Yi Sunshin

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, he flatly rejected a request from a superior named 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 first of Yi Sunshin's trials in dealing with the bureaucracy began with some malicious rumors that prompted his summoning by the provincial governor, Son Sik, during an inspection tour. Son asked about various military strategies that might reveal Yi's incompetence, but as Yi was able to show his understanding on the subject Son resolved the issue without inflicting any harm toward Yi. More difficult situations followed involving 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 had found in Balpo. Yi Yong hastily withdrew the charge, however, when Yi Sunshin began his own investigation of the 4 other posts. Later, Yi Yong attempted to discredit Yi Sunshin again in an official evaluation, but the provincial inspector general intervened and nullified the report. Nevertheless, Yi's stubborn refusal to play the political game inevitably had terrible repercussions. In February 1582, Yi Sunshin was expelled from his post after Seo Ik, who still held grudge against Yi since their dispute 2 years before, visited Yi on his official tour as a weapons inspector and submitted a false evaluation report.

After four months of dismissal, in May 1582, Yi Sunshin was allowed to return to his former post at the training barracks in Seoul. A chance to further mend his degraded situation came in December of that year when he was visited by his old friend, Yu Seongnyeong. Yi learned from Yu that he would be able to make acquaintance with Yi Yulgok, who was a very prominent scholar official of the time. Even with Yu's urging to accept, Yi Sunshin refused Yi Yulgok's invitation on the same moral ground as he had previously with Kim Gwee-yeong's.

In summer of the following year, Yi Yong was promoted as the general of the Hamgyeong Province, whereupon he requested Yi Sunshin to be transferred to his command. The request was a friendly act as Yi Sunshin and Yi Yong were reconciled since their initial hostility 2 years ago. Yi was instated in October 1583 to his former position of a border outpost commander that he had held at the start of his career. His new outpost was located 10 miles south of Gyeong-won, in the northernmost part of the Korean peninsula, where the Jurchens posed a major threat. In November, Yi staged a successful ambush on the Jurchen raiders and captured their leader. Although the Joseon court considered to honor Yi with a highly esteemed award, a complaint from one of his superiors that Yi acted without prior consultation limited its response in form of a promotion.

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