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Lecture 19

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n July of 1592, the Japanese commander who stood overlooking the Bay
of Sacheon in Korea was probably quite pleased. The invasion of Korea
was proceeding as planned; a force of more than 160,000 Japanese
samurai had captured Pusan, Korea’s main port, then marched north and
seized the capital city of Seoul. The great Japanese warlord Toyotomi
Hideyoshi, the mastermind behind the invasion, was well on his way to
extending his dominion to include Korea and, using that foothold, to conquer
China. The only blotch on the invasion’s record of triumphs occurred
when an unusually aggressive Korean admiral, Yi Sun-shin had caught and
destroyed several dozen Japanese vessels. Now, this same Yi Sun-shin had
been sighted sailing into Sacheon Bay.

The Battle of Sacheon
x On July 8, 1592, the Korean admiral Yi Sun-shin had been sighted
sailing into Sacheon Bay at the head of his squadron, and the
commander of the Japanese invasion at once ordered his men to
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the Koreans, as soon as the Japanese warships began pouring out
into the bay, the Koreans retreated.

x The Japanese eagerly pursued, and the Korean craft suddenly turned

smartly about and headed back toward the Japanese. The apparent

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engage the Koreans.

x Then a terrifying sight emerged: A dragon’s head spitting smoke

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no open deck, and no humans were visible; instead, the creature

had a curved, humped back formed from interlocking hexagonal

plates with sharp, tapering spines. From small holes along its sides,