Monument for the Naval Victories of Yi Sun-sin, Yeosu

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.571

Category

Books & Records

Era

조선시대

Designated year

1973

Location

여수시, 전라남도— 전남 여수시 고소3길 13 (고소동) / (지번)전남 여수시 고소동 620

Coordinates

34.740034, 127.738957

This monument commemorating the wartime accomplishments of Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin is the largest battle memorial that has survived from ancient times in Korea. In 1942, the monument was moved to Seoul by the Japanese colonial administration, along with the Monument for the Victory at Myeongnyang Battle (Treasure No. 503, Haenam, Jeollanam-do), as part of its policy of cultural oppression. Since then, the whereabouts of this monument were unknown until after the Liberation, when it was located by a group of local dignitaries of Haenam and dug out from the ground outside Geunjeongjeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace. The monument is erected on a stone tortoise and a base below it, with the tortoise and the base carved out of a single stone block, and is surmounted by a head stone with bas-reliefs of cloud, dragon and lotus motifs. The text of the epigraph on the front was composed by Yi Hang-bok, and was written by the hand of Kim Hyeon-seong, both of them famous for penmanship and calligraphy, respectively, at the time of construction of this monument. At the top section, the title of the monument, which reads “Tongje Yigong Sugundaecheopbi”, was written by the hand of Kim Sang-yong. This victory memorial was erected in 1615 (the 7th year of King Gwanghaegun’s reign). On the left side of the monument, there is a monument with inscription describing the circumstance of its construction. The text of this monument was authored by Nam Gu-man in 1698 (the 24th year of King Sukjong’s reign). It recounts how the Naval Commander Yu Hyeong, who fought alongside Yi Sun-sin, joined hands with the dignitaries of the towns near the naval base under the latter’s command, and his descendants, to build the memorial. It also says that the Tarubi Monument, Yeosu (Treasure No. 1288) was moved here and placed next to this memorial at the time of its construction, and that a pavilion was built to shelter the monuments.

Location