South Koreans once released a list called "Asian Military Generals Ranking", and the first place was actually the North Korean general Yi Sunsin. We may not know much about this Yi Sunsin, who is he?Why is it at the top of the Asian military rankings?Is this historical figure really as powerful as the legend suggests?
Yi Sunsin was born in 1545 in Seoul (present-day Seoul, South Korea) on the Korean Peninsula to a family of eunuchs. At the age of 31, he was admitted to the Jungwu Department and was recommended to serve as the naval envoy of Jeolla Left Province on the Korean Peninsula. In 1592, Japan invaded Korea and breached the capital city of Seoul in just one month, forcing the Joseon king to flee and ask for assistance from the Ming Emperor. The Ming Dynasty sent Li Rusong to lead an army of 40,000 into the dynasty and successfully expelled the Japanese invaders. However, this was not a large-scale campaign commanded by Yi Sunsin.
In the battle of Pyongyang, the Ming army killed more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, while Yi Sunsin led the Korean naval army to many victories at sea, including the famous victory at Haksan Island. This battle made Yi Sunsin a hero of the Korean Peninsula and commanded the Korean naval division. However, throughout his life, he did not command a large-scale campaign.
In 1597, Japan invaded again, and Korea again asked for assistance from the Ming Dynasty. The Ming army and the Korean naval division fought together against the Japanese army at sea, and Yi Sunsin became famous in the battle of Mingliang Gorge, but this was also not a large-scale battle. In the Battle of Luliang, although more than 200 Japanese warships were sunk, Yi Sunsin was unfortunately shot and killed in the battle at the age of 53.
Although the Koreans hailed Yi Sun-sin as the "first great man of the navy", his achievements did not involve large-scale military operations. It seems too much to boast that it is ranked first in the history of Asian military generals. Historically, Yi Sunsin may have been an outstanding naval general, but whether his reputation deserved to surpass that of those who rose to prominence in large-scale wars remains a matter of debate.