Myongnyang /Jindo Battle
The Battle of Myongnyang (1597) 1980 Painting by Kim Yong Hwan. [3]
Admiral Yi, determined to fight on against the formidable odds with the mere twelve warships and about one hundred twenty sailors remaining in his command. He engaged a Japanese fleet of 133 warships on August 13, as it was sailing the waters near Myongnyang, and sank 31 vessels of them. A resounding sea battle record indeed. The victory eventually led Korea to the full restoration of its previous naval forces.
The Battle of Myongnyang (1597) [1]
| 명량해전 / 1597. 9. 16 |
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전과 - 12척으로 왜군의 133척 31척을 격침 시킴.
명량해협은 진도와 화원반도 사이에 있는 좁은 수로로 조류는 국내의 수로 중에서 가장 빠른 곳임. 133척의 왜선들은 목포 쪽으로 흐르는 북서류를 타고 명량해협을 통과하려고 하였을 것이나, 뜻밖에도 여기에서 이순신 함대의 강력한 저항을 받았고, 전투 중에는 동남류로 반전 고전을 면하지 못하였던 것이다. 반면 이순신 장군의 함대는 왜선을 맞아 처음에는 강력한 역류를 타고 전투 해역에 돌입하였을 것이며, 다음 조류가 바뀔 때까지 결사적으로 왜선들의 해협통과를 저지하였고 동남류가 흐르게 됨에 따라 유리한 위치에서 전투를 하게 됨. 12척으로 133척 중 31척을 격파한 명량해전은, 조선 수군으로서는 단 한 척의 손실도 없이 완벽한 승리로 막을 내림.명량해전은 칠천량해전 이후에 남해안을 휘젓고 다니던 왜군의 수륙병진계획을 송두리째 부수어 버리고, 정유재란의 전환점을 마련해 줌. |
Yi was reinstated after successes by the Japanese navy in July 1597 against Won Gyun, who was killed in battle at Chilcheonnyang. On September 16, 1597, he led 12 remnant ships of Won Gyun's fleet against 133 Japanese ships in the Myeongnyang Straits,which would come to be known as the Battle of Myeongnyang. The Koreans sank 31 enemy ships and forced a Japanese retreat.
Fought in October,1597,the Battle of Myeongnyang was when the great Korean admiral Yi sun-sin Japanese at sea in the Myeongnyang Straits.His 12 turtle ships defeated an army of 133 Japanese war vessels,sinking 31 Japanese war vessels with no losses. Admiral Yi had lured the Japanese into a swift canal, and used the swift currents to his advantage. This victory prevented the Japanese from entering the Yellow Sea,and resupply its army,which was heading towards the city of Seoul.
Sources:
http://www.pennfamily.org/KSS-USA/korean-on-stamp-1.
http://www.damool.net/html/special/leesoonsin11.htm
http://www.damool.net/html/special/leesoonsin12.htm
http://www.geocities.com/yi_sun_shin_adm/images/Myongnyang_Map.jpg
[1] From Nanjung Ilgi; The War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun Shin 1977, Yonsei University Press
http://www.geocities.com/yi_sun_shin_adm/images/Myongnyang_1597.jpg
[3] From the Korean Naval Academy Website, www.navy.ac.kr