Second Manchu invasion of Korea The second Manchu invasion of Korea occurred in 1636 , when the Manchu Qing Empire brought Korea ' s Joseon dynasty into submission . It followed the first Manchu invasion of Korea of 1627 . Background . After the first invasion of 1627 , the Joseon Dynasty continued to defy the Manchurians . Trade was in bad condition and Korea did not return fugitives from Later Jin . In addition , Korea took a defiant attitude when Huang Taiji declared the new dynasty of Qing . The Manchu delegates Inggūldai and Mafuta got a cold reception in Hanseong ( Seoul ) where Korean soldiers stood in the shadow . The delegates were shocked and fled back to Qing . The Korean court was dominated by the pro - war party . However , they did not enhance military power . In addition , a warlike message to Pyongan - do was carelessly seized by Inggūldai . War . In the winter , Huang Taiji himself led Manchu , Mongol , and Chinese Banners and Mongol army of 120 , 000 to Korea . Instead of battling the forces of Im Gyeong Eop at the Baegma fortress in Uiju , Dodo , leading the vanguard , instead rushed straight to Hanseong to prevent King Injo from evacuating to Ganghwa Island as Korean kings traditionally did . Failing to escape to the island , the king took refuge at the Namhan Mountain Fortress , which was immediately besieged by the Manchu army . The Korean army in the fortress suffered from scarcity of food and ammunition . While Korean officials had unrealistic debates , Dorgon occupied Ganghwa Island in a day and captured the second son and consorts of King Injo . As the siege continued , the scarcity of food worsened . Also , the strategic situation worsened , as several attempts by Korean forces from regions to break the siege was foiled and charge from the fortress yielded no success . Ming China attempted to send a minuscule force in support of Joseon in what was merely a token effort , but the force was wiped out in the sea during a storm . This desperate situation forced Injo to make his submission . King Injo yielded up three pro - war officers to Qing , as well as agreeing to the terms of peace : Huang Taiji set up a platform in Samjeondo — the upper reach of the Han River . At the top of the platform he accepted King Injo ' s submission . King Injo kowtowed to Huang Taiji , who allegedly forced Injo to repeat the humiliating ritual many times . Aftermath . Joseon General Im Gyeong Eop , who was in charge of defending the Baegma fortress in Qing - Joseon border , made his way down to Hanseong with his army and ambushed one of the Qing army Divisions making its return home , beheading its general ( 要槌 , nephew of Hong Taiji ) in the process . As he was not aware of the surrender at the time , he was let go without any punishment by Hong Taiji who was also greatly impressed by Im ' s courageous efforts in behalf of his kingdom . Im had actually requested military support from Hanseong in the beginning of the war ( which never came ) and had planned to invade Mukden himself . Northern and middle regions of Korea were devastated by war . Although the Manchurian army was strict in discipline , the Mongolian soldiers plundered cities . In accordance with the terms of surrender , Korea sent troops to attack Pi Island at the mouth of the Yalu River . Huang Taiji ordered Korea to put up a monument in honor of the so - called " excellent virtues of the Manchu Emperor " . In 1639 the monument was erected at Samjeondo , where the ceremony of submission had been conducted . Koreans continued to harbor a defiant attitude , although in private , to the Qing Dynasty while they officially yielded obedience as they considered Manchurians uncivilized barbarians . Korean scholars secretly used Ming era names even after that dynasty ' s collapse . Many thought that Korea should be the legitimate successor of Ming civilization instead of " barbaric " Qing . Koreans also rebuilt their castles around Seoul and northern region . King Hyojong , who lived as a hostage for seven years in Mukden and who succeeded Injo , planned a possibly unrealistic expedition to Qing called Bukbeol ( 북벌 , 北伐 , Northern expedition ) during his ten years on the Korean throne , though the plan died with his death on the eve of the expedition . Beginning in 1639 and until 1894 , the Korean court trained a corps of professional Korean - Manchu translators . These replaced earlier interpreters of Jurchen , who had been trained using the Jurchen script . The official designation was changed from " Jurchen " to " Manchu " in 1667 . The first textbooks for this purpose were drawn up by Shin Gye - am , who had also been an interpreter of Jurchen and transliterated old Jurchen textbooks for the purpose . Until 1894 , Korea remained a tributary state of Qing China , even though the influence of Manchus decreased from the late 18th century as the Joseon Dynasty began to prosper once again . Japan forced Qing China after the First Sino - Japanese War ( 1894 - 1895 ) to acknowledge the end of the traditional relationship with Korea , in an attempt to implement their plan to exploit and eventually invade Korea in the early 20th century .