ABSTRACT
When we consider the number of participating countries in the Imjin Waeran, the size of the war, and its repercussions, a similar example cannot be easily found in the history of East Asia. The participants included not only the three countries of Chos ŏ n Korea, Japan, and Ming China, but also, although as indirect participants, Southeast Asians such as those from Ry ū ky ū and Thailand and the Spanish and the Portuguese. The domestic situations of the three East Asian countries that participated in this war changed completely as a result. In Japan, the Toyotomi regime, which had led the invasion, collapsed, and the Edo bakufu established itself in 1603. In China, the Ming government, which had disbursed immense expenditures on this war, degenerated in strength, and was eventually ruined by the Jurchen Qing. In Chos ŏ n, while the government did not change, the social order of early Chos ŏ n practically disintegrated. For this reason the Imjin Waeran became the watershed that divided the Chos ŏ n period into early and late periods. In these ways, the Imjin Waeran was a devastating war that restructured the entire international order of East Asia. On the other hand, cultural exchanges took place between Korea and Japan during the war. While this had not been the original aim, it came to infl uence considerably the historical development and cultural life of the two countries after the war. This chapter will examine the circumstances of cultural exchanges, both in wartime and post-war, between Korea and Japan and consider their historical signifi cance.
