Yi Sun-sin (28 April 1545-16 December 1598) was a Joseon Korean admiral who was famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War. He fought in 23 naval battles against the Japanese, and he was almost always outnumbered and undersupplied; however, he won major battles at Hansando in 1592, Myeongnang in 1597, and Noryang in 1598, and he was mortally wounded in the last battle.
Biography[]
Yi Sun-sin was born in Hanseong, Joseon Korea (present-day Seoul, South Korea) on 28 April 1545. He was originally an army commander who earned a reputation fighting Manchu nomads on Korea's northern border. After a period out of favor, he was made commander of the Jeolla naval district. Faced with the looming threat of a Japanese invasion, Yi took vigorous measures to prepare his fleet for war, gathering supplies and improving manning and equipment. Alongside the cannon-armed warships, known as panokseon, which formed the core of his fleet, he built a number of kobukson ("turtle ships"), whose upper decks were enclosed in iron plates. Yi's task as an admiral was to maneuver these gun platforms so that their cannon, firing solid shot and incendiary devices, destroyed the lighter Japanese warships, while avoiding being boarded by the well-armed Japanese soldiers. Yi achieved this by exploiting his superior knowledge of the sea currents and channels around the Korean coast.
Yi is credited with 23 victories against Japan. His greatest triumph during the first invasion was at Hansando, in August 1592, when Japanese ships were lured into an encirclement from which only a handful escaped. Success earned him jealousy at the Korean coast, however. Yi was arrested, tortured, and relegated to common soldier. A severe naval defeat during the second Japanese invasion brought Yi's reinstatement. He registered another victory at Myeongnyang in September 1597. During the final battle of the war, at Noryang in November 1598, Yi was shot by a Japanese arquebus and died on the deck of his ship.