Namwon Manin-uichong (Tomb of Ten Thousand Martyrs)

About this place

Manin-uichong is a site that enshrines the patriotic spirit of the approximately ten thousand soldiers, officials, and civilians who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Namwon Fortress during the Jeongyu War (1597). Judging their failure to invade Honam (Jeolla Province) in the Imjin War (1592) as the reason for their defeat, the Japanese forces invaded again in 1597 with a massive army of 110,000 troops. The right wing of the Japanese army aimed at Jeonju Fortress, while the left wing and naval forces — numbering 56,000 — advanced on Namwon Fortress. The court dispatched approximately 1,000 Korean soldiers under General Jeolla Province Army Commander Yi Bok-nam and 3,000 Ming dynasty soldiers under Deputy Commander Yang Yuan to defend Namwon. Despite fierce fighting at the cost of their lives, however, they were overwhelmed and all ten thousand defenders — including some 6,000 civilians — fell heroically together. After the war, survivors returning from refuge gathered the bodies into a single burial mound and built the Chungnyelsa Shrine in 1612 (the 4th year of King Gwanghae's reign). After several relocations, with government support and the devoted contributions of the entire provincial populace, the current Chungnyelsa now enshrines the memorial tablets of fifty of the fallen. A memorial ceremony honoring the ten thousand martyrs is held here every September 26. Visitors can tour the site with a cultural heritage guide, reflecting on gratitude for the nation's patriotic ancestors.