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 followed his family 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.

Despite his being a newcomer, 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 military career. These boyish interests were fitting contrasts to his strict rearing at home, where Yi 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 Siknyaunmoogwa 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 much diligence. At the end of his term, Yi was recommended by the provincial inspector and was promoted to the grade 8 status of 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 with the last duty, he flatly rejected a request of a superior, Seo Ik, to lift a friend to a high-level office. Yi's incorruptibility even reached the ears of Kim Gwee-yeong, who held the position of the Defense Secretary, the highest within the military bureaucracy. 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, in the grade 4 rank. 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 provincial governor, Son Sik, had heard some malicious rumors about Yi and was determined to catch him as a fraud. Therefore, on one of his inspection tours, the Governor summoned Yi and asked him to explain various military strategies. When Yi did explicate correctly, Son realized his mistake and apologized. Yi Sunshin was not as fortunate with 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 Gaumoon-go, a stringed Korean musical instrument. However, 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 found in Balpo. Yi Yong hastily withdrew the charge, however, when Yi Sunshin began his own investigation of the 4 other posts. Yong again tried to discredit Sunshin in an official evaluation, but the provincial inspector general intervened and nullified the report. Nevertheless, in February 1582, Yi Sunshin was expelled from his post after Seo Ik, then a weapons inspector, submitted a false evaluation on the condition of Yi's arsenals.

In May 1582, Yi Sunshin was fortunately able to return to his former post at the training barracks in Seoul. A chance to mend his degraded situation came in December of that year when he was visited by his old friend Yu with an invitation from Yi Yulgok, who was a very prominent scholar and official of the time. Even with Yu's advice, Yi Sunshin refused to meet with Yi Yulgok because he did not want to seek political connections.

In summer of the following year, Yi Sunshin was promoted as a regional commander in the Hamgyeong Province upon request by Yi Yong, who was the newly appointed general of the Province. Although Yi Yong and Yi Sunshin had not been on good terms 2 years before, they were eventually reconciled as Yi Yong came to know more about Yi Sunshin.

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