Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, Hero of the Korean People

Admiral Yi Sun-Shin by no doubts, the greatest figure in Korean history. To the Korean people, he is their greatest hero who saved the Korean kingdom from the brink of collapse when the Japanese forces under Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592. As a way to show how important he is, a national poll was conducted in 2005 in Korea, and Admiral Yi was chosen as the greatest figure in Korean history by 43.8% of the vote (The Chosun Daily, April 15, 2005). Admiral Yi was a military genius of his time for his success in naval combat. He drew comparison to two of the world’s greatest naval minds: Admiral Horatio Nelson of Britain and Admiral Heihachiro Togo of Japan