Both generals had distinguished careers fighting the Jurchen to the north, but were hampered by lack of manpower, as the official military lists of soldiers were filled with missing men or untrained conscripts.

His original plan was to fortify Choryong Pass, where the terrain could be used to good advantage against the numerically superior Japanese.

The two armies crossed the Choryong Pass together and approached Chungju, where Kato suddenly announced that he would set up camp, hoping that Konishi would rush headlong into battle with Sin Rip's cavalry, making him look foolish and incompetent.

[3] Sin Rip and a number of his commanders mounted on horses managed to escape the disaster; however, most of his men were cut down by the Japanese as they attempted to retreat.

As was customary, the heads of the slain were taken as trophies of war, but in this battle the number was too great, and it became the practice to take only the noses as "proof", needed when the soldiers applied for rewards.

[3] King Seonjo appointed General Gim Myeong-won as Commander-in-Chief and Field Marshal, and ordered him to defend the capital.

While the king was absent from the capital, many people who had lost hope in the government plundered the palace and burned many public buildings.

[4][5] On 8 June, the vanguard of Kato's army reached the Han River, finding that all boats on the south bank had been destroyed, either by the Koreans, or by Konishi's men sent ahead to impede his progress.

Undeterred by the lack of boats, Kato ordered his men to cut down trees and make rafts, effecting a crossing of the Han River near what is now the Yongsan District of Seoul on 11 June.

Seeing that he was greatly outnumbered, and unnerved by the arquebus fire from the Japanese troops, Gim fled his command disguised as a civilian, allowing Kato's army to cross unopposed.