① Visiting Admiral Yi's Birthplace with My Daughter Before She Left for Germany

On one especially hot summer day in 2020, I left the house with my daughter, who was about to go abroad to study in Germany. Sending her off alone to a foreign land stirred up complicated feelings in me as her father. But before anything else, I wanted to engrave in her eyes and heart the roots and traces of history that she must never forget as a Korean.

That day we set aside the whole day, riding the subway together and walking the crowded streets of Seoul. We talked about many things, and the weather was sweltering. And at last we arrived at a place I had often spoken of to her, almost out of habit: the site of the birthplace of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the commander who saved Joseon at sea during the Imjin War of 1592–1598. Although I had been studying Admiral Yi for a long time, the idea of visiting his birthplace had come to me only recently, so this visit with my daughter was my first as well.

The Savior of a Sinking Nation, and Such a Humble Trace

Whenever I talked to my daughter about Admiral Yi, my voice always grew stronger. Because of the overall scale of his battles and a Western-centered view of history, he is less known than the world's famous naval battles. But judged purely by the ability of a single commander, I would tell her, Admiral Yi was the greatest naval commander in world history.

He was a man who sacrificed himself out of love for his people alone, even through cruel persecution and loneliness. In the narrow waters of Myeongnyang, where everyone else shrank back in fear, did he not raise up his despairing men and win the victory? There are many generals in the world, but is there another for whom the title of "sage-hero" fits so well? Had he not existed, we might be living today not as Koreans but as Japanese. He was truly like a savior who miraculously rescued a sinking nation.

But when I actually arrived at the birthplace site holding my daughter's hand, what I found was so humble that, as her father and as one citizen of a later generation, I could not hold my head up.

A roadside marker stone indicating the site of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's birthplace

Countless passersby walked past without a glance, never knowing that this was where the savior of a sinking nation, a hero without equal, was born. Only a small stone marker, set down alone by the roadside, quietly announced that this was a historic place.

According to what I have read, old sources such as the Taekdang-jip, the collected writings of the Joseon scholar Yi Sik, and the Yi Chungmugong Jeonseo, the complete collected works of Admiral Yi, confirm only that his birthplace was in Geoncheon-dong, a neighborhood of Joseon-era Seoul. Under today's administrative districts, it is the area around Inhyeon-dong 1-ga in Jung-gu, Seoul.

We passed the marker stone on the main road and walked to the address deeper in the alley that, based on the sources, is presumed to be the actual site. There was no grand memorial hall there. There was only a cold brass plate set into the wall of a pillar of an ordinary commercial building.

A plaque on a building wall indicating the site of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's birthplace

The plaque, sitting quietly beneath the building's name, read: "Based on the historical research of many historians, this place is presumed to be the birthplace of Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, and this plaque has been installed." The neighborhood was an alley of busy everyday life, crowded with print shops and stores, and in that narrow gap the Admiral's trace seemed to be barely catching its breath.

Seoul's Answer, and the Shame Left in a Father's Heart

The position of the Seoul city government, which I checked later, was clear. The sources confirm only that it was Geoncheon-dong; it is difficult to identify the exact lot, so they asked for understanding that a judgment was hard to make. That, they explained, was also why they had placed the marker stone on the main road, where more citizens could see it.

Of course, I understand the administrative limits and the difficulty of historical research. But even if the exact birthplace cannot be known without the slightest error, if it is certain that Geoncheon-dong is today's Inhyeon-dong 1-ga area, could they not at least provide a small memorial hall nearby — a place where people could stop for a moment, honor the Admiral's noble spirit, have a cup of tea, and catch their breath?

Myeong-dong and Chungmu-ro, streets full of foreign visitors, are right around the corner. Must the place where the greatest hero of our history was born really be left this lonely and neglected? It made me feel sad and ashamed.

I had wanted to proudly show my daughter, who was leaving for a distant land, the greatness of our history. But before the humble reality in front of me, a strange shame swept over me, and I could not go on speaking. I could not bring myself to tell her everything I felt, but it was as if a heavy stone had been laid upon my chest.

"My daughter, the Admiral's birthplace may be set into the wall of this narrow, humble alley, but the country he protected is by no means small. Even when you go to Germany, keep deep in your heart, and never forget, the spirit of the great sage-hero who was born in this humble alley and saved his country."

Watching my daughter's face in profile as she silently looked at the plaque on the wall, I could only murmur these words in my heart. The memory of that hot summer day in 2020 still remains in me as a trace of sadness and shame.

👉 Next post: ② A Petition Drum Sounded in Germany: Hyeonchungsa's English Page in 2005

— Momcheolhak