National Museum Dedicates Major Exhibition to Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Seoul’s National Museum has opened “Our Yi Sun-sin,” a large special exhibition devoted to the 16th-century naval hero Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The show gathers 369 items (258 collections) from 45 lenders, including 34 heirloom pieces from Yi’s family and rare originals such as his ceremonial long sword engraved with the phrase “One sweep will stain the world with blood” and the handwritten war diary 'Nanjung Ilgi' (난중일기). The diary displays his famous wartime resolve—“If you desire to live, you will die; if you desire to die, you will live (필사즉생 필생즉사)”—and personal entries that reveal his grief over family loss. The exhibition also explores how Yi was seen by contemporaries and later generations: accounts by statesman Ryu Seong-ryong (징비록), praise from Ming commanders, Japanese artifacts including armor of Tachibana Muneshige, and multi-perspective works like 'Jeongwhae-gigongdo' folding screens made in Japan from Chinese sketches. Curators aim to present a comprehensive, object-based life story of Yi, showing him as both a mythic figure and a complex human. The exhibition runs through March 3 next year.
