Won Gyun
Won Gyun (1540 - 1597) was a Korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty. He is best known for his campaigns against Japanese during Hideyoshi's Invasions of Korea.
Won was a member of Wonju Won family, which was well known for its members' military accomplishments. He was born in 1540 near Pyeongtaek, and demonstrated his skill as warrior at a young age. He was qualified as a military officer, and was first assigned to the northern border to defend against the Jurchens, who frequently raided Korean villages. Won led many successful campaigns along with Yi Il and Yi Sun Shin against the Jurchens. After considerable accomplishments on the northern frontier, he was promoted to admiral in 1592 and sent to the southern coast of Gyeongsang Province to command the province's Western Fleet, along with Yi Sun Shin, who became admiral prior to Won and took command of Jeolla Province's Eastern Fleet. At the time, both Won and Yi were cavalry leaders who had no experience with naval warfare.
At this time, Japan was united after a long period of internal warfare by a new leader, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi had become supreme ruler over most of Japan, but many Japanese did not trust him, since his leadership as a ruler was not proven, and he slain many rivals to rise to power. To divert the attention of critics overseas, Hideyoshi finally decided to begin an expansionist war against Japan's neighbors. Many Koreans realized that the threat from Japan was great, and many argued that the Joseon dynasty needed to prepare for future invasion from Japan as well as the existing Jurchen menace. However the government was divided along factional lines, and the officials could not reach a decision- so Hideyoshi saw the chance to take Korea unprepared.
On April 13, 1592, the Japanese fleet under Kato Kiyomasa launched a sudden strike on the Eastern Fleet of Gyeongsang province, and disabled every ship under its control. The main army under Kato and Konishi Yukinaga landed on Korean Peninsula on the next day, and marched northward. Won, who was commander of the Western Fleet of Kyungsang province, was also routed by the invading Japanese, and he hastily sunk many of his own battleships to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. With only 4 ships left under his command, Won called for help from Yi Sun Shin, who had prepared for war and raised a much bigger fleet than that of Won. However Yi told Won that he required permission from the central government to cross the boundary between the two different fleets. King Seonjo finally ordered both admirals to fight against Japanese on May 2, 1592, and finally Won and Yi began their campaign two days later, along with Admiral Yi Eok-gi, the commander of the Western Fleet of Jeolla Province.
On May 7th, the Korean navy under the two admirals destroyed a Japanese fleet in the Battle of Okpo, which was the first naval battle for both. Won later defeated the Japanese several times, often with Admiral Yi Sun Shin. Although Won had the smallest fleet among the three naval commanders, he fought as bravely as the others. Later Won was promoted to an army general, while Yi Sun Shin became naval commander-in-chief.
In 1597, Japanese decided to stop all negotiations with the Koreans and Chinese Ming Dynasty, and planned a re-invasion of Korea. To do so, they plotted to remove Admiral Yi Sun Shin from the navy. Japanese spies directed by Konishi Yukinaga spread word that Kato Kiyomasa was urging other Japanese to continue fighting and would soon be crossing the sea. King Seonjo ordered Admiral Yi to capture Kato, but Yi refused to do so as he knew that the words were the fabrications of Japanese agents. King Seonjo ordered the imprisonment of Yi, and replaced him with Won Gyun as naval commander-in-chief.
However Won also found out the information was false, and did not advance toward Busan. The government continued to trust the information and ordered Won to attack Japanese ships at Ungcheon, and Won attacked Japanese and defeated them, but did not advance anymore. Then Field Marshal Gwon Yool came to Won's ship by himself and once again ordered him to attack Busan. Won could not disobey the command of the central agency and led Korean navy toward Busan, along with famous admiral Yi Eok Ki.
The Japanese at first seemed to retreat, but it was a trick to trap the Korean fleet. The Japanese already prepared to devastate the Korean navy prior to land invasion and the number of Japanese ships was great that most Koreans were already frightened including Admiral Bae Seol. The Japanese fleet, commanded by famous naval commander Todo Tokatora, advanced toward Won Gyun's fleets. Won knew that he would lose the battle, but had no choice but to face the enemy. At the Battle of Chilchonryang, the Korean navy was utterly destroyed, and Won, who tried to escape by land, was killed by the surrounding Japanese. Only 12 ships under Bae Seol, who had decided to desert his comrades and flee to the Yellow Sea, survived. The battle opened the route for Japanese to advance to Yellow Sea, and Todo set up the plan to attack Hanyang from both land and sea with Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga. However, Japan's hopes were crushed again by Yi Sun Shin's return at the Battle of Myeongnyang, which would decide the winner of the devastating war.
Although he was one of the greatest military commanders of Seven Year War, Won Gyun is looked upon poorly by many people who compare the failure of Chilchonryang with other commanders' successes. However he is still honored as a war hero alongside Yi Sun Shin, and a patriot who died to save his country.