Admiral Yi Sun-sin died 426 years ago today, in his final victory against the Japanese on behalf of the Joseon dynasty. He died of a gunshot wound at the Battle of Noryang on December 16, 1598, the closing battle of the Imjin War.
While the Japanese largely triumphed on shore in their twin invasions of Korea, Admiral Yi, in command of the Korean navy, cut Japanese supply lines and denied them access to the Yellow Sea. He wrote, “No invader from the sea can obtain final victory unless he can completely control the sea.” Despite winning nearly every land battle, the inability to supply their troops meant the Japanese invasion was doomed to fail.
Admiral Yi fought in at least 23 recorded naval engagements against the Japanese. In most of these battles, he was outnumbered and lacked the necessary supplies. He nonetheless won battle after battle. His most famous victory occurred at the Battle of Myeongnyang, where despite being outnumbered by 133 warships to 13, he managed to disable or destroy 31 Japanese warships without losing a single ship of his own. Indeed, Yi is credited with sinking over 780 Japanese ships during the war without losing a single ship under his command. In 14 of these 23 battles, not a single Japanese ship survived. Remarkably, when Yi took command of the Korean Navy, he had no formal naval training of any kind.
In addition to battling the Japanese, Yi also faced court intrigues and betrayal by jealous colleagues. He was demoted and imprisoned several times only to be reinstated in his command, going on to defeat his Japanese and domestic foes against all odds.
YI is often credited with designing the kobukson, the turtle ships. Instead, he modified and updated a much earlier design. Yi’s turtle ship design featured an enclosed, rounded upper deck, looking somewhat like a turtle’s shell, which may have been clad with iron plates. The upper deck was covered with projecting iron spikes to prevent boarding. The turtle ships were armed with at least 24 cannons and were also designed to ram Japanese ships.
When Yi was struck by a stray bullet at the Battle of Noryang, he sensed that the wound was fatal and told his son, who was at his side, “The battle is at its height – wear my armor and beat my war drums. Do not announce my death.”
After his victory over the Russians at the Battle of Tsushima, Togo Heihachiro, Japan’s greatest admiral, was compared to Admirals Nelson and Yi. He disagreed saying, ‘It may be proper to compare me to Nelson, but not to Korea’s Yi Sun-sin. He is too great to be compared to anyone.’