Yi Sun-shin was admiral of the Joseon Korean navy in the 1590s, and is celebrated as one of Korea's greatest national heroes for his role in repelling Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea.
Yi led the Korean navy in a number of decisive victories against the samurai forces. These began as early as 1592, as he defeated Japanese fleets at Okpo, and again at Hansando. Yi is celebrated in Korea for his strategic or tactical genius, but the technologies employed in these battles also feature prominently, and include highly-armored turtle ships, and various forms of cannon. In addition to merely winning victories, Yi succeeded in cutting off Japanese supply lines in the waters on the western side of the Korean peninsula, and simultaneously protecting the Ming Chinese/Korean supply lines.[1]
In the Battle of Myongyang, in 1597/9, he led some sixteen ships to victory against a fleet of 133 Japanese ships.
Yi was killed in battle at Noryang on 1598/11/18, but encouraged his men to not let news of his death spread; his death was kept secret for a time, thus keeping Korean morale high.
References
- Gallery labels, "The Story of Yi Sun-Shin," King Sejong Square, Seoul.
- ↑ Morgan Pitelka, Spectacular Accumulation, University of Hawaii Press (2016), 76-78.