⑥ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin, Part 2

The Nanjung Ilgi -- Admiral Yi Sun-sin's war diary -- has many stretches where entries have vanished or gone missing entirely. Given how little time the war left him for writing, that might seem unsurprising. But one gap stands out as especially painful: the diary falls completely silent from January 5 to September 14, 1598, the final year of the war.

The Trouble with Studying the Battle of Jeoldo

If that stretch of the diary survived, later generations could easily trace how the arrogant Ming admiral Chen Lin changed after meeting Admiral Yi. But no diary entries from this period remain.

The surviving accounts of the Battle of Jeoldo don't cover the fighting from start to finish -- only fragments -- and they don't always agree with each other. I had to rely on a scholarly study that pulled these fragments together. For this post, I'm drawing on research by Professor Ko Gwang-seop of the Naval Academy at Mokpo National Maritime University.

Within that research, I want to center this account on two sources in particular: the Annals of King Seonjo, based on the official report Admiral Yi submitted to King Seonjo on August 13, 1598, and the Yi Chungmugong Haengnok, an account of Admiral Yi written by his nephew Yi Bun, who assisted with the administrative and diplomatic affairs of the Joseon navy camp at the time.

My reason for centering the account of the Battle of Jeoldo on the Annals of King Seonjo and the Yi Chungmugong Haengnok is that both draw on the direct, firsthand experience of Admiral Yi himself and of Yi Bun -- which gives them the strongest claim to reliability as primary sources.

The Battle of Jeoldo: The Joseon-Ming Allied Navy's First Victory

The Battle of Jeoldo -- fought near present-day Geogeumdo Island in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province -- opened on the 18th day of the seventh month, 1598, by the lunar calendar, when word reached the fleet that a hundred Japanese ships were bearing down on Nokdo (present-day Sorokdo Island). The Joseon-Ming allied fleet set out from Gogeumdo and pushed toward Geumdangdo Island.

That first day, only two Japanese ships were found at Geumdangdo; the fleet drove them off but could not locate the main enemy force. Even so, Admiral Yi had the Nokdo commander Song Yeo-jong hide eight warships at Jeoldo, keeping them there in wait.

Map of the Battle of Jeoldo

The next day, the 19th of the seventh month, the main Japanese force passed by Nokdo and Jeoldo on its way south, and the Joseon-Ming fleet sailed north from Geumdangdo toward the northwestern coast of Jeoldo -- and the real Battle of Jeoldo began.

In this battle, the Nokdo commander Song Yeo-jong appears to have distinguished himself greatly, and the Joseon navy burned fifty of the hundred Japanese ships. Japanese bodies filled the sea, but in the rush of battle the Joseon sailors could only pull about seventy of them aboard to take their heads.

Yielding the Enemy's Heads to Chen Lin

Throughout the fighting, the Ming navy seems to have hung back and simply watched rather than joining the battle. With no achievement of his own to show, Admiral Chen Lin grew furious at his own officers and even threatened Admiral Yi.

To placate him, Admiral Yi handed over some forty of the enemy heads to Chen Lin.

For Chen Lin, the Battle of Jeoldo was the first time he actually witnessed, with his own eyes, the ability of Admiral Yi that he had only heard about before. To Admiral Yi, boasting about enemy heads or his own achievements meant nothing at all -- but to Chen Lin, receiving those forty-odd heads must have left a deep impression.

👉 Next post: ⑦ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin, Part 3