Admiral Yi Sun-shin

Admiral Yi Sun-shin

Yi Sun-shin is one of the greatest figures in Korean history.

Admiral Yi Sun-shin was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Yi has since been celebrated as a national hero in Korea.

 

At the age of 28, he entered for the military examination, and he fell down while riding. Immediately after falling down, he broke the willow branch that grew in the test site, tied his legs with the bark, and continued the test, but eventually failed to pass the test.

 

In the year he turned 32, he re-entered and passed the examination, and in December he began his public service as an army entry-level officer in the field that defended the border of Hamgyeong-do.

 

Yi Sun-shin, who worked for 3 years, objected when Seo-ik, his superior, tried to promote a person close to him. Because of it, he was relegated, but this made him known.

 

When an abnormality is detected in Japan, Seonjo, the King of Joseon, specially dispatches capable generals, and Yi Sun-shin is one of them, and at the age of 36, he is appointed as Manho, the navy of Goheung, Jeolla-do, and begins his first naval service.

 

However, Seo-ik, who had a grudge against Yi Sun-shin, falsely appealed to the court that he had neglected to work. And he was relegated again.

 

Later, in 1583, Jeolla left investigator Yi Yong, who unjustly harassed Yi Sun-shin, deliberately pointed out Yi Sun-shin, who had been deposed after being condemned, as he was transferred to Hamgyeong-do, and became the authority of Hamgyeong-do.

 

In 1586, when he served at the border of Hamgyeong-do, he was disliked by North Korean soldier Lee Il, and he started the first enlisted soldier after the Battle of Nokdundo.

In December 1589, he became a prefecture in Jeongeup, Jeolla-do at the recommendation of his childhood friend Seong-ryong Ryu.

In 1591, despite the opposition from the surroundings, the Seonjo insisted on the appointment of Yi Sun-shin as a Jeolla left monk, and as a result, this became a skill of God that saved the Joseon Dynasty. At the age of 47, Jeolla Jwado was appointed a naval thief. The construction of the famous turtle ship also took place at this time.

 

The upper deck of the turtle ship was covered with armor plates to protect the crew, and spikes and knives were attached to the plates to prevent enemy boarding. The ship's bow was equipped with a dragon's head capable of firing cannons, and a cloud of smoke could be released to obscure the ship's position. Cannons and guns could also be fired from the stern and from the side of the ship.

 

On April 13, 1592, the Imjin War broke out, and Yi Sun-shin defeated 26 enemy ships in Okpo Bay for the first time on May 4, winning the Imjin War.

On May 29, Yi Sun-shin destroyed 12 enemy ships in Sacheon. The first turtle ship was introduced here.

On June 2nd, they smashed 21 enemy ships toward Dangpo and pursued the fleeing Japanese ships, destroying 39 at Danghangpo and 7 at Yulpo.

On July 6, Yi Sun-shin lured the enemy's main force stuck in the port to the shores of Hansan Island and defeated 59 ships. This was the great conquest of Hansando, where Hak Ik-jin was used for the first time.

 

The following year, when the Ming Naval Forces came to help, they defeated the Japanese army at Jangmunpo, disrupting the rear of the enemy and preventing the advance of the Japanese army to advance to the west coast, causing a major setback in their operations.

 

After that, as the war went into a lull as the Ming Dynasty and Japan progressed in the reinforcement talks, Yi Sun-shin worked hard to prepare for the future, such as military training, military expenditure expansion, securing refugee livelihoods, and industrial promotion.

 

In 1597, when the reinforcement talks between the Ming Dynasty and Japan broke down, the Japanese army, who had returned to their home country, invaded again, causing the Jeong Yu-Jae Ran. However, Yi was relieved of command, placed under arrest, and taken to Seoul in chains to be imprisoned and tortured by Won-gyun's slander and the Japanese army's scheme. And Won-gyun was appointed as his successor.

 

On July 16, the Joseon Naval Forces, who were dispatched under the command of Won-gyun, were defeated in the Battle of Chilcheon-ryang. On July 23, the embarrassed Seonjo appointed Yi Sun-shin, who had left his mother, as Samdosugun controller again.

 

On September 16, Yi Sun-shin brought 12 battleships and some fishing boats he had recovered and dispatched to Myeongnyang. The battle was desperate enough to have 133 Japanese warships, but Yi Sun-shin sunk numerous Japanese ships and eventually won. This is Myeongnyangdaecheop. It has also been made into a movie.

 

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, the Japanese army decided to withdraw. Yi Sun-shin's fleet collided with the enemy who was evacuating by joining the Ming fleet in the sea off Noryang. Over 200 enemy ships were defeated and only 50 were escaped.

 

Paradoxically, this battle in which Yi Sun-shin died was the battle that reached the highest scale in the 23rd battle of Chungmugong. However, while taking the lead, he was sadly shot by an enemy. Until the moment of death, he said "Please refrain from saying that I am dead because the fight is so urgent." Yi Sun-shin's death was known after the battle, and it is said that wailing covered the sea.

 

There is a statue of Yi Sun-shin in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, and Yi Sun-shin is the most respected military commander in Korean history.