As you probably know, Korea has had an antagonistic and rather despondent relationship with Japan. Traces of resentment still linger in Korea over being occupied and colonized by Japan from the end of the 19th century up until the end of World War II. I guess for a nation with as strong a national pride as Korea, it is understandable that its history of oppression by Japan and other countries stirs up deep emotions of shame and anger.
But there is one shining star in Korea's long fight to maintain its independence, and that is the legendary Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. Though I am still a great admirer of Hideyoshi, as a Korean, I can't help but take an adolescent pride in the fact that the great unifier of Japan met his match in an untested, improbable Korean naval commander.
Against all odds, severely outnumbered in both men and vessels, Yi Sun-Shin vanquished the Japanese navy, which vastly outnumbered Korea's, not once, but both times the ambitious warlord invaded. He accomplished this incredible feat with the famous covered war vessels, the Turtle Ships, and the larger battleships, Panokseon.
The first place I visited was the local museum. It was free of charge, and the lady who worked there kindly helped me plan my day around town. On display were various portraits and memorabelia depicting Admiral Yi, and artifacts from the time period.
Tongyeong today is a thriving port city. The bay was dotted with freight ships and fishing nets. The city was actually renamed Tongyeong after the postumhous title given to Admiral Yi, which means "command post".
There were various monuments in honor of Korea's victory.
Though it was not the original structure, this is the building where Yi Sun-Shin stayed and used as his naval headquarters for several years during the war.
I found it strange that they had a poem by Admiral Yi in front of the lookout exclusively in English, considering this place is a monument of Korean independence.
This was cool. It's an archery range that spans an entire cove. The targets visible in the distance represent where the origianl targets once stood. Admiral Yi held many contests here to rally his troops.
The finale was a shrine to Admiral Yi. On either side of what looked like an oil painting of the Admiral, were screens bearing his actual handwriting.
This is where it all took place. Admirl Yi used six panokseon as a decoy to lure the Japanese navy stationed near Busan. They took the bait completely, and fell right into the center of the Korean fleet, positioned in a semi-circle around the pass where they entered. The Japanese favored a style of battle in which they boarded enemy ships, rather than attack using projectiles. Because the Korean ships were covered and the turtle ships had spikes on the roof, this proved ineffective, and the Korean fleet, which utilized canons as their primary attack, annihalated all but a few of the more than 70 Japanese warships.
There was a replica turtle ship for the public to see.
I stopped for a while to observe this group of elder Korean men engrossed in a game of Korean chess. They were all concentrating so much that they didn't even notice me taking photos and video.
And high atop a hill overlooking the city, here he is—the man! Actually, he looked rather small in this statue, but this may well be closer to his actual stature than some of the other statues of him around Korea. There was a larger, newer statue in the Yi Sun-Shin park further out of the city, but I didn't have time to see that one. Even Japanese historians agree that Admiral Yi's feats rank him among the greatest naval commanders of all time. When he was killed by a bullet as his fleet was chasing away the Japanese navy for good the second time, he asked his death to be concealed so his men would not lose morale. Admiral Yi is remembered as a selfless man who never sought personal glory, but remained dedicated to the protection of the nation.
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