Thursday, June 30, 2005
The Immortal Yi Soon Shin
Serendipity can sometimes take you to unusual - yet informative - places. One could take a casual walk and find a store that sells interesting items. Another time, we might be taking a weekend drive, get “lost” in the process and find a quaint country village. In the sedentary present, we “couch potatoes” go channel-surfing and find an interesting program among the 500 venues of boredom.
This is what happened a while ago, except I wasn’t the one who was channel-surfing. On a boring weekend last fall, my wife happened upon a costume drama on a local Korean channel. Since we’re not Korean, we would normally have no interest in watching it – costume or no costume. Whatever possessed her to watch it, she got hooked. Later on, I was curious as to what she was watching, and I got hooked! This is what serendipity does!
What got us hooked was a Korean historical drama named The Immortal Yi Soon Shin. Of course, this begs the question who was Yi Soon Shin and why would he be called immortal? Even though I have an interest world history, I must plead ignorance when it comes to Korea. The most I knew was the Japanese occupation in the early 20th Century, the subsequent Korean War (1950-53), and M*A*S*H (both movie and TV show).
As it turns out, Yi Soon Shin (or Lee Sun-Sin) was a famous Korean admiral who was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in an earlier attempt in occupying Korea. Born in 1545, Admiral Yi was originally trained for the army. The Korean navy was more of an afterthought. Its main purpose was coastal defense against pirates and other marauders. Its ships were built for the shallow waters of the Korean coast, not the deep waters of the Sea of Japan.
Yi Soon Shin moved up the ranks in the army, was demoted to a common soldier because of supposed cowardice, then was vindicated again and promoted to become a local magistrate. The incidence of demotion was more out of petty jealousy than actual cowardice. Jealousy would be a recurring theme throughout his life and career as partisan politics and court intrigue would continuously dog him.
This is what happened when Yi took over the naval base in southwest Korea, displacing a longtime friend who quickly became his personal enemy. From here on, Admiral Yi learned the ways of the Navy and improved the training of his men. Even though Yi was trained as a land warrior, he understood the importance of a naval defense. Even then, he was highly suspicious of Japanese intentions.
At that time, Japan was run by the shoguns and samurai. It was a divided land that desperately needed to be united. This was done by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was the first to unify Japan and made it powerful. He was also helped by Portuguese merchants who provided him muskets, since it was at this time that the Portuguese started trading in the Far East. Hideyoshi was also a patron of the arts, and his reign was known for its beautiful painting and pottery.
Of course, like many powerful leaders, Hideyoshi had dreams of grandeur. He hoped to conquer China using Korea as a spearhead. At the time, China was ruled by the Ming, another kingdom known for its arts, and was the most powerful empire in the region. Hideyoshi hoped to change all that, so he invaded southeast Korea in April 1592. This was the beginning of the Seven-Year War, as it’s known. (This is in contrast to the Seven Years’ War fought mainly between the British and the French in the mid-1700s.)
Korea (or the Kingdom of Chosun as it was then known) was taken by surprise. Their capital, near modern-day Seoul (capital of South Korea), was over-run in two weeks, and their king escaped for his life to Pyongyang (the current capital of North Korea). The people were virtually enslaved by the Japanese who already regarded the country as their vassal. As a foreshadowing of 20th Century sufferings, Korean women were placed into bordellos. (Today, we still hear of the saga of Korean comfort women who were placed in Japanese military bases into World War II.)
Meanwhile, in the southwest naval base, Admiral Yi Soon Shin was building a well-trained navy that would be ready to pounce when the time came. The greatest innovation he made was building the Turtle Ship. One of his engineers designed a new type of ship that was completely enclosed like a submarine. Most boats at the time were open galleys. Even more intriguing was that the roof of the enclosed ship had metal plates with spikes placed on it. (The spikes made it difficult for the enemy to board.) The Korean Navy also placed cannon on their boats. (Cannon was used by the Chinese and their allies, including the Koreans. Surprisingly, the Japanese didn’t have any cannon – yet.)
A month after the invasion, Admiral Yi made his first move and defeated the Japanese fleet that occupied a nearby naval station. He didn’t use his new Turtle Ships here, but he did use classical naval tactics like the crossing of the T where his boats would turn broadside creating a wall of ships, thus daring the enemy to attack him head on. The cannon firing broadside brought about a complete destruction of the Japanese fleet.
The most important fact about this and future battles that Admiral Yi fought was that he was outnumbered. This was the circumstance of his most famous battle at Hansan Bay where his 60 vessels went up against 73 Japanese ships. In what is considered one of the greatest naval battles in history, Yi Soon Shin defeated the Japanese by sinking 59 enemy boats. It’s one of those “too-good-to-be true” stories, except it was true! Another hard-to-believe fact is that Admiral Yi was victorious in every engagement with Japan.
Since the Japanese depended on their navy, their invasion was put on hold, although they did occupy southeast Korea into the next phase of the war. Hideyoshi tried again to invade the peninsula in 1597. It took another year for the Koreans to finally defeat the Japanese and force them off their land. Hideyoshi himself died in 1598. That same year, Admiral Yi fought the final decisive naval engagement at Noryang, but like Lord Nelson at Trafalgar 200 years later, Yi Soon Shin was killed by a stray bullet and didn’t live to see his victory. The Japanese slunk back to their homeland, while the Koreans and their Chinese allies had to pick up the pieces.
The future implications for the region were that, after its humiliating defeat, Japan would isolate itself for 250 years, while China’s Ming Dynasty would be in decline until the Manchurians took over 50 years later. Meanwhile, the Korean Chosun Dynasty would limp on for another 300 years until a resurgent Japan would again invade the peninsula in 1900 – this time for a longer period. Japan would use Korea as a base to launch its invasion of Russia in 1904. (In all of its invasions, from the Korean invasion to the attack on Port Arthur, Russia to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Japanese relied on the sneak attack.)
Korea would also be the launching point for the invasion of Manchuria, China in 1931, and Hideyoshi’s dream of a vast Japanese empire stretching across China into India almost became a reality. What stopped them was the concerted effort of the great powers of that time – namely, Great Britain, China and the U.S. What makes Yi Soon Shin’s story so incredible is that Korea was far from being a great power, but it took this small regional kingdom to stop an empire from becoming, and it took one far-sighted man in that small kingdom to do it.
Today, Korea again plays a role on the world stage, again for better and for worse. Again, we’re still dealing with little men with a lot of power who are taken with delusions of grandeur - not necessarily in Korea, either! Again, we hope for a way out of our modern-day crisis. Maybe, as it happened 400 years ago, and as it often happens, someone is there in some quiet corner of the globe ready to show us that way.
P.S. If you want to see what a Turtle Ship looks like, here are some links:
http://johnhamill.tripod.com/turtle.html
http://papermagic.co.kr/html/english/culture1_lee.htm
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/skyongsang/289
This is what happened a while ago, except I wasn’t the one who was channel-surfing. On a boring weekend last fall, my wife happened upon a costume drama on a local Korean channel. Since we’re not Korean, we would normally have no interest in watching it – costume or no costume. Whatever possessed her to watch it, she got hooked. Later on, I was curious as to what she was watching, and I got hooked! This is what serendipity does!
What got us hooked was a Korean historical drama named The Immortal Yi Soon Shin. Of course, this begs the question who was Yi Soon Shin and why would he be called immortal? Even though I have an interest world history, I must plead ignorance when it comes to Korea. The most I knew was the Japanese occupation in the early 20th Century, the subsequent Korean War (1950-53), and M*A*S*H (both movie and TV show).
As it turns out, Yi Soon Shin (or Lee Sun-Sin) was a famous Korean admiral who was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in an earlier attempt in occupying Korea. Born in 1545, Admiral Yi was originally trained for the army. The Korean navy was more of an afterthought. Its main purpose was coastal defense against pirates and other marauders. Its ships were built for the shallow waters of the Korean coast, not the deep waters of the Sea of Japan.
Yi Soon Shin moved up the ranks in the army, was demoted to a common soldier because of supposed cowardice, then was vindicated again and promoted to become a local magistrate. The incidence of demotion was more out of petty jealousy than actual cowardice. Jealousy would be a recurring theme throughout his life and career as partisan politics and court intrigue would continuously dog him.
This is what happened when Yi took over the naval base in southwest Korea, displacing a longtime friend who quickly became his personal enemy. From here on, Admiral Yi learned the ways of the Navy and improved the training of his men. Even though Yi was trained as a land warrior, he understood the importance of a naval defense. Even then, he was highly suspicious of Japanese intentions.
At that time, Japan was run by the shoguns and samurai. It was a divided land that desperately needed to be united. This was done by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was the first to unify Japan and made it powerful. He was also helped by Portuguese merchants who provided him muskets, since it was at this time that the Portuguese started trading in the Far East. Hideyoshi was also a patron of the arts, and his reign was known for its beautiful painting and pottery.
Of course, like many powerful leaders, Hideyoshi had dreams of grandeur. He hoped to conquer China using Korea as a spearhead. At the time, China was ruled by the Ming, another kingdom known for its arts, and was the most powerful empire in the region. Hideyoshi hoped to change all that, so he invaded southeast Korea in April 1592. This was the beginning of the Seven-Year War, as it’s known. (This is in contrast to the Seven Years’ War fought mainly between the British and the French in the mid-1700s.)
Korea (or the Kingdom of Chosun as it was then known) was taken by surprise. Their capital, near modern-day Seoul (capital of South Korea), was over-run in two weeks, and their king escaped for his life to Pyongyang (the current capital of North Korea). The people were virtually enslaved by the Japanese who already regarded the country as their vassal. As a foreshadowing of 20th Century sufferings, Korean women were placed into bordellos. (Today, we still hear of the saga of Korean comfort women who were placed in Japanese military bases into World War II.)
Meanwhile, in the southwest naval base, Admiral Yi Soon Shin was building a well-trained navy that would be ready to pounce when the time came. The greatest innovation he made was building the Turtle Ship. One of his engineers designed a new type of ship that was completely enclosed like a submarine. Most boats at the time were open galleys. Even more intriguing was that the roof of the enclosed ship had metal plates with spikes placed on it. (The spikes made it difficult for the enemy to board.) The Korean Navy also placed cannon on their boats. (Cannon was used by the Chinese and their allies, including the Koreans. Surprisingly, the Japanese didn’t have any cannon – yet.)
A month after the invasion, Admiral Yi made his first move and defeated the Japanese fleet that occupied a nearby naval station. He didn’t use his new Turtle Ships here, but he did use classical naval tactics like the crossing of the T where his boats would turn broadside creating a wall of ships, thus daring the enemy to attack him head on. The cannon firing broadside brought about a complete destruction of the Japanese fleet.
The most important fact about this and future battles that Admiral Yi fought was that he was outnumbered. This was the circumstance of his most famous battle at Hansan Bay where his 60 vessels went up against 73 Japanese ships. In what is considered one of the greatest naval battles in history, Yi Soon Shin defeated the Japanese by sinking 59 enemy boats. It’s one of those “too-good-to-be true” stories, except it was true! Another hard-to-believe fact is that Admiral Yi was victorious in every engagement with Japan.
Since the Japanese depended on their navy, their invasion was put on hold, although they did occupy southeast Korea into the next phase of the war. Hideyoshi tried again to invade the peninsula in 1597. It took another year for the Koreans to finally defeat the Japanese and force them off their land. Hideyoshi himself died in 1598. That same year, Admiral Yi fought the final decisive naval engagement at Noryang, but like Lord Nelson at Trafalgar 200 years later, Yi Soon Shin was killed by a stray bullet and didn’t live to see his victory. The Japanese slunk back to their homeland, while the Koreans and their Chinese allies had to pick up the pieces.
The future implications for the region were that, after its humiliating defeat, Japan would isolate itself for 250 years, while China’s Ming Dynasty would be in decline until the Manchurians took over 50 years later. Meanwhile, the Korean Chosun Dynasty would limp on for another 300 years until a resurgent Japan would again invade the peninsula in 1900 – this time for a longer period. Japan would use Korea as a base to launch its invasion of Russia in 1904. (In all of its invasions, from the Korean invasion to the attack on Port Arthur, Russia to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Japanese relied on the sneak attack.)
Korea would also be the launching point for the invasion of Manchuria, China in 1931, and Hideyoshi’s dream of a vast Japanese empire stretching across China into India almost became a reality. What stopped them was the concerted effort of the great powers of that time – namely, Great Britain, China and the U.S. What makes Yi Soon Shin’s story so incredible is that Korea was far from being a great power, but it took this small regional kingdom to stop an empire from becoming, and it took one far-sighted man in that small kingdom to do it.
Today, Korea again plays a role on the world stage, again for better and for worse. Again, we’re still dealing with little men with a lot of power who are taken with delusions of grandeur - not necessarily in Korea, either! Again, we hope for a way out of our modern-day crisis. Maybe, as it happened 400 years ago, and as it often happens, someone is there in some quiet corner of the globe ready to show us that way.
P.S. If you want to see what a Turtle Ship looks like, here are some links:
http://johnhamill.tripod.com/turtle.html
http://papermagic.co.kr/html/english/culture1_lee.htm
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/skyongsang/289
