The Battle of Hansan (or Battle of Hansan-do) is regarded as one of the four greatest sea battles of world history. This Battle is known also as the Hansan-Do Daecheob (kor.: the Great victory at Hansan-Do). 8 July 1592, Korean Joseon Admiral Yi Sun-Shin destroyed near the Korean island Hansan-Do over 70 Japanese ships and killed over 9000 Japanese soldiers. Yi's success in this battle symbolizes a great turning point during the Korean-Japanese Seven Years War which not only boosted morale in the Joseon Empire but also spread fear of Admiral Yi among Japanese war leaders.
The Battle
Admiral Yi Sun-Shin lured the Japanese fleet into the broad open sea in front of Hansan-Do Island. By positioning the Joseon fleet in U-Shape, Admiral Yi was quickly able to surround all Japanese ships. With the utilisation of innovative and in fact first metal plate armoured Turtle Ships, Admiral Yi was able to surprise the Japanese and destroy most of its ships not only from outside but also from the centre of the Japanese fleet.
International Recognition
George Alexander Ballard(1862-1948), a vice admiral of Royal Navy, complimented admiral Yi's winning streaks by the Battle of Hansando highly in his book like this;
"This was the great Korean admiral's crowning exploit. In the short space of six weeks(*actually about 9 weeks, May 7,1592 ~ July 7,1592) he had achieved a series of successes unsurpassed in the whole annals of marinetime war, destroying the enemy's battle fleets, cutting his lines of communication, sweeping up his convoys, imperilling the situation of his victorious armies in the field, and bringing his ambitious schemes to utter ruin. Not even Nelson, Blake, or Jean Bart could have done more than this scarcely known representative of a small and cruelly oppressed nation; and it is to be regretted that his memory lingers nowhere outside his native land, for no impartial judge could deny him the right to be accounted among the born leaders of men."(The Influence of the Sea on The Political History of Japan, 57p)
Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 — December 16, 1598), was a famous Korean naval leader. ... The Seven-Year War was the conflict from 1592 to 1598 on the Korean peninsula, following two successive Japanese invasions of Korea. ... A Replica of the Geobukseon The Turtle Ship, which is also known as Kobukson or Geobukseon (ê±°ë¶ì„ ), is a galley that was remodeled in the 15th century. ... This is a chronological list of naval fleet battles: Also see: Single-ship actions and other major naval events Category:Naval battles. ...
Turtle Ships were first used in the Battle of Sacheon (1592) and were used in nearly every single battle until the devastating Battle of Chilchonryang, when every Turtle Ship was sunken and they did not appear in battle until the Battle of Noryang, which was the last naval battle of the war.
It was the kind of battle Admiral Yi had always won at, which was careful coordination of enemy movements and strategic moves, but Won Gyun allowed the Japanese to gain the upper hand and board the Korean ships and fight hand to hand combat, which was their primary strategy.
At the Battle of Hansando, Admiral Yi had instilled so much fear in the Japanese that their commander broke ranks and routed his fleet - the first and only time any Japanese commander lost courage to a foreign opponent.
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