Yi Sun-sin – the power of the will

Will is an important thing because without it, we are unable to overcome the problems and also to save our people from the distructive illusions created by the neo-liberals. The main problem of the neo-liberal way of thinking is that state influence in economy decreases and with decreasing influence of state in the economy, decreases the influence of native population because if an economy of a state is not national, the others will be those who decide the future of your people.
 

From my point of view must be a balance between state and private property. If this balance is removed, the freedom will also be removed, but when the freedom is removed by an invader, the history will give the right man who is able to free his people. This kind of man was Yi Sun-Sin.

  History has proven that the will of a powerful leader created the necessary condition for victory. Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598, Korean: 이순신, Hanja: 李舜臣)  was that kind of guy, able to make the impossible possible and to free his people from the hands of the invadors.

Yi Sun-Sin

 Yi was born in Geoncheon-dong Street of  Hanseong (then capital, present-day Inhyeon-dong, Jung-gu District, Seoul). His family was part of the Korean Deoksu Yi clan, near present-day Daejeon . As a young boy, Yi played war games with other local boys, showing excellent leadership talent at an early age and constructed and fletched his own bow and arrows as a teenager. 

 In 1576, Yi passed the military examination (무과; 武科). Yi is said to have impressed the judges with his swordsmanship and archery, but failed to pass the test when he broke a leg during the cavalry examination. After he re-entered and passed the examination, Yi was posted to the Bukbyeong (Northern Frontier Army) military district in Hamgyeong province. However, he was the oldest junior officer at the age of thirty-two. There, Yi experienced battles defending the border settlements against the Jurchen marauders and quickly became known for his strategic skills and leadership.

 In 1583, he lured the Jurchen into battle, defeated the marauders, and captured their chief, Mu Pai Nai. According to a contemporary tradition, Yi then spent three years out of the army after hearing of his father's death. After his return to the front line, Yi led a string of successful campaigns against the Jurchen nomads.

 However, his brilliance and accomplishments so soon in his career made his superiors jealous, and they falsely accused him of desertion during battle. The conspiracy was led by General Yi Il, who would later fail to repel the Japanese invasion at the Battle of Sangju. This tendency to sabotage and frame professional adversaries was very common in the later years of the Joseon military and government. Yi's was stripped of his officer rank, imprisoned, and tortured. After his release, Yi was allowed to fight as an enlisted soldier. After a short period of time, however, he was appointed as the commander of the Seoul Hunryeonwon (a military training center) and was later transferred to a small county, to be its military magistrate.

Yi assumed his new post at Yeosu on the 13th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1591 (March 13, 1591). From there, he was able to undertake a buildup of the regional navy, which was later used to confront the Japanese invasion force. He subsequently began to strengthen the province's navy with a series of reforms, including the construction of the turtle ship.

Turtle ship

 Perhaps his most remarkable military achievement occurred at the Battle of Myeongnyang. Outnumbered 130 ships to 13, and forced into a last stand with only his minimal fleet standing between the Japanese Army and Seoul, Yi delivered one of the most astonishing defeats in military history. Here it was the power of his will, he want so much the victory, he want so much to free his people and nothing could stand in his way.

Despite never having received naval training or participating in naval combat prior to the war, and constantly being outnumbered and outsupplied, he went to his grave as one of few admirals in world history who remained undefeated after commanding as many naval battles as he did (at least 23).
Yi died at the Battle of Noryang on December 16, 1598. With the Japanese army on the verge of being completely expelled from the Korean Peninsula, he was mortally wounded by a single bullet. His famous dying words were, "The battle is at its height...beat my war drums...do not announce my death." 

   The royal court eventually bestowed various honors upon him, including a posthumous title of Chungmugong (충무공, 忠武公, Duke of Loyalty and Warfare) .Yi remains a venerated hero among Koreans today because his sacrifice has given the men enough power to free their country.
 

   The power of the will of an single man have made an army of 10 times smaller able to overcome the obstacles. This is the reason why a people and also a leader must believe in his powers because only by believing you can release the Divine power that lies inside you, God loves the men who stands right and said their opinion, the men who said the truth despite of those who want to oppose it. God loves those who fight for the truth and Yi Sun-Sin was one of them !

 His will saved his nation, and that why i think that he is an example for the nations who want to save their identities and peoples from the social experiments.