뉴스레터

In the late 16th century, Korea was in a precarious condition due to an intense political conflict between the ruling Dongin faction and the Seoin faction. Japan, on the other hand, having built up power to cope with the Western move to control the East, was preparing to invade the Asian continent. Once Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊信秀吉) rose to power and gained complete control of Japan, he started a continent invasion operation. In the resulting Imjin War, which would redefine the order of East Asia, the Japanese troops were successful in early battles across the Korean Peninsula, but eventually defeated as Lee Sun-sin, the commander of the Jeolla unit, cut off their supply routes by sea and led a series of naval battles to victory.

Back in 1590, in response to the request of the Japanese envoy So Yoshitoshi (宗義智) made two years earlier in 1588, Korea sent envoys, including Hwang Yun-gil and Kim Seong-il, to Japan. When they returned to Korea the following year, those two envoys disagreed about the possibility of war in their reports to King Seonjo. In any case, Korea was alerted as "(Japan was) planning to advance directly to China next February," as indicated in the letter that they had brought with them from Japan.

Neither Land Nor Sea Warfare Should Be Avoided

To prepare for war, Korea ordered the Border Defense Council to recommend potential commanders. Yoo Seong-ryong recommended Lee Sun-sin, governor of Jeongeup at that time, to the position of Naval Commander of Jeolla Province. The Korean court, although originally planning to disband the naval force and concentrate only on land fight at the suggestion of the Border Inspector Shin Lib (申砬), was persuaded by the argument of Lee Sun-sin, who said, "There is nothing like the naval force in fending off pirates. Neither land nor sea warfare should be avoided."

After the death of his first and most beloved son Tsurumatsu (鶴松), Hideyoshi declared war and scheduled his expedition to China (Ming) to begin on 'the 1st of March in 1592.' Meanwhile, Lee Sun-sin began preparing for war in earnest starting from January 1592, keeping each of his units well armed. He also began keeping War Diary starting from January 1, even though he was not in war yet, thinking that it would be only a matter of time before a war would break out. His dairy details the situations of his units and troops and his conduct of war affairs. He would continue to keep his diary for the next seven years, except, inevitably, on days of fierce battle, to faithfully record the progress of the war.

In February, Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長) sent a messenger demanding that "either the King of Korea come to Japan or Korea give way for Japan." Finally, on April 14, the Imjin War broke out as his unit invaded the Busan port. Konishi's troops met little resistance from the Korean royal forces as they successfully advanced into the land. Disconcerted, Won Gyun asked his fellow commander Lee Sun-sin for backup. "The only thing we need to do today is to go forward and fight to death," said Lee Sun-sin to his men. "Those of you who dare to say no will be beheaded." In May, Lee Sun-sin's fleet finally joined forces with Won Gyun's and fought in the Battle of Okpo (玉浦), destroying by fire twenty-six ships in the fleet of Japanese Commander Todo Takatora (藤堂高虎).

Meanwhile, Seoul fell to the hands of Yukinaga's troops in only twenty days. It took the whole country less than two months to be ravaged as the troops commanded by Kato Kiyosama (加藤淸正) advanced north all the way to Hamgyeong Province, capturing Pyeongyang in the process. Under the circumstances, the only way to turn the war around was to cut off the enemy's supply routes by sea. In July, the fleet of Wakizaka Yasuharu (脇坂安治) was anchored at Gyeonnaeryang, prepared to move from Yangsan (梁山) into the land of Jeolla Province, when its fifty-nine ships were destroyed by fire as a result of the successful execution of Lee Sun-sin's crane wing formation strategy in the Battle of Hansan Island. The command of the sea gained from this victory made it possible to concentrate efforts on preventing the Japanese troops from advancing into Jeolla Province.

Cutting off the Enemy's Supply Routes by Sea Was the Key to Victory

The peace negotiations between China and Japan continued during the war until they broke down in September 1596 as China rejected Japan's unreasonable demands. Hideyoshi decided to resume the invasion of Korea and made plans for advance to the north. Meanwhile, the Korean court was in a debate over whether Lee Sun-sin or Won Gyun should get more credit. Lee Sun-sin was falling out of the favor of King Seonjo as well as the ministers while Won Gyun was getting their support.
Taking advantage of this situation, Yukinaga tried to trick Lee Sun-sin into trouble; he sent a man named Yoshira to Korean Commander Kwon Yul with the information that Kato Kiyosama was on his way to Korea from Japan, and hinted that it would be a good opportunity to catch him if the Korean court would order Lee Sun-sin to do so. But Lee Sun-sin saw through the enemy's trick and stayed put. As a result, he was accused of disobeying the King's command, deprived of his position of Commander-in-Chief of the naval force of the three provinces, and sent to prison. He faced a capital punishment, but was pardoned at the last minute as Jeong Tak's petition persuaded King Seonjo to change his mind.

After his unfair time in prison, Lee Sun-sin went straight to Mt Eora in Asan where his father was buried, and he cried his heart out. Meanwhile, his mother had passed away, and he met her dead body in Haeam, Asan, transported all the way from Yeosu. But he had hardly time for her funeral since he was supposed to go to war and serve among the common ranks. Despite his personal tragedy, his strong determination to save his country from crisis never wavered. Inwardly, however, he was so stricken with grief that he couldn't keep his diary during this period, and he had to start over later. That is why his diary for 1597 is in two volumes.

After the Korean naval troops commanded by Won Gyun were destroyed in the Battle of Chilcheonryang, the Japanese ships tried to move north, but they were defeated in the Battle of Myeongryang in which Lee Sun-sin achieved a victory with thirteen ships by encouraging his outnumbered, fleeing men to keep firing at the enemy. After the death of Hideyoshi, the retreating Japanese troops tried to rescue Yukinawa from Yegyo (曳橋) in Suncheon, but their operation was thwarted, and the sea route to Noryang also blocked, by Lee Sun-sin, who finally met his death after destroying 200 Japanese ships by fire in a combined operation with China in the Battle of Noryang. Even as he died, he said, "Do not tell anyone about my death." It is with such an extraordinary commitment to his duty that he could keep his mental strength and dignity even in his solitude and kept up his writing even as bullets rained down all around him.