Yi Sunshin

PD Image
Portrait of Admiral Yi, drawn in 1952.

Yi Sunshin (이순신:李舜臣, April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral renowned for his naval victories against the invading Japanese during the Korean War of 1592-1598.

Family & early life

Yi Sunshin was born on April 28, 1545 in the Geoncheon-dong area of Seoul. Yi was the third child of the four sons begot by Yi Jeong and Chogyae Byeonssi. Despite their aristocratic yangban lineage, the family lived with modest means because Yi's father avoided pursuing the promising path of a Joseon Dynasty scholar official. The reason for Jeong's withdrawal of ambitions was his unpleasant memory of a violent political purge 20 years before, in which many government officials were killed, and many others, including Sunshin's grandfather, Yi Baek-rok, were demoted to the lower ranks.

The eldest son of the family was Heuishin; the second eldest, Yoshin; and the youngest, Ushin. When Chogyae Byeonssi was pregnant with her third child, Yi Baek-rok, who was now deceased, appeared to her in a dream and said, "that child will turn out to be extraordinary, so name him 'Sunshin'." Thus, like his brothers, Yi Sunshin was named a "vassal" (shin) of one of the sage kings of ancient China (in his case, Shun).

As not much is actually known about Yi's early childhood, the only significant detail regarding the time he grew up in Seoul is that he became friends with Yu Seongnyong, who later would become a high ranking scholar official and contribute to Yi's appointment to the admiralty. After about 9 years in the capital city, Yi Sunshin's family moved to the Bam-bat-ma-eul village in Asan, where their economic hardships could be better managed with support from their relatives on the mother's side.

It was said that Yi was well-liked by the other children in the village, and in war games he was consistently picked as a captain. Around this time, Yi started practicing archery, which was a popular sport and an essential prerequisite for a military career. These outside pursuits were contrasts to his strict rearing at home, where he studied Chinese classics with his brothers.

When Yi was around 20 years old, he married Sangju Bangssi, who was the only daughter of Sangju Bangjin. As a high-ranking officer, Bangjin perceived that Yi had some potential in the military profession; therefore, with the advice of his father-in-law, Yi quit his Confucian studies and began preparing for the military exam. During the 6 years that he trained, Yi fathered 2 sons: his first son, Yi Hwae, in February, 1567, and, in February, 1571, Yi Ull, whom the father would rename as Yi Yer during the war.

Yi took the Byeolshi exam in August, 1572. In one of the tests, Yi made a huge blunder by falling off a horse while trying to string his bow. Although he finished the remaining tests after tying twigs of willow around his hurt leg, he was unable to pass because of the accident. Yi prepared again for 4 more years and passed the much more difficult, triennial Siknyeonmoogwa exam in February, 1576, thereby entering military service at a relatively advanced age of 31.

Pre-war military service

Yi Sunshin began his military service with his assignment to the very cold and remote region of Samsoo in the Hamgyeong Province. For 3 years, Yi was to maintain a small fort by the northern border and protect the civilians from the constant threat of the the Jurchen tribesmen. Although Korea was at peace, and the expectations were generally relaxed within the military, Yi fulfilled his duties with due diligence. At the end of his term, Yi was recommended by the provincial inspector and was promoted as a magistrate at the military training center in the capital city of Seoul. Yi's various responsibilities included administrating military exams, training the troops, and overseeing employment and promotion. As Yi was strictly fair and uncompromising, he flatly rejected a request from a superior named Seo Ik, to lift a friend to a high-level office. Yi's incorruptibility was even known to the defense secretary Kim Gwee-yeong. Kim offered his daughter to Yi for marriage, only to be impressed further by Yi's courteous refusal and his explanation that the marriage would give him an unfair political advantage. Later in October, Yi was made an assistant to the army commander of the Chungcheong Province, and, in June 1580, Yi was transferred to the Jeolla Province, where he handled naval affairs for the first time. It is important to note that the "transfer" from the army to the navy was a pattern that was familiar to the Koreans, since their army and navy were not treated as separate branches of the military.

The first of Yi Sunshin's trials with the bureaucracy began with some malicious rumors that prompted his summoning by the provincial governor, Son Sik, during an inspection tour. Son asked about various military strategies that might reveal Yi's incompetence, but as Yi was able to show his understanding on the subject Son resolved the issue without inflicting any harm toward Yi. More difficult situations followed involving the two men who, one after the other, occupied the position of the Jeolla Left Naval Commander. The first, admiral Saung Bak, ordered Yi to cut down a large Odongnamoo tree in Yi's official residence to make himself a a stringed Korean musical instrument known as Gaumoon-go. Yi disobeyed the admiral on the ground that the tree was a national property that could not be taken for individual use. By the time when the issue had subsided, Saung was replaced by Yi Yong, who was probably influenced by Saung and was also hostile to Yi Sunshin. Yong soon proceeded on an inspection tour to the 5 navy posts under his command. Although the admiral witnessed a considerable amount of shifts that were absent in Yeodo, Sado, Nokdo, and Bangdap, he only reported Yi Sunshin for just 3 such cases that he had found in Balpo. Yi Yong hastily withdrew the charge, however, when Yi Sunshin began his own investigation of the 4 other posts. Later, Yi Yong attempted to discredit Yi Sunshin again in an official evaluation, but the provincial inspector general intervened and nullified the report. Nevertheless, Yi's stubborn refusal to play the political game inevitably had terrible repercussions. In February 1582, Yi Sunshin was expelled from his post after he was falsely denigrated in a weapons inspection by Seo Ik, who still held grudge against Yi since their past dispute.

After four months of dismissal, in May 1582, Yi Sunshin was allowed to return to his former post at the training barracks in Seoul. A chance to further mend his degraded situation came in December of that year when he was visited by his old time friend, Yu Seongnyeong. Yi learned from Yu that he would be able to make acquaintance with Yi Yulgok, who was a very prominent scholar official of the time. Even with Yu's urging to accept, Yi Sunshin refused on the same ground as he had previously with Kim Gwee-yeong's.

In summer of the following year, Yi Yong was promoted as the general of the Hamgyeong Province, whereupon he requested Yi Sunshin to be transferred to his command. It was a friendly request as Yi Sunshin and Yi Yong were reconciled since their confrontation 2 years before. Yi was instated in October 1583 to the position of a border outpost commander that he had once held at the beginning of his career. His new outpost was located 10 miles south of Gyeong-won, in the northernmost part of the Korean peninsula, where the Jurchens posed a major threat. On November 14, Yi staged a successful ambush on the Jurchen raiders and captured their leader. Although the Joseon court initially considered to reward Yi quite generously for this feat, one of his superiors denied this prospect by complaining that the attack was carried out without any prior consultation. Instead, Yi was given a small promotion to the office of overseer at the local training barrack, but he withdrew from service in January 1584 when he received news of his father's death, and spent the next 3 years in ceremonial mourning.

Due to the persistence of Jurchen attacks at the borders, the Joseon court repeatedly inquired when Yi would cease his mourning for his deceased father. In January 1586, Yi Sunshin, who was already at the age of 40, was initially appointed the chief custodian of transportation at the royal palaces but was soon re-assigned to Gyeungheung (present-day Undok) in Hamgyeong Province upon recommendation by Yu Seongnyeong. In August 1587, Yi's responsibilities were expanded to include land inspection of the area, including the island of Noktundo on the Tumen River.

변방을 끊임없이 침입하는 오랑캐들에게 효과적으로 대응할 수 있는 최적의 인물로 이순신만한 장수가 없었기 때문이다. 《선조실록》에는 유성룡이 이순신을 조산보 만호로 추천했다는 기사가 수록되어 있다. 또 이듬해인 1587년 8월에는 함경도 관찰사 정언신(鄭彦信)의 추천으로 녹둔도(鹿屯島)의 농토까지 관리하는 둔전관(屯田官)을 겸하게 되었다. 녹둔도는 조산보에서 동쪽으로 20리 정도 떨어진 섬이며 두만강이 동해로 흘러가는 여울목이기도 하다.

이순신은 녹둔도에서 병력이 적은 것을 염려하여 북병사(北兵使) 이일(李鎰)에게 군사를 증원시켜줄 것을 거듭 요청했지만 이를 들어주지 않았다. 얼마 후 여진족의 갑청아(甲靑阿), 사송아(沙送阿) 등이 병력을 이끌고 둔전의 울타리를 포위하고 공격을 해왔다.

당 시 요새 안에는 10여 명의 병사들만이 있었으며 나머지 병력은 모두 둔전의 벼를 거두고 있었다. 적진에서 붉은 모전(毛氈)을 입은 적병이 앞장 서 달려왔고 이순신은 유엽전(柳葉箭 : 활촉이 버들잎 모양으로 생긴 화살)으로 그들을 쓰러뜨렸다.

이에 적들이 모두 놀라 겁을 먹고 달아났으며 이순신은 이운룡(李暈龍)과 함께 뒤를 추격하여 포로로 잡힌 백성 60여 명을 구출하는 전과를 올렸다. 이 싸움에서 수호장인 오형(吳亨)과 감독관이었던 임경번(林景藩) 등이 전사를 하고 이순신도 오른쪽 다리에 화살을 맞는 부상을 입었지만, 아군도 오랑캐 두목과 적군의 목 3개를 베었다.

그러나 이 싸움이 자신의 책임으로 몰려 처벌받을 것을 두려워한 이일은 아군 측의 피해만을 거론하며 이순신을 처벌하고자 했다. 이일의 거짓보고를 받은 조정은 이순신의 처벌을 논의하였고 지난날 그의 공적을 고려하여 백의종군(白衣從軍 : 일체의 관직과 벼슬 없이 평복으로 참전하는 처벌)을 명하였다. 그리고 다음해 1월 여진과의 전투에서 거점인 시전부락(時錢部落)을 점령하는 공을 세워 다시 복권되었고, 그해 6월 본가가 있는 아산으로 내려갔다.

A survey conducted by Sooncheonhyang University in 2005 indicated that Koreans in general regard Yi Sunshin to be the greatest figure in Korean history.