Yi Sun-sin (이순신 in writing Hangul) is a Admiral Korea N, born the April 28th 1545 and dead the December 16th 1598 during the Bataille of No-Ryang (노량해전), which concludes the Guerre Imjin. Having saved twice its country during this war, by putting its qualities of courage, technical skill, uprightness, height of sight and culture refined with the service of a patriotism without fault, he is regarded in Korea as a national hero with equal of a Jeanne d' Arc or of a admiral Nelson.

An ordinary civil servant

At the end of XVIe century, Korea of the Chosŏn is a prosperous country, whose effective Administration obeys the principles of the Confucianisme. Born with Seoul, in the district of Gonchong dong (건천동 in hangul; 乾川洞 in Sinogramme S), Yi Sun-sin carries out a completely banal career of civil servant to the Imjin war. Wire of a civil servant, it makes studies and enters at 31 years the army after having passed the entrance examinations in the public office. It begins its career in 1576 with a station in garrison in the fortifications of the border of the North-East, which protect the country against the incursions from wandering S of Siberia. After having climbed the levels of the hierarchy one by one, it is named admiral of the squadron based with Yosu, in the south of the country, in 1591.

A far-sighted admiral

The Korea has at that time had a fleet of war for two centuries. It had been made up to eliminate the threat of the Japanese pirates, and since always maintained. This navy was held up to date technological advances, and was in particular equipped with various firearms. The principal ships were the pan' ok-sòn , of large decked, heavy ships with the operation. They however had allowed an evolution of the marine combat: the spur stroke and the Abordage could be advantageously replaced by the artillery combat.

Fearing a Japanese aggression, the admiral Yi makes repair and improve the 24 present in the squadron of South-west. He in particular makes carry out tests on artillery. He undertakes a programme of repair of the fortifications of the arsenals, intensifies the drive and prepares a ship of a new type, the Boat-tortoise ( Kòbuk-Sòn ). This ship, whose plans were lost, is the first Cuirassé of high-sea of the naval history, two centuries and half before the Gloire , launched in 1859 with Toulon. Sailing ship when it sailed, it retracted its chechmates at the time of the engagements and worked then to the oar. Very manoeuvrable and drawn well, it was very fast, which gave him an immediate advantage on the heavy ones and awkward Japanese ships. It was armed with twelve pieces of artillery, making fire by ports open in the armor, and twenty-two loopholes allowed the implementation of Mousquet S, rockets and arrows with fire.

Note: there was about fifteen years before the boat-tortoise a Japanese armoured ship, the Tekkōsen but which was unable to take the high-sea.

The War Imjin

The Japanese invasion

The Imjin war (of the name of an affluent of the river Han, in the center of the peninsula) begins in April 1592, that is to say one year hardly after the nomination of Yi Sun-sin to the head of the squadron of South-west. The Japanese invasion, which aimed at the China, is thoroughly prepared of long time. A large fleet of transport was joined together for the unloading and the supply of an army of more than two hundred and thousand men.

This army crushes the resistance of the Korean army and occupies the capital Hanyang (near to current the Seoul) in less than three months. The fleet is also used to transport the product of the plundering of Korea towards Japan: goods, vivres, slaves delivered to the Portuguese, but also the craftsmen who are off-set. This surge of skilled labor revivifies the Japanese craft industry.

Yi Sun-sin thus has only its squadron, made up of 24 pan' ok-sòn and 80 light ships, of which a few tens of light and fast ships intended for the coastal patrol. These ships all were in perfect operating condition, but had to face the Japanese fleet, made up of 500 warships, of which largest were the atake , equipped with teppo (mousquets manufactured with the Portugal), and with 700 ships requisitioned for the occasion.

The naval countryside of 1592-1593

Yi Sun-sin badgers the Japanese lines of communication, and thus endangers the supply of the army of invasion. Throughout the war, it skilfully uses its ships and its men, sparing them in order to last, benefitting from their year of drive to beat the Japanese, using successes obtained in order to maintain the motivation of its sailors.

The first great victory is gained in an archipelago, with Sach' one. It puts in ambush its boat-tortoises ( Kòbuck-Sòn ) in the islands, then calculates the moment of the battle in order to be helped by the tide. It attracts then a strong Japanese fleet with the anchor (approximately 400 ships) while being shown with some ships. All the enemy ships which follow it are run thanks to its artillery superiority. Wounded the shoulder during the engagements, Yi Sun-sin awaits the end of the battle to extract itself the ball from mousquet.

With the Battle of Tangp' O, it attacks with its Kòbuck-Sòn the atake Japanese admiral, which had a ten height meters castle. The Japanese admiral Kurushima Michiyuki drawn from water, is decapitated and his head used to decorate the chechmate carry-flag of Yi Sun-sin.

The Bataille of Han-San (or Han-San-C ) is regarded as the Salamine of the East. To the Battle of Angolpo, twenty and a atake Japanese surprised and are sent by the bottom. Among these ships, appears the Nihon-Maru , flagship of the Japanese fleet. This success is continued in bay of Pusan, where 130 Japanese ships had taken refuge, thinking of being protected by the coastal batteries installed by the Koreans. The Korean fleet however undergoes large losses at the time of this battle.

The turning of the war is however different as from this moment. The troops of the Chinese suzerain face from now on the Japanese invader. This one is then weakened because Yi Sun-sin succeeds in also cutting the road of maritime supply between the Japanese army stationed close to Pyongyang and its deposits located in the south of the peninsula. The Japanese must negotiate: they preserve the south of the peninsula.

The war of 1593 to 1597

The Japanese thus very did not lose, since they preserve a head of bridge on the continent, with the south of the peninsula. The king of Korea preserves his court at Hanyang (included in current the Agglomération of Seoul). As for Yi Sun-sin, it preserves the strengthened island of Hansan, but its popularity causes hatreds among the courtiers. He is shown of treason, and is relieved. He could have remained on his island, but prefers to deliver himself. He is taken along to connected Hanyang. He is then considered and discharged, but is retrogressed with the row of soldier while leaving prison.

The countryside of 1597-1598

However, in June 1597, the Japanese pass by again with the attack. They beat the Korean fleet and take the island of Hansan.

The king then makes call in catastrophe with Yi Sun-sin, which has the three boat-tortoise of 1592, more others built in 1595. He gains initially some small successes. Those bring the reinforcement of a Chinese fleet to him. With a hundred fishing vessels, it overcomes the September 16th 1598 the Japanese fleet in the master key of Myong-Yang. The 130 Japanese ships are obstructed by the tide, and the head of the admiral Kurushima Michifusa goes up to decorate the chechmate of the boat-tortoise admiral.

At this point in time the use of the information enables him to tighten a ambush. He had indeed learned that the Japanese fleet went, in difficulty with Suncheon (순천). The combat takes place the December 16th between the island of Namhæ and the peninsula, in the Détroit of Noryang (노량). The Korean fleet gives the blow of thanks to a re-embarked Japanese army and being estimated happy to be able to return to Japan. Touched of a ball to the body during the combat, Yi Sun-sin hiding place its wound not to discourage its men. He dies at the end of the Bataille of No Ryang, after having run three hundred Japanese ships out of five hundreds, and especially two hundreds of the two hundred and fifty warships.

The heritage of the national hero

Yi Sun-sin is the national hero of Korea, by all the qualities shown during its life ending in a apotheosis. It was named on a purely posthumous basis Seigneur of Honesty and Knighthood (Chungmu-gong, 충무공; 忠武公), title included in a Korean military order, the Cord of Chungmu about the Merit and military value. A street of the historical center of Seoul is also called as follows: Chungmuro (충무로; 忠武路). The town of Tongyeong founded in its honor on the site of sound General headquarter, and was named originally Chungmu. Him is always said that it lost a ship forever, and that it ran some more than thousand with its enemies.

It caused such an admiration at the Japan board, which he became the official divinity of the Japanese imperial Flotte until the beginning of the XXe century.

The newspaper which it held, as the reports/ratios that it wrote bound for the Court, were published in many languages.

A statue is high for him on one of the main arteries of Seoul, the Séjong avenue, not far from the palate Gyeongbok (경복궁), in full center of the historical quarters. A Mausoleum, the Hyeonchungsa is dedicated to him, to 6 km of Onyang (온양).

It is possible to see a reproduction of a boat-tortoise life size, with the Memorial of the war, Seoul.

Bonds

• immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin, Television serial South Korean recalling the life of Yi Sun-sin.
• " Cheongun " (Celestial Warriors), Korean Film fantastic of Min Jun-gi carried out in 2005, taking again the concept of the temporal jump confronting a section of soldiers of our time with one period hinge of their national history, here with the beginning of the vocation of Yi Sun-sin, following the example Japanese Film " Sengoku Jieitai " also presented under the titles " Time Split " , " G.I. Samurai " and " Warriors of the Apocalypse " , realized in 1979 by Mitsumasa Saito with Sony Chiba, having inspired Gift Taylor the following year for the American Film Nimitz, return towards the hell (final The countdown) with Kirk Douglas.

Zh-classical: 李舜臣

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