Lee Sun-Sin

Hi I’m Claire.

I’m here to talk about the admiral, Lee Sun-Sin. My class saw a movie in social studies, called “Command”. In this movie, Admiral Lee is the main character. Although I didn’t watch it until the end, I am now curious about the famous admiral.

Lee Sun-Sin was born in April 28, 1545. As a young boy, Lee played war games with other local boys, showing excellent leadership talent at an early age. He made his own bow and his own arrows as a teenager. When he grew up, Lee passed the military exam. After this, Lee experienced battles defending the border settlements against the Jurchen marauders and quickly became known for his strategy skills and leadership. However, his skills that he learned quickly made his superiors jealous, and they falsely accused him of abandoning his post during battle. Lee got tortured and he was reduced to just an enlisted soldier.

Even after this, Lee again became famous for the brilliance he showed in defeating Japanese invaders. As you probably learned from your social studies classes, this is the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Among his twenty-three victories, the Battle of Myeongnyang and the Battle of Hansan Island are the most famous battles.

Lee Sun-Sin died in the last battle. He left with the famous words “Don’t announce my death.”