Joseon naval campaigns of 1592

The Joseon naval campaigns of 1592 was naval campaigns conducted by Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin during Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598) against the Japanese forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. These campaigns made Yi a legendary figure in Korean History on par, if not surpassing the great general Eulji Mundeok. The campaigns of Yi were vital in halting the Japanese invasion, which had the ultimate aim of conquering not just Korea, but Ming China as well. Yi was able to severely impair Japanese logistics and reinforcements for the land forces in Korea.

At the outbreak of hostilities on April 13, 1592, Admiral Yi had sent out his fleet out on a naval exercise. Upon hearing that Pusan had been captured, Yi immediately set out on an east course to Pusan, hoping to block Japanese naval advances along the coast to aid their land forces.

His first encounter at Okpo (1 May 1592) was a decisive victory, destroying almost half of ships of the docking Japanese fleet. Prior to the Okpo Campaign, Yi mainly patrolled the seas near his Jeolla Province, to fortify is position before he began moving westward, due to the call for help from Admiral Won Gyun. A number of battles were fought around the area, mainly minor skirmishes.

However, Yi treated each battle with extreme care and made certain that he suffered few serious casualties. From his Okpo battle, the only casualty was a minor gunshot wound on an oarsman from a stray musket fire. After the battle, Admiral Yi also destroyed few enemy skirmish ships at Happo and Jeokjinpo.

Around the end of May, Admiral set out again eastward and encountered another force around the Sacheon-Dangpo area, where he again engaged in minor skirmishes against the Japanese fleet. At Danghangpo, however, Yi met his first significant force of Japanese and forced the Japanese to withdraw, with heavy casualties. After securing this area (the last in the series of Jeolla coastal defenses), Admiral Yi decided to press the advantage of his enemy's inactivity and moved out to the Noryang-Hansando area.

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