Won Gyun Won Gyun ( Korean : 원균 , hanja : 元均 ; 12 February 1540 – 27 August 1597 ) was a Korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty . He is best known for his campaigns against Japanese during Hideyoshi ' s Invasions of Korea . Won was a member of Wonju Won family , which was well known for its members ' military accomplishments . He was born in 1540 near Pyeongtaek , and demonstrated his skill as warrior at a young age . He was qualified as a military officer , and was first assigned to the northern border to defend against the Jurchens , who frequently raided Korean villages . Won led many successful campaigns along with Yi Il and Yi Sun - sin against the Jurchens . After considerable accomplishments on the northern frontier , he was promoted to admiral in 1592 and sent to the southern coast of Gyeongsang Province to command the province ' s Western Fleet , along with Yi Sun - sin , who became admiral prior to Won and took command of Jeolla Province ' s Eastern Fleet . At the time , both Won and Yi were cavalry leaders who had no experience with naval warfare . Military career . Upon passing the qualification exam , he was assigned to the northern border to defend against the Jurchens , who frequently raided Korean villages . Won led successful campaigns along with Yi Il and Yi Sun - sin against the Jurchens . He was promoted to admiral in 1592 and sent to the southern coast of Gyeongsang Province to command the province ' s Eastern Fleet , along with Yi Sun - sin , who became admiral prior to Won and took command of Jeolla Province ' s Western Fleet . At the time , both Won and Yi were cavalry leaders who had no experience with naval warfare . Prior to the Japanese Invasion . At this time , Japan was united after a long period of internal warfare by a new leader , Toyotomi Hideyoshi . Hideyoshi had become supreme ruler over most of Japan by killing many rivals to rise to power . Hideyoshi decided to begin an expansionist war against Japan ' s neighbors . Some Koreans realized that the threat from Japan was great , and they argued that the Joseon dynasty needed to prepare for future invasion from Japan as well as the existing Jurchen menace . However , the government was divided along factional lines , so that the officials could not reach a decision . Hideyoshi saw the chance to take Korea unprepared . Service During the First Wave of Japanese Invasion . On April 13 , 1592 , the Japanese fleet under Kato Kiyomasa launched a sudden strike on the Eastern Fleet of Gyeongsang province , and disabled every ship under its control . The main army under Kato and Konishi Yukinaga landed on the Korean Peninsula the next day , and marched northward . Won , who was commander of the Eastern Fleet of Gyeongsang province , was also routed by the invading Japanese . It is worth noting that Won ' s predecessor was able to pass a fleet combat readiness inspection just one year prior to the war . With this able force , admiral Won may have had an opportunity to intercept and engage Japanese invading forces at sea , thus perhaps preventing if not delaying the Japanese incursion on Korean soil . However he decided not do act upon the naval intelligence regarding the Japanese incursion until the Japanese landing party established a beachhead and successfully laid siege upon the city of Busan . At this point , Won sank many of his ships in retreat to ensure they would not be captured by invading Japanese forces . With only 4 ships left under his command , Won called for help from Yi Sun - sin , who had prepared for war and raised a smaller and battle ready fleet . King Seonjo finally ordered both admirals to fight against the Japanese forces on May 2 , 1592 . Eventually , Won and Yi began their campaign two days later , along with Admiral Yi Eok Ki , the commander of the Eastern Fleet of Jeolla Province who later became the commander of the Western Fleet of the same Province following Admiral Yi Sun - sin ' s promotion . On May 7 , the Korean navy under Yi destroyed a Japanese fleet in the Battle of Okpo . Later Won was promoted to an army general , while Yi Sun - sin became naval chief of staff . Plot to Remove Yi Sun - sin . In 1597 , Japanese decided to stop all negotiations with the Koreans and Chinese Ming Dynasty , and planned a re - invasion of Korea . To do so , they plotted to remove Admiral Yi Sun - sin from his position . Japanese spies directed by Konishi Yukinaga spread word that Kato Kiyomasa was urging other Japanese to continue fighting and would soon be crossing the sea . King Seonjo ordered Admiral Yi to capture Kato , but Yi refused to do so , as he knew that the words were the fabrications of Japanese agents . Seonjo was in fear of a possible coup d ' état attempt by Yi or by his supporters , which was never plotted , but Seonjo convinced himself it could happen any day , since Yi refused to carry out his orders several times not to mention his fleet is the strongest combat force of all sides . Yi refused to carry out the orders purely due to tactical reasons , but the act of insubordination itself , no matter how justifiable they were , frightened the King beyond his breaking point . King Seonjo finally ordered the execution of Yi , but the royal court reluctantly yet successfully resisted the order and was able to lower the punishment to imprisonment and demotion . Yi was then placed under the command of Gwon Yul to recover from the wounds he sustained from the torture administered during the investigation of the charges brought against him . Seonjo then replaced Yi with Won Gyun as the naval chief of staff . Battle of Chilcheonryang - Won Gyun ' s First And Last Naval Engagement . Won also knew the information was false , and did not advance toward Busan for the same tactical reasons Yi reported to the royal court prior to his removal from the post . Yi had been removed from his post for refusing orders to engage the Japanese . The government continued to trust the information and ordered Won to attack Japanese ships at Ungcheon . Won attacked the Japanese , who were mostly unarmed and protected under the cease - fire treaty signed to support the negotiation process which was about to be terminated but was still in effect , and defeated them . He lost one of his battleship and the captain during the attack . He did not advance anymore after receiving a letter of protest from the Japanese commander . Then Field Marshal Gwon Yul , who was also under heavy pressure from the king himself as well , recalled Won to his headquarters and once again ordered him to attack Busan . Won finally led Joseon Navy toward Busan , along with the famous admiral Yi Eok Ki , following orders despite tactical considerations . The Japanese at first seemed to retreat , but it was actually a trap . The Japanese were already prepared to devastate the Joseon Navy prior to land invasion , and the number of Japanese ships was so great that most Koreans were already frightened , including Admiral Bae Seol . The Japanese fleet , commanded by famous naval commander Todo Takatora , advanced toward Won Gyun ' s fleets . Won knew that he would lose the battle , but had no choice but to face the enemy . At the Battle of Chilchonryang , most of Joseon Navy ' s ships were destroyed , and Won was killed in action . Only the small detachment of twelve warships under the command of admiral Bae Seol , who refused to participate and fled the combat zone before the battle began , survived . Every other ships which participated in the combat were destroyed or disabled , along with almost all of Joseon navy line officers and many capable mid - level commanders . Aftermath . The battle opened the route for Japanese to advance to Yellow Sea , and Todo set up the plan to attack Hanyang from both land and sea with Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga . However , Japan ' s hopes were crushed again by Yi Sun - sin ' s return at the Battle of Myeongnyang , which would decide the winner of the devastating war . Despite any historical controversy , both Won Gyun and Yi Sun - sin would receive commendations following their deaths . Legacy . Next to his military career , Won Kyun is perhaps best known for his personal faults , which included excessive alcohol consumption and attempts at adultery . In his War Diaries , Yi Sun - Sin recalls reports and rumors about " cruel deeds " committed by Won and even mentions an incident in which Won had unsuccessfully attempted to seduce the wife of one of his subordinates , calling him a " wicked man " and ( at least partially ) blaming him for his degradation ( as derivable from the citation , " Won employs all means to entrap me " ) . Much controversy lingers in regards to Won Gyun as a military leader . Widely panned by scholars and historians , there is recent research to suggest that Won Gyun may have been excessively vilified during the Park Chung - Hee administration in order to elevate Yi Sun - sin by juxtaposition . In particular , Won Gyun ' s earlier successes against the Jurchen have been buried and there is an interest in providing a more objective view of Won Gyun ' s military career . While fault exists for Won Gyun ' s mistakes as a naval officer , much of the blame of the troubles during that period lies in the factionalized incompetence of the Seonjo court . However , it is still hard to ignore his actions and lack of competency as a naval commander and blame the political instability and indecision of the Seonjo court for the result of the battle of Chilcheonryang . The battle led to the near complete annihilation of the entire Korean naval combat forces in a single engagement against the Japanese fleets which were simply unable to prevail against the Korean fleets in any of the previous engagements . In popular culture . In the Korean drama TV series " Immortal Admiral Yi Sun - sin " , Won Gyun ( played by Choi Jae - sung ) is portrayed as a basically honorable man who is , however , very hot - tempered and stubbornly loyal to his king . In this depiction , Won and Yi Soon - Shin started their military careers as friends , but as navy commanders they begin to disagree about Yi ' s careful and well thought - of tactics , whereas Won is eager to face the Japanese face - to - face . The resulting carelessness results in the near - destruction of the Joseon fleet , but in the end Won acknowledges that Yi has been right all along , and he nobly sacrifices himself to secure the retreat of his remaining men .