Navy Headquarters of West Jeolla-do Province, Haenam

Navy Headquarters of West Jeolla-do Province, Haenam, is the Joseon-period main base of the navy of western Jeolla-do, located at a strategic military point where the West Sea and South Sea meet. The sea in front of it forms the fast-flowing Myeongnyang Strait, and just inside it Udo Island shields the base from the fierce waves of Uldolmok while also concealing the Jeolla Right Naval Headquarters from outside view, forming a natural fortress. In 1440, the 22nd year of King Sejong, the naval headquarters was moved here to Haenam from Mokpo and operated as the Jeolla Naval Headquarters overseeing the navy of the whole of Jeolla-do. In 1479, the 10th year of King Seongjong, when the Jeolla Left Naval Headquarters was established at Naeryepo in Suncheon-bu, Jeolla-do (present-day Yeosu, Jeollanam-do), this base was reorganised as the Jeolla Right Naval Headquarters, and it continued in that role until 1895. It thus allows the changing organisation of the Joseon navy to be traced over time, giving it high historical and academic value. In particular, during the Jeongyu War of 1597, it served as the rear base for the Battle of Myeongnyang, regarded as one of the great naval battles of world history. The fortress wall of the Jeolla Right Naval Headquarters is presumed to have been built in the mid-16th century. It is a naetak-sik seokseong, a stone fortress faced with stone on the outside and packed with rammed earth on the inside, and in plan it is close to the shape of a boat. Fitting its status, records state that it had four gates and various auxiliary facilities, including ongseong (crescent-shaped enclosures protecting the gates), chiseong (projecting bastions), yeojang (crenellated parapets) and sugumun (water-gates), together with government office buildings and storehouses centred on a cross-shaped network of roads within the walls. A further distinctive feature is a wonmun, a barrier wall built to block invasion from land at the narrowest point of the approach, 7 km to the east.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Haenam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Historic Site · 사적