Born Then
1592–1598

Life during the Imjin War

Be born in a place it hit, a few years before it began, and see what it did to five ordinary lives.

What it meant for ordinary people

Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 and again in 1597 on the way to an attack on Ming China. Korean volunteer armies, Admiral Yi Sun-sin's navy and Ming troops eventually drove the Japanese out after Hideyoshi died in 1598. Much of Korea was devastated, and many potters and other captives were taken to Japan.

Deaths: perhaps 1 million Korean soldiers and civilians; tens of thousands of Koreans were taken to Japan.

How hard it hits each person in the game (risk of death, of being conscripted, of leaving) comes from scholarly estimates.

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