page_title: Turtle ship
section_title: Dragon's head
hierarchical_section_title: Turtle ship / Weapons / Dragon's head
caption_attribution_description: English: Turtle Ship Dragon Head in the The War Memorial of Korea, opened in 1994, is largely a museum-like War Memorial in Seoul South Korea. The War Memorial has six display rooms displaying over 13,000 documents and war memorabilia items, and an outdoor exhibition center displaying military equipment, illustrating the turbulent times throughout Korea's history.
context_page_description: A Geobukseon, also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon dynasty from the early 15th century up until the 19th century. It was used alongside the panokseon warships in the fight against invading Japanese naval ships. The ship's name derives from its protective shell-like covering. This design is often recognized as the first armored ship in the world.
  The first references to older, first-generation turtle ships, known as gwiseon, come from 1413 and 1415 records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which mention a mock battle between a gwiseon and a Japanese warship. However, these early turtle ships soon fell out of use as Korea's naval preparedness decreased during a long period of relative peace.
  Turtle ships participated in the war against Japanese naval forces supporting Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attempts to conquer Korea from 1592 to 1598. Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, who won all battles against Japanese Navy, is credited with designing the improved turtle ship.
context_section_description: The dragon's head was placed on the top of the ship at the bow. Several different versions of the dragon head were used on the turtle ships. The dragon head was first placed as an early form of psychological warfare to scare Japanese soldiers. One version carried a projector that could release a dense toxic smoke that was generated to obscure vision and interfere with the Japanese ability to maneuver and coordinate properly.
  Yi's own diary explains that a cannon could be fitted in the mouth of the dragon to be fired at enemy ships. This type of cannon was usually a hwangja-chongtong.
caption: Dragon Head on the Turtle Ship in the War Memorial of Korea museum
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