Meeting the Human Yi Sun-sin Through His Artifacts
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The National Museum of Korea in Seoul opened a major special exhibition, “Our Yi Sun-sin,” marking the 480th anniversary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s birth. For the first time, about 258 items—including six national treasures and 39 treasures—are displayed together to show the admiral beyond his war-hero image and reveal his inner life. Key exhibits include two nearly 2-meter-long swords (janggeom) from 1594 engraved with his poetic lines, the original seven-volume war diary “Nanjung Ilgi” and related letters (seoganhyeop), reports to the king (Imjin Jangcho), and battlefield relics recovered from sea such as cannon fragments (jijachongtong) and other firearms. The exhibition is organized into four chapters—victory, trials, reflection, and memory—and also presents contemporary Japanese artifacts (including helmets and battle screens) and later portrayals of Yi in Korean, Japanese, and Western art, highlighting how his image was shaped over centuries. Together, these tangible items aim to show the “human Yi Sun-sin”: his emotions, daily concerns (notably personal diary entries about aging and family), tactical leadership, and how later eras turned him into a national symbol.
