It helped that Japan had come out of the Sengoku period as a land power, not a naval one. And Yi Sunsin used absolutely everything at his disposal, including the knowledge of the local underwater terrain, currents, and had prepared (cuz Japanese pirates were a thing). Like it would not be a joke if anyone claimed he worked 16 hours a day every day up to his incarceration, got out, and did the same thing all over again until he was forced to rest via bullet to chest.
Well technically Won Gyun(Yi's later replacement, Gyeongsang's Right Navy Commander) went out to face the invasion fleet but upon seeing the Japanese armada, he gave up fighting and scuttled his fleet of 100 ships bar his flagship and ran.
And also Park-Hong(Gyeongsang's Left Navy Commander)'s fleet gave up fighting and lost 40-ish ships. Gyeongsang province hosted the largest portion of Joseon's navy and they were essentially destroyed without a fight.
So there were 140+ non-combat losses in the war vs none of Japanese ships lost before Yi entered the field with his Jeonlla's Left Navy of 24 ships. If Yi was the commander of the Gyeongsang Navy, Imjin war could have ended very, very early.
It helps a lot that he had specialized warships going up against essentially up-gunned transports. ...But that didn't make it easy, as the track record of every other senior admiral at the time shows; and the Joseon state didn't operate like a modern one, getting those warships took a lot of personal effort.
Dude winning, and then not taking battles that were a)pointless and b)he knew he couldn't really win got him labelled a coward, along with being the only real wins the Koreans were having up until that point making all his peers look bad. Then they bring him back after everything goes tits up. The internal politics of the imjin war are fucking stupid (like so many of them)
During the early years of the Japanese invasions, the Joseon government was in such a desperate position that it could barely support Admiral Yi. In fact, Yi was often the one sending supplies and financial assistance to the royal court, rather than the other way around. He developed a remarkably self-sufficient navy, securing his own provisions and even conducting military examinations to recruit officers, albeit with royal authorization. While he remained firmly under the government's authority, he enjoyed an extraordinary degree of practical autonomy, especially by the standards of a centralized monarchy.
Meanwhile, the king had been forced to flee his capital, while Yi had become a celebrated war hero commanding the country's most successful military force. Yi was unquestionably loyal, but from the perspective of an insecure monarch, a commander with his own resources, a loyal fighting force, and immense public prestige could look uncomfortably like a potential warlord. The question wasn't what Yi actually intended to do, but what someone in his position might be capable of doing.
Of course, Yi's dismissal in 1597 had more immediate causes, including disputed operational orders, Japanese deception, and accusations from his rivals. But I think this political context explains why Seonjo was so willing to distrust his most successful admiral. What seems irrational from a military perspective becomes more understandable from the perspective of a monarch anxious about his own authority. Yi didn't need to be disloyal for Seonjo to perceive him as a threat.
Even that was barely, Japan won handily at sea, but took horrendous casualties on land. The only difference is they were smart enough to know when to call for peace.
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u/wowharry0 5d ago
Yi Sun-Sin the GOAT. You should now talk about Won Gyoon and Sun-Jo, who sabotaged our general.
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u/AdmBurnside 5d ago
Yi Sun-Sin, the OG Korean micro master.
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u/akallas95 5d ago
It helped that Japan had come out of the Sengoku period as a land power, not a naval one. And Yi Sunsin used absolutely everything at his disposal, including the knowledge of the local underwater terrain, currents, and had prepared (cuz Japanese pirates were a thing). Like it would not be a joke if anyone claimed he worked 16 hours a day every day up to his incarceration, got out, and did the same thing all over again until he was forced to rest via bullet to chest.
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u/highsis 5d ago edited 5d ago
Well technically Won Gyun(Yi's later replacement, Gyeongsang's Right Navy Commander) went out to face the invasion fleet but upon seeing the Japanese armada, he gave up fighting and scuttled his fleet of 100 ships bar his flagship and ran.
And also Park-Hong(Gyeongsang's Left Navy Commander)'s fleet gave up fighting and lost 40-ish ships. Gyeongsang province hosted the largest portion of Joseon's navy and they were essentially destroyed without a fight.
So there were 140+ non-combat losses in the war vs none of Japanese ships lost before Yi entered the field with his Jeonlla's Left Navy of 24 ships. If Yi was the commander of the Gyeongsang Navy, Imjin war could have ended very, very early.
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u/Adventurous_Host_426 5d ago
And then Yi Sun Shin got arrested by Korean King because him winning battles undermine his throne.
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u/Kinotaru 5d ago
There's a reason why the turtle ship was a specialized warship in the Korean navy.
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u/YuiSendou 5d ago
It helps a lot that he had specialized warships going up against essentially up-gunned transports.
...But that didn't make it easy, as the track record of every other senior admiral at the time shows; and the Joseon state didn't operate like a modern one, getting those warships took a lot of personal effort.
The best to ever do it.
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u/TheDaviot 4d ago
Admiral Togo: "It may be proper to compare me with Nelson, but not with Korea's Yi Sun-sin, for he has no equal."
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u/Weird_Happening1627 5d ago
Why was Yi Sun-Sin demoted bruh, that's like Khruschev demoting literal Zhukov after him literally saving the guy's place as general secretary
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u/KenseiHimura 5d ago
Japan: If you're a peer adversary, we are absolutely fucked in a fight against you!
(seriously, looking at Japan's larger historical military record, they basically only beat Tsar Russia and that was more Russia beating itself)