㉟ The Heart That Beheads and the Heart That Gives Away Its Clothes: Admiral Yi Sun-sin

In the autumn of 1596, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, as Supreme Naval Commander of the Three Provinces (Samdo Sugun Tongjesa), was traveling through Jeolla Province. It was an inspection tour, stopping at each district to look into its affairs.

On the 13th day of the 9th month, at Mujang (present-day Gochang), the Admiral met a man named Yi Jung-ik. Yi Jung-ik told him at length about his poor and pressing circumstances. The Admiral took off the clothes he was wearing and gave them to him. (Nanjung Ilgi, September 13, 1596)

Here is the diary from one week later.

"In the morning I examined the offenses of the clerks (saengni) in charge of various affairs." (Nanjung Ilgi, September 20, 1596)

Two days later he again wrote that he "examined various offenses." Three days after that he wrote that he "examined the offenses of the clerks and of Seon Jung-rip." (Nanjung Ilgi, September 22 and September 25, 1596)

Within a little more than ten days, the Nanjung Ilgi shows him giving away his clothes and punishing offenses.

More Than 110 Punishments

The Nanjung Ilgi contains many records of the Admiral punishing offenses. According to a source that gathers the diary by topic, they number more than 110. There are executions, and there are floggings.

The first record comes three months before the war began, eleven months after the Admiral took up his post as Left Naval Commander of Jeolla Province.

"Because the military officers and clerks in charge of the warships at Bangdap had not repaired their warships, I had them flogged." (Nanjung Ilgi, January 16, 1592)

What did the Admiral punish? Gathering the records, I found four main kinds.

Those Who Did Not Do Their Duty

Officers who did not repair their ships, clerks who left weapons broken, district magistrates who did not arrive on the set date.

"The magistrate of Hadong was given ninety strokes of the rod for twice failing to arrive by the appointed date" (Nanjung Ilgi, April 29, 1595)

A hyeongam was the magistrate of a county. Even magistrates were no exception.

Those Who Ran Away

Soldiers who deserted paid with their lives.

It was one day before the Admiral first sailed out to sea.

"On this day Hwang Ok-cheon (黃玉千), a sailor from Yeodo, heard the sound of the Japanese and ran away. I had him seized at his home, beheaded, and his head hung high before the troops." (Nanjung Ilgi, May 3, 1592)

In the 2nd month of 1593, more than eighty oarsmen (gyeokgun) ran away at once. The men in charge took bribes and did not bring them back. The Admiral secretly sent officers, found more than seventy of them, and brought them back. That same day he executed the two ringleaders. (Nanjung Ilgi, February 3, 1593)

In the 7th month of 1594, eight deserters were caught and brought in. The Admiral wrote that he "executed the three ringleaders among them and flogged the rest." (Nanjung Ilgi, July 26, 1594) He did not kill them all. He picked out the ones who had led.

Those Who Lied

"The hyangso (鄕所, local office) of Okgwa had been very negligent in managing the troops since last year, so that the vacancies reached nearly several hundred men, yet it kept deceiving us with false reports. So today I had them put to death and their heads hung high for all to see." (Nanjung Ilgi, June 8, 1593)

Several hundred soldiers were missing, and they lied that the men were there. If you trust the numbers in the register and go out to sea, there is no one to row the ships.

There was also a day when a single lie shook the whole army: the 25th day of the 8th month, 1597, a little more than a month after the navy collapsed at Chilcheollyang. The Admiral was at Eollanpo. Only about ten ships remained, and the Battle of Myeongnyang was three weeks away.

"After breakfast, the pojak (鮑作, sea fishermen) of Dangpo stole cattle that had been left out and led them away, spreading a false rumor: 'The enemy has come! The enemy has come!' I already knew it was a lie, so I had the two men who spread the rumor seized, beheaded at once, and their heads displayed, and the hearts of the troops were greatly settled." (Nanjung Ilgi, August 25, 1597)

After Chilcheollyang, the soldiers were terrified. A single cry of "The enemy has come!" could have broken them. The Admiral saw through the lie and ended it that same day.

👉 ㉕ The Battles of Eollanpo and Byeokpajin: The Record on the Eve of Myeongnyang

Harsher Still on Those Who Harmed the People

There was one kind of offense the Admiral was especially strict about: harming the common people.

He was like this even before the war. This is from the same day as the first record.

"Park Mong-se (朴夢世), a stonemason living below the fortress, went to the quarry at Seonsaengwon and caused harm, even injuring the neighbors' dogs, so I gave him eighty strokes of the rod." (Nanjung Ilgi, January 16, 1592)

He even wrote down the neighbors' dogs.

In 1594, he punished men over the entertainment of a Ming general.

"I punished the officers and clerks of the Gyeongsang Naval Commander for making women carry rice cakes and food on their heads when they entertained the Ming general." (Nanjung Ilgi, August 4, 1594)

They had entertained a Ming general well. But those who carried the food on their heads were the village women.

It was the same after the Battle of Myeongnyang. At Haenam, he beheaded and displayed the heads of men who had sided with the enemy and caused our people to be killed, and of a man who had violated the unmarried daughter of a scholar's family. (Nanjung Ilgi, October 30, 1597)

Was He Only Strict?

But read further in the records, and other scenes appear.

"I Only Had Them Flogged and Let Them Go"

In the 7th month of 1593, ten pojak fishermen who had changed into Japanese clothes and were acting suspiciously were caught and brought in. If they had been in league with the enemy, it would have meant beheading.

"When I had them seized and questioned, they said, 'The Gyeongsang Right Naval Commander (Won Gyun) ordered it.' I only had them flogged and let them go." (Nanjung Ilgi, July 28, 1593)

Someone else had given the order. The Admiral found this out by questioning them, and he reduced the punishment.

Those Who Came Late

"I punished the magistrate of Gangjin (Yi Geuk-sin) for missing the appointed date. The commander of Garipo had reported in advance and came late, so I admonished him and sent him out." (Nanjung Ilgi, February 13, 1596)

"I punished the magistrate of Haenam, Ryu Hyeong (柳珩), the commander of Imchi, Hong Gyeon (洪堅), and the commander of Mokpo, Bang Su-gyeong (方守慶), for missing the appointed date. Because the magistrate of Haenam had newly arrived at his post, I did not have him flogged." (Nanjung Ilgi, March 1, 1596)

It was the same lateness. The man who had reported in advance was admonished, and the man who had just arrived was spared. The Admiral did not look only at the fact that someone was late. He asked why.

"Do You Want to Die by Military Law?"

At Myeongnyang, the Admiral shouted this to An Wi, the magistrate of Geoje:

"An Wi! Do you truly want to die by military law? Do you think you can live by retreating?" (Yi Chungmugong Jeonseo, vol. 9, "Haengnok")

An Wi turned and charged into the enemy line. Three enemy ships clung to An Wi's ship like swarming ants. Then the Admiral turned his ship around and rescued An Wi.

The man who had shouted that he would put him to death under military law went in to save that very man.

👉 ⑫ From Coward to Brave Commander: An Wi

The Heart That Fed and Clothed

Now let us look at the other heart.

Men Huddled Like Turtles

It was the 1st month of 1594, winter on Hansando.

"The cold cuts into the flesh like a knife, and I cannot bear to hear the men without clothes on the ships, huddled like turtles and shivering in the cold. Even the military rice has not come, which makes it all the more distressing." (Nanjung Ilgi, January 20, 1594)

The Admiral was listening to that sound.

Clothes for Seventeen Men

Two years later, in winter, this is the diary for the 23rd day of the 1st month of 1596. That day was the memorial day for his second elder brother. The Admiral wrote that his "heart was greatly troubled." Then, right after that, he wrote this:

"In the morning I gave clothes to seventeen ragged soldiers. I also gave one more set of clothes." (Nanjung Ilgi, January 23, 1596)

That night, two chi (about 6 cm) of snow fell.

👉 ⑥ The Life and Death of Admiral Yi from the Perspective of Momcheolhak

1,080 Jars of Wine, Meals for 5,480 Men

On the 3rd day of the 4th month, 1594, Admiral Yi held the yeoje, a rite for those who had died of epidemic disease.

"I gave the soldiers of the three provinces 1,080 jars of wine. The Right Naval Commander and the Chungcheong Naval Commander also sat with me and fed the soldiers." (Nanjung Ilgi, April 3, 1594)

In the 8th month of the following year, he wrote:

"I fed 5,480 soldiers." (Nanjung Ilgi, August 27, 1595)

Around the time of Myeongnyang, the soldiers had no clothes to wear. The Admiral asked the refugees who had gathered to share their spare clothes and food. The "Haengnok" then records that "by making sure there was no soldier without clothes, he was able to win the victory." (Yi Chungmugong Jeonseo, vol. 9, "Haengnok")

👉 ㉛ Admiral Yi, Who Fed His Soldiers and His People

All of It Came from One Heart for the People

When the country stood like a candle flickering before the wind, facing the blades of the Japanese invaders, Admiral Yi was strict in punishing offenses, and he did not hesitate to behead those who had committed grave crimes.
But I think about it. If Admiral Yi had become Supreme Naval Commander or a high official in better times rather than in war, his love and care for the people would have been recorded far more often in his diary. For I know that even his strictness in punishing offenses came, in the end, from one heart that cherished and loved the people.

👉 Next post: ㊱ Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Poetry and Music

— Momcheolhak