[War & Business] Memorial Day and Mangjong

[Image source=National Daejeon National Cemetery website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Memorial Day is a commemorative day observed on different dates in each country. In the United States, it was set as the last Monday of May in 1868 to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War. Most European countries commemorate Memorial Day on November 11, marking the end of World War I in 1918. In Korea, it is fixed on June 6 every year, based on ‘Mangjong (芒種),’ one of the 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar. When the government designated Memorial Day as a national holiday in 1956, it was said that the date was chosen because there were records of joint memorial rites for fallen soldiers held around Mangjong since the Goryeo Dynasty.

These joint memorial rites are known to have started in 1019, the year of the Battle of Gwiju, which is considered the greatest military victory in Korean history. At that time, the Goryeo Dynasty fought three major battles over 26 years from the first Khitan invasion in 993 to the Battle of Gwiju in 1019, during which the nation was pushed to the brink of collapse and countless soldiers lost their lives.

The reason the Goryeo Dynasty was driven into such a crisis was intertwined with the international relations situation in Northeast Asia at the time. Northeast Asia was then a region where the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty and China’s Song Dynasty were in confrontation, and both demanded that Goryeo become their respective ally. The Goryeo Dynasty tried to protect its national interests by pursuing a delicate neutral diplomacy between the military power of Liao and the economic power of Song, but this eventually led to war with Liao.

In 993, Liao launched an army of 800,000 and invaded Goryeo for the first time, demanding the severance of ties with Song. At that time, General Seo Hui’s diplomatic negotiation, who understood Liao’s urgency due to its internal succession issues and military confrontation with Song, succeeded in withdrawing the Liao forces. However, ten years later in 1003, after resolving internal problems and concluding a long war with Song victoriously, Liao’s pressure put Goryeo’s neutral diplomacy in great jeopardy.

Seongjong, the sixth emperor of Liao, persistently demanded that Goryeo take a clear stance. In response, Goryeo officially severed ties with Song but continued secret diplomatic missions to maintain a balancing act. Consequently, in 1010, Liao invaded all of Goryeo with an army of 400,000. Unprepared for war, Goryeo suffered repeated defeats, and the capital Gaegyeong was captured. King Hyeonjong fled to Naju in the south, facing the threat of national collapse. Goryeo’s neutral diplomacy became viable again only after the victory at the Battle of Gwiju in 1019, which shattered Liao’s military strength.

The history intertwined with the origin of Memorial Day also prompts reflection on Korea’s current situation in the 21st century, caught in the middle of disputes between the United States and China. It reminds us of the harsh reality of international society that neutral diplomacy without strong military backing has no place anywhere, whether a thousand years ago or today.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.