Byeolmuban

	Byeolmuban
Hangul	별무반
Hanja	別武班
Revised Romanization	Byeolmuban
McCune–Reischauer	Pyǒlmuban

Last updated March 17, 2019

Byeolmuban is the name of a special army unit in the time of Korea's Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). The word byeol literally means star, but also has the meaning of special. Founding of the army was initiated by Yun Gwan during the reign of king Sukjong of Goryeo.

Korea is a region in East Asia. Since 1948, it has been divided between two distinct sovereign states: North Korea and South Korea. Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula. Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and neighbours Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan.

Goryeo was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians as it not only unified the Later Three Kingdoms but also incorporated much of the ruling class of the northern kingdom of Balhae, who had origins in Goguryeo of the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea. The name "Korea" is derived from the name of Goryeo, also spelled Koryŏ, which was first used in the early 5th century by Goguryeo.

Yun Gwan was a general of Goryeo who was known for training a seventeen-thousand man army and leading it to victory against the Jurchens tribes.

The army was put together to fight the Jurchen who were putting pressure on Goryeo's northern borders. The Goryeo infantry had a hard time resisting the strong Jurchen cavalry.

The Jurchen, also known by many variant names, were a tribal confederation of Tungusic and affiliated peoples, subdivided into three major groups: Jianzhou Jurchens ; Wild Jurchens, often known as the Yeren ; and Haixi Jurchens, who traditionally inhabited the region of Manchuria. The Jurchen established the Jin dynasty, whose empire conquered the Northern Song in 1127, gaining control of most of North China. Jin control over China lasted until their 1234 conquest by the Mongols.

Organization

The Byeolmuban army had six divisions: Yun Gwan's regular army and Armor Guards called Jeonggyugun (정규군, 正規軍) Infantry called Sinbogun (신보군, 神步軍), Cavalry called Sin-gigun (신기군, 神騎軍), an army of Buddhist monks called Hangmagun (항마군, 降魔軍), Supporting troop made of slaves called Yeonhogun (연호군,烟戶軍), and volunteered soldiers made of merchants and ordinary citizens called Jubugunhyeon (주부군현, 州府郡縣).

A regular army is the official army of a state or country, contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:

Infantry military service branch that specializes in combat by individuals on foot

Infantry is the branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry, artillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

Cavalry or horsemen are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon, or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals, such as camels, mules or elephants. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot, were known in the 17th and early 18th centuries as dragoons, a class of mounted infantry which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title.

Combating troops were divided into Assassin/Spies called Sinbo (신보, 神步), Siege Engineers called Dotang (도탕, 跳蕩), Archers called Gyeonggung (경궁, 梗弓), Builders called Jeongno (정노, 精弩), Ballistic/Cannon gunners called Balhwa (발화, 發火), and special force called Teugibudae (특기부대, 特技部隊). They were to trained and maintain/make weapons & fight with regular army.

During the second year of king Yejong of Goryeo's reign the byeomuban, consisting of 17,000 soldiers, attacked Jurchen and killed approximately 5,000 Jurchen troops, detained another 5,000 POWs and 350 Jurchen tribal clans and took over their territory by building nine fortresses at Hamju region.

Yejong of Goryeo was the 16th monarch of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Sukjong and Queen Myeongui, and succeeded to the throne upon his father's death. Yejong's reign was a period of strengthening of the central administration, a strong army, the development of education and arts, and a high point of Buddhist and Daoist spirituality.

Fortresses were called Northeastern Nine Fortresses, and they are in Hamju (함주, 咸州), Yeongju (영주, 英州), Ungju (웅주, 雄州), Bokju (복주, 福州), Gilju (길주, 吉州), Gongheomjin, (공험진, 公咽鎭), Sungnyeong (숭녕, 崇寧), Tongtae (통태, 通泰), and Jinyang (진양, 眞陽).

However internal trouble at the Goryeo court later forced the Goryeo army to leave Jurchen territory just after few years.

An army or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or state. It may also include aviation assets by possessing an army aviation component. In certain states, the term army refers to the entire armed forces. Within a national military force, the word army may also mean a field army.

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References

별무반 (別武班) - http://mtcha.com.ne.kr/korea-term/goryo/term67-byulmuban.htm

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