Monument for the Victory at Myeongnyang Battle, Haenam

This stele was erected to commemorate the achievements of Yi Sun-sin, who led Joseon forces to victory at the Battle of Myeongnyang (1597) during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598). During the Japanese colonial period the stele was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace; it was relocated to the coastal area of Haenam (lot 1186-7, Hakdong-ri, Munnae-myeon) in 1947, and in March 2011 it was moved again to its present site, the location where it had originally stood. The stele consists of a stone body set upright on a rectangular base and capped with a capstone carved with clouds and a dragon. The inscription records in detail how, in 1597, the thirtieth year of King Seonjo, General Yi Sun-sin stationed his forces at Byeokpajeong Pavilion on Jindo Island and used the fast currents of the narrow strait between Usuyeong and Jindo Island to destroy a large Japanese fleet. It records that, with barely ten ships recovered after the Battle of Chilcheollyang, he broke a Japanese fleet of five hundred vessels, and it also sets out the significance of the victory at Myeongnyang and the general's loyalty. The text was composed in 1686, but the stele itself was not erected until two years later, in 1688, by Park Sin-ju, Naval Commander of Right Jeolla Province.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Haenam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물