The Return of Yi Sun-shin

With the defeat and beheading of Admiral Won Kyun, King Seonjo immediately reinstated Yi Sun-shin to his post as commander of the Korean navy. The only problem, was that there wasn’t much of a Korean navy left to command. Yi had only 13 ships and a little over 130 men to fight the Japanese with. Once the Korean King realized how complete the destruction of the Korean navy had been, he ordered Admiral Yi to disband the navy and the remaining soldiers to join the Korean army to fight the Japanese mainland advance.

Once again, Yi refused the order from the King and was determined to fight the Japanese navy with the few ships he had. The Japanese navy on the other hand were preparing to move around the peninsula by sea to attack and recapture Seoul. The only thing standing between the Japanese military and an open invasion route to Seoul was Yi Sun-shin and his 13 ships.

Images of Yi can be seen all over Korea to those who pay attention. For example Yi’s likeness is on the Korean 100 won coin.

On October 26, 1597, Admiral Yi lured the overconfident Japanese armada of 133 ships into a narrow channel between Chindo Island and the Korean mainland. The narrow channel did not allow the Japanese ships to maneuver and surround the 13 Korean ships. On the other hand the Korean ships with their superior fire power were able to easily pick off the Japanese ships as they entered the channel. The Koreans were even able to capture the Japanese flag ship where Admiral Yi had the Japanese captain beheaded and his head raised on a flagpole.

The remaining Japanese ships now realized their blunder and tried to exit the channel. However, just as Yi had planned, the tide rolled in preventing the Japanese ships from exiting the channel. In addition a metal chain installed by Yi’s men was pulled across the channel trapping the Japanese ships. In all 31 Japanese ships were destroyed and 90 were partially destroyed and heavily damaged in the battle where Yi’s forces lost no ships except for the one battle ship commanded by Bae that fled from the fight. This amazing victory was called the “Miracle of the Myongyang” and solidified Admiral Yi’s mythical status as the man who defeated 133 boats with only 12 of his own. Definitely an achievement of a legend.

The Japanese were back on the defensive and Yi was eager to crush them once and for all. To do this he requested naval support from the Chinese. A Chinese naval armada led by Admiral Chen Lin arrived to augment Yi’s forces. The Chinese proved ineffective in hunting down the Japanese because negotiations between the Japanese and the Chinese restarted and the Chen Lin was willing to take bribes to leave the Japanese navy alone.

In September of 1596, Hideyoshi had grown ill and died. The regents he placed in power until his son was old enough to rule had decided to withdraw the Japanese forces from Korea. However, Admiral Yi would not let the Japanese navy leave intact to threaten Korea again in the future. The Japanese navy in an effort to crush China’s navy before withdrawing, cornered Chen Lin’s armada and Chen requested Yi to come to his aid. Yi’s forces arrived and battled the Japanese Navy on December 15, 1598 in the Noryang Strait between Namhae Island and the Korean coastline.

In this climatic battle Yi and his Chinese allies destroyed hundreds of Japanese ships and finally delivered the long awaited knockout blow to the Japanese navy. However, this victory came at a great cost as Admiral Yi was fatally wounded during the battle in the arm pit. He hid his injury during the battle from his men in order to not discourage them. After the battle Yi died from his injuries at the age of 53. Admiral Chen Lin reportedly fell to the deck of his ship three times in grief after learning of the death of the beloved and respected Yi.

With the end of the Imjimgaeran War, people mourned Yi Sun-shin throughout the Korean peninsula. In death Yi had finally received the respect he deserved from the Korean nobility when he was post-humanously given the title of the third head of state and the feudal great lord of Tokpung. His long time friend Prime Minister Yu Song-nyong provided the eulogy for the great admiral:

“He was capable of withholding the falling sky with a single hand of his.”

Yi was not only a hero in Korea but his exploits and honorable nature were lionized in both China and Japan. In fact in 1905, Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo declared that Admiral Yi was the greatest naval commander of all time and closely studied his strategies which would later prove invaluable during his defeat of the Russian Baltic fleet in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.

It is ironic that the Korean naval hero, Yi Sun-shin would end up inspiring the Japanese naval commander responsible for rebuilding the Japanese navy that would ultimately lead to the conquest of Korea. After the defeat of the Russian navy at Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese had open access to Korea’s waterways that finally completed the conquest of Korea that Hideyoshi had begun 300 years earlier. Unlike 1598, this time there was no Yi Sun-shin to save Korea.

Prior Posting: The Fall of a Korean Legend

Next Posting: The Aftermath of the Imjimgaeran War