions of Japan, it was hard to use Siwidae as his guards. But when the Japanese were being interrupted by other European countries, the Siwidae was formed as Gojong's guards. The minister of the military supervises the training of the Siwidae. However, the Siwidae was disbanded in August of that year for refusing to stop the Japanese from assassinating Empress Myeongseong.[1] The Russian officers came to Korea to train the Imperial Korean Army. In 1897, 5 battalions of Jinwidae was formed.[2]

Organization[]

The military system of the Korean Empire consisted of the central troops (retinue and attendant guard regiments and capital guards unit) and the provincial troops (Garrison Guard). Unlike in the Joseon Dynasty, service was voluntary.[3]

Ministry of Military[]

In 1895, the government established the Ministry of Military as part of the Gabo Reform. The job of the ministry of the military was to control the military government supervise military forces and military bases.[4] The first minister of military was Cho Hui-yon.[5]

Board of Marshals[]

In 1899, strengthening the military Board of Marshals was established. Gojong of Korea set this to concentrate all the right to command to him.[6]

Training[]

Military Training of Jinwidae (Imperial Guards) in Taehan Empire
Foreign instructor demonstrating a maxim machine gun to a Korean soldier.

The Imperial Korean Army has 44 barracks, and they formally train in shooting and bayonet drills.[7] Foreign military officers like the Russians volunteered to train the soldiers. Aside from the military academies, they need to educate new officers. In 1896, the military established the Yeonmugongwon (연무공원,鍊武公院), the Military Academy of Korean Empire with an officers training program to begin making the Korean armies become more and more on par with the Chinese and the Japanese.[2]

Imperial Guards[]

The Jinwidae was the imperial guard that served as the Army's core. Some of them transferred to regular army units from this core unit. [8] The guard had 730 soldiers escorting the emperor nearby. It was as part of strengthening the Korean Empire's National Defense. The Imperial guard was directly under the Board of Marshal's member, Jung Ae-Kun. In 1897, the Jinwidae grew to 1,000 divided by five battalions.[2] As of October 1902, the are two regiments and one independent combat battalion. It comprises a cavalry battalion and two artillery units. The total number of troops was 4,672 men, 400 cavalry, and 102 military bands, totaling 5,174 men.

Imperial Korean Army[]

Soldiers of the Imperial Korean Army
Korean Empire Troops
Imperial Korean cavalry

The Imperial Korean Army consisted of infantry, artillery, machine gunners, and cavalry. In 1897, the regular troops comprised the Capital Guards with five regiments of about 900 soldiers each. It soon expanded into two battalions with 4,300 soldiers in 1902. In the provincial areas, garrisons in Pyongyang and Jeonju formed in 1895 expanded in 1901 to six divisions totaling 18,000 soldiers. The Army grew immensely to 28,000 before 1907.[8]

Imperial Korean Navy[]

In 1903, the government of the Korean Empire purchased its first modern warship, the Yangmu.[9] The warship, however, was not as efficient as it looked because of its previous use as a cargo ship. For the reasons above, another battleship was ordered to be constructed for a more efficient warship- the KIS Guangjae. The annexation of Korea by the Empire of Japan disrupted Korean naval tradition from 1910 until 1945.

Retirement[]

Imperial Korean Army had a retiring age. Colonel-General did not have a retiring age, Lieutenant General should retire at 70, and Major General should retire at 65. Senior Officers should retire at the age of 54, Captain should retire at the age of 48, and First lieutenant, Second lieutenant, and Non-commissioned officer should retire at the age of 45. But these retiring age can lengthen.[10]

Budget[]

Army Budget of Korean Empire from 1895-1905:[11]

Year 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
Amount of Army Budget in Qing Yuans 321,772 1,028,401 979,597 1,251,745 1,447,351 1,636,704 3,594,911 2,786,290 4,123,582 5,180,614 4,852,175

Dissolution[]

The Navy was forced to disband by the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905. Their ships, such as the Guangjae, were finally used to transport coals from 1941 until Korea was freed from Japan.

The Army disbanded on August 1, 1907. From midnight, it rained in Seoul. There was an order to gather in Namdaemun. In Namdaemun, Major Park Sung-hwan committed suicide for not protecting the country. It incited the Korean Army to attack the Japanese Army. Battle of Namdaemun started when soldiers got their weapons and fought against the Japanese Army. On 30 August 1907, officers were dismissed too.[12][13] The remaining soldiers were later incorporated as Emperor Sunjong's Royal Guards, which continued even after the annexation in 1910.

Ranks[]

Ensigns of Regular Duty Uniform (1900-1907)
Korean English
정장 General
부장 Lieutenant General
참장 Major General
정령 Colonel
부령 Lieutenant Colonel
참령 Major
정위 Captain
부위 First Lieutenant
참위 Second Lieutenant
정교 Master Sergeant
부교 Sergeant First Class
참교 Staff Sergeant
친위대 Royal Bodyguards

Weapons[]

After signing the Treaty of Ganghwa, Japan, Qing, the United States, and the European nations started importing modern weapons such as rifles, artillery, and machine guns in 1883 until its annexation in 1910.[14] From 1887, Gojong even tried to make weapons by themselves which however never succeeded.[15]

  • Martini-Henry m1871. Acquired from Great Britain in (1881-1884)

  • Snyder Enfield rifle. Acquired from Great Britain in (1881-1884)

  • Remington Rolling Block rifle. Acquired from the United States in (1884-1895)

  • Fusil Gras M80 1874. Acquired from France.

  • Mauser Model 1871. Acquired from the German Empire in (1893~). It was the standard-issue rifle of the Imperial Korean Armed Forces.

  • Berdan rifle. It was acquired from the Russian Empire in (1896~). It's standard-issue for the Imperial Guard, but they were not often used as the Mauser Model 1871.

  • Type 30 rifle. They were acquired from the Japanese Empire in (1900~) and made licensed copies in Yongsan Military Factory.[16]

  • Gatling Gun. They were used during the Donghak Peasant Revolution and acquired from the United States (1883~).

  • Maxim Machine Gun. Acquired from Great Britain in (Unknown).

  • Krupp 75mm mountain gun. Acquired from the German Empire in (Unknown).

  • Krupp 7.5 cm Model 1903. Acquired from the German Empire (1904-1910).

Ships[]

  • KIS Yangmu

  • KIS Guangjae

References[]

  1. ^ Lee 2009, p. 44.
  2. ^ a b c Lee 2009, p. 44-45.
  3. ^ Military System of the Great Han Empire (Daehanjeguk), War Memorial of Korea
  4. ^ "조선왕조실록". sillok.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  5. ^ "조선왕조실록". sillok.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. ^ "조선왕조실록". sillok.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ Military training of Siwidae (Royal Guards) in Taehan Empire, War Memorial of Korea
  8. ^ a b Keltie 1900, p. 791.
  9. ^ "제3장 군사학교의 설립과 사관양성 (PDF Format)" Archived 2007-12-01 at the Wayback Machine. Ministry of National Defense - Institution for Military History Compilation Official Website. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
  10. ^ "조선왕조실록". sillok.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  11. ^ "한국사데이터베이스". db.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  12. ^ 동아사이언스. "대한민국 1등 과학브랜드, 동아사이언스". m.dongascience.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  13. ^ Seth, Michael J. (2010-10-16). A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742567177.
  14. ^ "구한 말 사용한 총기 관련한 문의가 있어서 적는 글".
  15. ^ "[이일우의 밀리터리 talk] 조선총잡이로 본 '밀덕' 고종과 빵빵했던 대한제국군". 나우뉴스. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  16. ^ "(수정 재업)대한제국도 1905년부터 아리사카 30년식 소총 자체 생산했음".

Cite Book[]

Lee, Seongjin (2009). 구한말의 호위제도 고찰 (in Korean). 한국경호경비학회지.

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