Yi Sun-sin

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Yi Sun-sin (이순신 ; 李舜臣), also Yi Sun-shin ; I Sunsin, (1545 - November 19, 1598), was an admiral who led the resistance against the Japanese force in Korea, thus earning himself the honor of legendary hero.

Yi Sunsin was born in Geoncheon Dong (건천동; 乾川洞), Seoul. His courtesy name was Deoksu (덕수; 德水), sobriquet Yeohae (여해; 汝諧), and posthumous name Chungmu (충무; 忠武).

The Korean admiral was responsible for defeat of Japanese invasions in 1592 and 1597. In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave the order to invade Korea, planning to sweep through the peninsula and then conquer China. (See Seven-Year War) Hideyoshi was fully aware of the need to control the seas during the invasion. Having failed to hire two Portuguese galleons to help him, he increased the size of his own fleet to 700 vessels, assuming that the Koreans would fight hand-to-hand and be overwhelmed.

In fact the invasion force landed as Busan without meeting any Korean ships, and the Japanese forces began a lightning march north, reaching Seoul within twenty days on 2 May 1592. But the Korean navy was not idle. In May and June, in a series of actions, a small Korean fleet commanded by Yi Sun-sin desrtoyed several minor Japanese flotillas - in all perhaps 72 vessels were sunk.

He designed iron-roofed ships called Geobukseon, or "turtle ship". These were arguably the first ironclad warships. About 33 metres long and 8 metres broad, they were entirely encased in hexagonal metal plates so that they could neither be boarded nor holed. They were armed with twelve gunports and twenty-two loopholes per side for small-arms, plus four more ports at each end, together with fire-pots and toxic smoke. Sometimes the turtle-ships came up close, jut like a modern torpedo boat, and fired broadsides; sometimes they used their metal ram to hole the enemy, leaving the other warships to close in for the kill. Their armament outweighted that of the Japanese by about 40 to 1. Turtle ships were first deployed at Sachun, where it helped destroy 13 enemy ships. Subsequently, Admiral Yi achieved tremendous victories in every battle he engaged. In the battles at Dangpo, Danghangpo he sank 20 and 100 Japanese ships respectively and comprehensively routed the inexperienced Japanese sailors. Then on 8 July, in a decisive battle, Admiral Yi destroyed the main enemy fleet in Hansan Bay; and on the following day he defeated a relief expedition sailing up from Japan.

But Hideyoshi and his commanders learned fast. At Busan, the suriving Japanese warships took abroad some heavier guns and iron plates, and clustered beneath the harbour's defences. Even Admiral Yi could not make any impression upon them. Nevertheless, he was given general command of the entire naval forces of southern Korea in 1593. From then to 1597 there was a hiatus in the war but when it resumed, the Japanese again failed to win command of the sea. Yi Sun-shin had been demoted earlier but was reinstated after successes by the Japanese navy in July 1597 against Won Gyun. On September 16, 1597, he led 12 remnant ships against 133 Japanese ships in the Myongnyang Straits. The Koreans sank 31 enemy ships and forced a Japanese retreat.

In November, the Japanese fleet was lured by Yi into a tide-race where the oar-driven turtle ships caused wholesale destruction. On November 19, 1598, Admiral Yi was shot during the final battle of the war when he attacked retreating Japanese remnants at Noryang. The Japanese never recovered from this blow: lacking naval support, their armies were unable to advance far from their base in Busan and the survivors were glad to return home in 1598. The Korean turtle ships did not go into action again.

Yi Sun-shin kept a careful record of daily events in a diary, and it is from these entries, along with the reports he sent to the throne during the war, that much about the man has been learned. These works have been published in English as Nanjung Ilgi: War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and Imjin Changch'o: Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Memorials to Court. His posthumous title, Lord of Loyalty and Chivalry (Chungmu-gong, 충무공; 忠武公) is used in Korea's third highest military honor, the Order of Chungmu. Chungmuro (충무로; 忠武路)--a street in downtown Seoul--is also named after him. There is a prominent statue of Admiral Yi Sunsin in the middle of Sejongno in central Seoul.