"National Character" - Part 5

     As I have mentioned in Part 3, there is a tendency for nations to write history in their favor, always portraying their country, their leaders as being in the right, etc.  Several blogs earlier, I also mention how a same battle seen from both sides of the participants can be very different.  So, it is not surprising that European nations tend to view their military leaders as being the greatest ever in world history, be they land army commanders or naval commanders.  This is especially true when it comes to general public and the media.  In military academies and war colleges, it may be a bit different.  For instance, Chingis or Genghis Khan is considered a military genius and his tactics studied in military academies.  The same thing is true of Sun Tzu, the great Chinese tactician.  However, the general public and the media consider Chingis/Genghis a nasty murderous barbarian, nothing more, and Sun Tzu is practically unknown.
     To most people of the western world (Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand), the greatest naval commanders in world history are all from Europe.  America considers John Paul Jones to be one of the greatest, and most Anglophiles will consider Admiral Nelson as the top guy.  But, surprisingly, among those who are familiar with naval history, there is an Asian Admiral that holds a very high position in this category. 
     George Alexander Allard of the British Royal Navy and a Naval Historian considers Korea's Yi Sun Shin to be the equal of Lord Nelson!  He stated that it is difficult for him to admit that there is a naval tactician and leader as great as Lord Nelson, but if there was an equal to Nelson, it was Yi of Korea!  The great Japanese Admiral, the hero of the Russo-Japanese War who destroyed the Russian Pacific Fleet, took exception to being compared to Yi Sun Shin.  At a ceremony where he was being honored, he was called an equal to Lord Nelson of England and Yi Sun Shin of Korea.  Togo responded by saying:  "It may be proper to compare me with Nelson, but not with Korea's Yi Sun Shin, for he had no equal!"
     Just who was this man who was thought of so highly by naval authorities of other countries, including one from its former enemy state!  Yi Sun Shin was a Korean Admiral during the Imjin Wars (1592 -1598) that raged between Korea's Chosun Dynasty and the invading Japanese forces of Toyotomi Hideoshi.  Yi Sun Shin took command of a much smaller Korean Navy and defeated the Japanese at sea time and again!  He fought the Japanese in a total of 23 naval battles during the six year Imjin Wars and defeated the much larger and superior Japanese forces every time!  In his greatest victory of the Battle of Myeongnyang, Yi's 13 ships faced a fleet of 133 Japanese ships!  Yet, by using superior tactics and improvised maneuvers, Yi's much smaller force defeated the Japanese fleet, sinking around 33 and damaging another 30 or so of the Japanese ships without losing a single Korean ship!  The Japanese fleet was forced to pull out, limping out of the battle area.
     It is generally thought that Yi had invented the so-called "turtle ships," the kuhbuksun also written as geobukseon.  Yi did not invent these ships but improved upon their original design, making them more effective in battle.  The "turtle ships" were ironclads of sorts.  Their body was shaped like a turtle that was covered with armor and spikes (to prevent boarding) and with a figure head shaped like a dragon.  Each side of the ship had eleven canons and the figure head had four cannons.  The turtle shaped armored body had port holes for firing mortars and other weapons.  For that time and period, it was a formidable weapon of war.  It was highly maneuverable, propelled by 24 oars on each side, and it had masts and sails that could be raised to use the wind when not engaged in combat.  It was an engineering marvel, something that the world had not seen anywhere at that time.
     Yi used the tactics of stealth to approach Japanese ships and attack at night.  The figurehead would spew flames when the four cannons were fired and one can imagine what a fearful appearance it made.  Contrary to popular belief, Yi did not use a whole fleet of turtle ships.  In each battle he used at most a half a dozen of these specialized ships, the rest of his fleet was made up of conventional warships of the time.  The turtle ships were "Special Operations" ships and used for the initial attack at night to create havoc and panic with the enemy.  At a time when most people believed that there were such things as dragons and sea monsters, the turtle ships must have appeared frightening to the Japanese sailors.  Yi never lost a battle, even in his last battle when he was killed, his ships defeated the Japanese!
     Yi Sun Shin is a national hero and there is a huge statue of the great Admiral in Seoul, South Korea.  He is celebrated in songs, poems, books, movies, etc. The "turtle ship" is considered an early example of Korean engineering ingenuity.  Yi's superior and at times unconventional tactics are also an example of Korean ingenuity and ability to improvise and apply appropriate tactics to the situation. 
     Like the girl in the folktale who disguised herself as her father to fool the great white tiger, Yi Sun Shin employed turtle ships to gain an advantage on his enemy.  Ingenuity, improvisation, courage and perseverance, all demonstrated by the girl who killed the great white tiger and by Yi Sun Shin with his turtle ships in the naval battles that he fought.  To Koreans, Yi Sun Shin and the turtle ships and the 23 naval victories are a perfect illustration of Korean "national character."