Battle of Myeongnyang 1597
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1597 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | South Korea | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Japanese Invasion of Korea | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Japan, Joseon | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 34.5683, 126.3078 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Myeongnyang was fought on October 26, 1597 between the Joseon Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the Japanese navy in the Myeongnyang Strait, near Jindo Island, off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula. With only 13 ships remaining from Admiral Wŏn Kyun's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chilcheollyang, Admiral Yi held the strait as a "last stand" battle against the Japanese navy, who were sailing to support their land army's advance towards the Joseon capital of Hanyang (modern-day Seoul).
The actual numeric strength of the Japanese fleet that Admiral Yi fought is unclear; Korean sources indicate 120 to 133 ships participated in combat, with an unknown number sitting out, up to 330 in total. Regardless of the size of the Japanese fleet, all sources indicate that the Japanese ships heavily outnumbered the Korean ships, by at least a ten-to-one ratio.
In total 31 Japanese warships were sunk or crippled during the battle. Tōdō Takatora, one of the commanders of the Japanese navy, was wounded during the battle and many others were killed. The result overall was a humiliating naval defeat for the Japanese.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Myeongnyang (revision 1378183775), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Suncheon 1598 · 122 km
- Siege of Namwon 1597 · 136 km
- Battle of Noryang 1598 · 149 km
- Hadong Ambush 1950 · 153 km
- Battle of Baekgang 663 · 162 km
- Battle of Sacheon (1598) 1598 · 168 km
Other battles of the Second Japanese Invasion of Korea
- Battle of Jiksan 1597
- Siege of Namwon 1597
All 3 battles of the Second Japanese Invasion of Korea →
Browse more: battles in South Korea · Asia · Early modern battles