㉗ Comparing the Strength of the Four Naval Commands Before the Imjin War

Before the Imjin War, the southern seas of Korea were guarded by four naval commands: the Jeolla Right Naval Command, the Jeolla Left Naval Command, the Gyeongsang Right Naval Command, and the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command. Admiral Yi took up his post as naval commander of the Jeolla Left Naval Command in 1591, a year before the war broke out. To see just how modest that post really was, let's start with the numbers.

The Scale of Each Naval Command

At the time the Imjin War broke out, each naval command's jurisdiction looked like this:

Command	Commander	Headquarters	Jurisdiction (gwan/po)
Jeolla Right Naval Command	Yi Eok-gi	Haenam	12 gwan / 15 po
Jeolla Left Naval Command	Yi Sun-sin	Yeosu	5 gwan / 5 po
Gyeongsang Right Naval Command	Won Gyun	Geoje	8 gwan / 16 po
Gyeongsang Left Naval Command	Bak Hong	Dongnae	18 gwan / 16 po

A gwan was an ordinary administrative district, serving in wartime as a base for logistics and supply. A po was a garrison post, functioning as a frontline outpost for actual coastal defense.

For reference, the Jeolla Right Naval Command had a naval strength of some 10,000 men, while the Jeolla Left Naval Command had roughly 5,000.

The Number of Panokseon Warships

Before the Imjin War broke out, the Jeolla Left Naval Command possessed 24 panokseon warships. The estimated numbers for the other commands, presented below, are based on the scale of each command and on estimates from Professor Kim Jae-geun, a scholar of Korean naval history.

Command	Estimated Panokseon Count
Jeolla Left Naval Command	24
Jeolla Right Naval Command	50
Gyeongsang Left Naval Command	30
Gyeongsang Right Naval Command	73

Source: m.cafe.daum.net/64woori/HovC/185

Looking Back

First, the figure of 30 ships for the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command is hard to square with the rest. Its jurisdiction (18 gwan, 16 po) was the largest of the four commands, yet its fleet was the second smallest. I'll leave this as an open question until I can check the original source myself.

Whatever the exact numbers, one fact stands out clearly. The smallest of the four commands, the Jeolla Left Naval Command, played by far the largest role as the spearhead of the Joseon navy in the early stages of the Imjin War. With just 24 ships, Admiral Yi fought at Okpo, Sacheon, Dangpo, Danghangpo, Hansan Island, Angolpo, and Busanpo, and won great distinction in every one. Bak Hong of the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command abandoned his fortress and fled without a single engagement, right after the Japanese landed at Busan. Won Gyun of the Gyeongsang Right Naval Command scuttled his own panokseon warships himself.

This leaves me with one thought I can't help returning to as I look back on that time. If Admiral Yi had been posted, a year before the war broke out, not to the Jeolla Left Naval Command but to the Gyeongsang Left or Right Naval Command instead, there's a good chance the seven-year Imjin War would have ended almost before the Japanese ever set foot on land. A commander who won battle after battle with just 24 ships -- given 30 or 73 ships instead, and a full year to prepare in the position closest to Busan -- would likely have destroyed the Japanese navy at sea before it ever managed to land a single soldier.

For reference, when Admiral Yi handed over the post of Naval Commander of the Three Provinces to Won Gyun in early 1597, the fleet he passed on numbered 134 panokseon warships, with a naval strength of roughly 17,000 to 18,000 men, according to the general consensus of the records.

I believe that, at the time the Imjin War broke out, the Gyeongsang Left and Right Naval Commands must each have had at least 100 or so panokseon warships. Admiral Yi fought an undefeated campaign with only 24 panokseon warships, while Bak Hong and Won Gyun scuttled their ships and disbanded their navies without even attempting to fight. If there are commanders who deserve to be beheaded ten thousand times over, alongside King Seonjo, before the souls of the million who died across the seven years of the Imjin War, I believe they are Bak Hong and Won Gyun.

👉 Next post: ㉘ Comparing the Warships of Joseon, Ming, and Japan in the Imjin War

— Momcheolhak