Dr. John Kuehn: “Hideyoshi’s Invasion of Korea in the 1500s”

“Hideyoshi’s Invasion of Korea in the 1500s”
Dr. John Kuehn
Thursday, November 2, 2023 | 3:00 p.m.

The Shogun Hideyoshi Toyotomi had only recently unified Japan when he made the decision to invade Korea. Korea had served as a springboard of the attempted Mongol conquest of Japan in the 13th Century. Hideyoshi and his allies had never forgotten this danger. Hideyoshi was also inspired by the martial legend of the great Khan, and so inspired, partly for security, partly for glory, he invaded Korea in 1592 with a huge army of over 150,000 veteran troops. His ultimate goal was the conquest of China itself. This lecture will look at this invasion and its disastrous aftermath for the Koreans and, ultimately, the Japanese.

Dr. John T. Kuehn is Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He retired from the U.S. Navy 2004 at the rank of commander after 23 years, serving as a naval flight officer (NFO) flying land and carrier-based aircraft. He has taught a variety of subjects, including military history, at CGSC since 2000. He authored Agents of Innovation (2008), A Military History of Japan: From the Age of the Samurai to the 21st Century (2014), Napoleonic Warfare: The Operational Art of the Great Campaigns (2015), and co-authored Eyewitness Pacific Theater (2008) with D.M. Giangreco as well as numerous articles and editorials and was awarded a Moncado Prize from the Society for Military History in 2011. His latest book from Naval Institute Press is America’s First General Staff: A Short History of the Rise and Fall of the General Board of the Navy, 1900-1950 (Fall 2017). During 2016-2017 Dr. Kuehn served on CNO Admiral John Richardson’s Fleet Design Advisory Panel assessing congressionally mandated architectures for the fleet of 2030.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to promoting political and civic participation as well as civil discourse in a bipartisan, philosophically balanced manner. It is located on KU’s West Campus and houses the Dole Archive and Special Collections. Through its robust public programming, congressional archive, and museum, the Dole Institute strives to celebrate public service and the legacies of US Senators Bob Dole and Elizabeth Dole.