In 1749, during an incident near the Tumen River in Hunchun, six people, all Qing ginseng pickers, were killed by seven Korean soldiers from the Chosŏn garrison. The Chosŏn soldiers encountered the ginseng pickers on the border and agreed to exchange goods, but when they failed to receive the proper price for rice, the soldiers became angry and decided to attack the Qing ginseng pickers. The seven Korean criminals were executed a year and a half after the incident. The whole process regarding the arrest and investigation of the criminals, as well as the official exchanges between the Qing and Chosŏn governments, were recorded in detail in the Chosŏn document written in Chinese and the Qing documents written in Manchu. In dealing with this murder case, the Qing local officials focused on identifying the murdered victims, clarifying the victims’ responsibilities, and disposing of their remaining belongings. On the other hand, the Chosŏn government focused on providing reports quickly to the Qing officials about the investigation of the criminals. In doing so, it tried to reduce the risk of any possible problems that the murder case on the border could cause in its relations with the Qing government. The relevant records on this murder case show various aspects of the Qing and Chosŏn relations, including the contacts between the people along the Tumen River, border trespassing, material exchanges, rules about ginseng picking, and border patrols. This case also reveals that the Qing and Chosŏn people from various classes had different relationships depending on their respective interests.

Keywords: Hunchun, Tumen River, Manchu document, Qing&ndash,Chosŏn relations, Border trespassing, Ginseng poaching