Righteous armies (), sometimes translated as irregular armies or militias, were informal civilian militias that appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance.
The first righteous armies emerged during the Khitan invasions of Korea and the Mongol invasions of Korea. They subsequently rose up during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), the first and second Manchu invasions, and during the Japanese occupation and preceding events.
During the long period of Japanese intervention and annexation from 1890 to 1945, the disbanded imperial guard, and Confucian scholars, as well as farmers, formed over 60 successive righteous armies to fight for Korean freedom on the Korean peninsula. These were preceded by the Donghak movement, and succeeded by various Korean independence movements in the 1920s and beyond, which declared Korean independence from Japanese occupation.
During the Japanese invasions under Hideyoshi of Korea
The righteous armies were an irregular military that fought the Japanese army that twice invaded Korea during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Righteous armies were most active in the Jeolla Province in the southwestern area of Korea. Righteous armies included peasants, scholars, former government officials, as well as Buddhist warrior monks. Righteous armies were important during the war because a significant portion of the expected government organized resistance had been destroyed in Gyeongsang and Chungcheong Provinces in the south by the force of Japanese arms at the outset. The natural defenders had been stripped away and the residue had been called north to help protect the fleeing king. Moreover, many of the district officers had obtained their commissions not through merit, but by bribery or influence, and were essentially incompetent or cowards. This was highlighted in their performance and in the performance of their units in the early days of the conflict. This kind of resistance was totally unexpected by the Japanese invaders. In Japanese warfare, when the leaders fall, civilians would simply submit. However, upon learning that the Korean people were forming organized resistance against them, the Japanese were shocked. Japanese strategies were based on the premise that the people of Korea would submit to them and assist their supply line by giving their food. However, this was not the case and righteous armies continued to interrupt the Japanese supply line. People's voluntary resistance movements were one of the major reasons why Japanese invasion was not successful.
Righteous army was organized and led by seonbi, who was Confucian philospher and mostly trained archers. Political positions, social status, and economic interests were not consistent between the righteous army commander who created the righteous army during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, but there was a factor that made them combine.
First, most of the righteous army chiefs were former civil servants among the aristocrats, but most of them were former officials. The spirit of Geunwang spread among local Confucian scholars in order to practice Confucian Taoism, which was usually learned as a local giant, and they were enraged by the incompetence and cowardice of the local leader and armed men.
Second, the creativity of the righteous army was for the defense of the local people and their relatives, and furthermore, it was the manifestation of national sentiment for Japan's barbarity. Joseon, which regarded Confucian ethics as a thorough social norm, considered the Japanese as aggressors because of the continuous looting of Japanese pirates from the end of Goryeo, and culturally despised them and called them Wae or Seom Orang-ke. When invaded by Japan, it was the creativity of the righteous army that occurred as a national resistance movement.
During the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, the righteous army chiefs were at the top of society in the provinces and served as spiritual leaders, and economically, they were small and medium-sized landowners and had an organic connection with farmers through land. The Japanese invasion of the country destroyed their social and economic foundations.