For those of you that get stressed out trying to find gifts for your significant other for Valentines Day, take a look at what Korean couples have to go through:

Thanks to shrewd marketing in a society focused on commerce as well as love and matrimony, there is a special day on the 14th of each month for lovers to celebrate as well as a few other goodies along the way.

May 15 is Yellow Day-Rose Day. Lonely hearts gather for curry and companionship. Those who find love by this day exchange roses. Dressing in yellow is also recommended.

Check out the link for more because every month features a love holiday not to mention important anniversaries for Korean couples. It is a good thing they made January 14th Diary Day because you will need a journal to remember all these dates for the rest of the year.

You got to respect Korean actor Won Bin’s decision to join a frontline ROK Army unit instead of hiding out in a rear end job:

Superstar Won Bin has finished his five-week basic military training and volunteered for a unit guarding the iron fence at the border with North Korea. According to Army insiders, the actor volunteered for the assignment on completing his basic training, but confirmation of the assignment will not come until the beginning of next week.

Usually, stars are assigned to the Defense Media Agency, an affiliate of the Defense Ministry, and put in charge of promotional activities or troop entertainment, but Won Bin requested something more challenging. “Won conscientiously took part in military drills and was treated no different to all other servicemen,” an Army source said.

I wonder how many Korean youths reading this respect the decision compared to those who think he is stupid for volunteering for DMZ duty?

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has now also publicly criticized the North Koreans for counterfeiting US currency:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday labeled North Korea a “dangerous regime” and said Washington will not back down on financial sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for alleged counterfeiting.

U.S. diplomats have adopted a more critical line toward the North since September, when the Treasury Department ordered American financial institutions to cut all ties with the Macao-based bank Banco Delta Asia, accusing it of being a front for a North Korean counterfeiting operation.

I wonder which South Korean government official will rush to condemn Secretary Rice’s comments and defend North Korean counterfeiting?

It is going to be interesting to see how the Japanese media and public react to this news of a tragic murder and robbery of a Japanese woman:

Japanese police arrested an American sailor Saturday on charges of robbing and beating a Japanese woman to death — a case likely to further stoke opposition to U.S. military presence in Japan.

Reese, who also has been identified in Japanese media, is accused of robbing Sato of $129.

I can’t understand what would make someone want to rob and beat an elderly woman for $129 dollars? This guy is scum and hopefully he rots in a Japanese jail. So far the Japanese media seems to be reporting fairly about this incident. I haven’t seen any statements like, this is the first time a US sailor has been arrested in Japan under the SOFA agreement stuff, which is a common statement used in Korean media reports when a crime involving a USFK servicemember happens. Mostly from what I can see the Japanese media is focusing on what effect this will have on the ongoing US base relocation negotiations with the Japanese government.

For more info on this, there is a great discussion going on at Coming Anarchy on this topic plus one sailor stationed in Japan sounds off on this tragic incident as well.

Joel shares an interesting cell phone innovation in South Korea, a sobriety test:

You know you drink to much when you got to have a sorbiety test installed in your cell phone.

A new executive order has been signed formally outlawing prostitution:

For the first time, the Department of Defense has specifically made it a crime for a servicemember to patronize a prostitute. The punishment: up to a year in prison, forfeiture of pay and dishonorable discharge.

A Defense Department spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, said in an e-mailed response to questions that “prostitution” and “pandering” will now be among the offenses covered by Article 134 of the courts-martial manual.

This order pretty much puts prostitution on the same level as drug abuse in the military now. It is going to be interesting to see what effect this has on operations in the “ville”. Probably not much.

With the destruction of the Japanese fleet by Admiral Yi Sun-shin’s forces this hastened the retreat of the Japanese forces from the peninsula. However, what should have been a joyous moment for both the Koreans and the Chinese left a bittersweet taste in their mouths with the death of Admiral Yi, the destruction of the Korean peninsula, the heavy Korean and Chinese military losses, and the bankrupting of both countries due to the war against the Japanese.

The military and economic crippling of the Ming Empire by the Imjimwaeran War was complete 30 years later when the Manchu invaders conquered the Ming Empire and took control of China. Korea as well was crippled by the invasion and the incompetent Korean rulers in order to save money and weary of war virtually disband the military. An additional factor was that Chosun rulers were always concerned about a military general overthrowing the monarcy and now they had their chance to do away with the military by depending on Chinese hegemony. Admiral Yi’s state of the art and invincible turtle boats and navy were left in disrepair and sent to the dust bin of history.

The Korean court would later pay for this decision as well when the Manchu invaders attacked and conquered Korea. Possibly if Korea had maintained their naval might the peninsula might have a different story to tell. Instead this began a process of 250 years of Korea becoming a defacto province of Manchu China because they had to make annual tribute payments to the Chinese emperor. An additional humilation was the fact that as the Japanese retreated from Korea they kidnapped any artisan they find and took them back to Japan with them. These artisans would help lead Japan to a cultural revolution in their arts and ceramics during the Tokugawa era. Plus what cultural properties the Koreans had left were torched and destroyed by the Japanese. When reading about cultural buildings or Buddhist Temples in Korea you will notice that just about everyone of this buildings had been destroyed and rebuilt after the Hideyoshi invasion of the peninsula.

These humiliations caused the Koreans to look inward and distrust foreigners. Korea had once been a great maritime nation with strong influence in northeast Asia. After the war with the Japanese and the Manchu invasion afterwards, the Koreans became a poor, destitute nation, that closed their borders to foreigners. This inwardness would cause Korea to become known as the Hermit Nation. This Hermit Nation mentality caused Korea to not receive advancements in technology from the west before the Japanese. This would have consequences years later in 1898 when the Imperial Japanese Army would once again attack and occupy Korea in their quest to conquer China.

The Japanese on the other hand also faced steep change in the political make up of their country. The warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu had allied with Hideyoshi but he never sent soldiers to support Hideyoshi’s invasion of Korea. Tokugawa always felt that invading Korea would be a failure and that it would only be a matter of time before Hideyoshi’s forces would fail in Korea. Fail they did and the forces that did remain were not enough to defeat Tokugawa as he made his claim to the title of Shogun of all of Japan by winning the epic battle of Sekigahara in 1600, two years after the end of the Imjimgaeran War. Tokugawa’s clan would rule Japan for the next 250 years. At no time during this reign did the Tokugawa rulers ever attack Korea again. This was all a legacy of the military prowess of Admiral Yi Sun-shin.

So what effect has Admiral Yi had on Koreans today? He is obviously a source of national pride for Koreans. He has statues everywhere and plenty of TV shows and movies have featured Admiral Yi. However, very little is known about the great admiral overseas compared to a comparable legend such as Lord Horatio Nelson. Both Yi and Nelson had a lot in common. Both became legends in their respective countries because they both were respected leaders who had never lost a battle at sea. Plus both admirals died in combat during one last epic battle that determined the fate of their countries. Lord Nelson died during the battle of Trafalgar where the British had finally soundly defeated Napoleon’s navy that ultimately ended his plans to invade the British Isles. Like Yi, Nelson also did not tell his men that he had been wounded until after the battle had been won. The only real difference between the two men is that, Yi according to legend never lost a boat which if true, is an extremely amazing accomplishment.

However, Nelson remains globally known compared to Admiral Yi who remains an unknown outside of Korea. This is historically due to Korea’s Hermit Nation policy, but also it is due today to Korea not promoting such a verifiable legend. People of western cultures know more about Japanese and Chinese historical figures than they do of any comparable Korean figures. This is mostly do to China and Japan’s promotion of their history.

Maybe things will change as Korea is now promoting their Hallyu phenomenon to spread Korean culture. However, it appears Hallyu is spreading not real Korean history or culture just cheap “dramas”, plastic surgery, and Bae Yong-joon. KBS did make a drama of Admiral Yi, but has yet to make an impact globally or even regionally. I wonder what would happen if they dressed up Bae Yong-joon as Admiral Yi? If he doesn’t appeal to a global audience they could always have Nicolas Cage play Admiral Yi. Doesn’t he look good in traditional Korean dress?

Never the less Admiral Yi remains a cetifiable legend worthy of respect from all people. He stepped up and became a great leader for the nation when a leader was needed most. Though often compared to Lord Nelson he reminds me more of the legendary Roman Cincinattus. Though beloved by the people, Yi never made a play for political power. He was strictly an honorable military leader that fought for the good of the nation, but was consistently being torn down by political opponents.

One could make an arguement that this Korean phenomenom continues today. In recent history the greatest Korean leader Park Chung-hee is consistently being attacked by his politcal opponents in an attempt to rewrite history. It is appears that every new President in Korea attempts to rewrite the history of past presidencies for their own political purposes. Even former generals such as Paik Sun-yup who distinguished themselves and led Korea out of what may have been the nation’s darkest moment, the Korean War, have been declared traitors by their political opponents by being recasted as Japanese collaborators. At least no one has recasted Admiral Yi as a Japanese collaborator. Instead he has a naval destroyer named after him to guard the Dokto islets with. Even in death the legend of Admiral Yi continues to defend Korea.

Prior Posting:  The Return of Yi Sun-shin

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Hopefully this series of posts has been able to shed a little light on the guy foreigners see all over the place in Korea, be it statues, paintings, or even the Korean currency, but know little of. I tried to write the posts as a series of brief overviews of his life. If you know more information or want to discuss deatails about Admiral Yi’s life feel free to add to the discussion in the comments section.

Alright who in Yongsan or Osan pissed off the 8th Army CSM Wheeler?:

Servicemembers should be in “their service’s physical fitness uniform” during organized training from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., whether they’re on leave, a pass, temporary duty or on another status, according to Wheeler.

“Many are the troops who think they can wear anklets which give the appearance of no socks,” Wheeler wrote. “Wrong!”

Mark was this you?:

“Remember this as well: Being a soldier in the Army is an outdoor sport!” according to Wheeler. “You don’t get in shape for pushups by holding up the walls of the local gymnasium.”

“That senior leadership is not correcting the subordinate leadership is why we see so many violations,” said Wheeler. “I sure hope it’s not because they don’t know the standards themselves.”

Basically nothing new here for us 2ID types. 2ID has followed these standards every tour I have spend in 2ID. An old DCG at Camp Red Cloud who just loved PT, used to walk into the gym during PT hours and kick all those field grades and sergeant majors out into the cold with the rest of us. I was always amazed how many people used to hide in that gym when it was cold until that DCG showed up. A contractor buddy of mine grew a beard and longer hair so the General would not confuse him as a soldier and leave him alone in the morning while he worked out. He loved the General though because he had his choice of equipment in the morning once he kicked everyone out.

The Osan Shakedown scandal has taken another interesting turn:

Lawyers for the Air Force officer convicted in an Osan Air Base bar district shakedown scandal in September say final steps in the case have met with post-trial delay.

Arguing that the delay poses a legal hindrance to their client, 1st Lt. Jason D. Davis, they’ve asked the Air Force to reduce his prison sentence. Until his arrest in March, Davis headed the 51st Security Forces Squadron’s police team patrolling the bar district outside Osan Air Base.

Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Dillow, Pacific circuit military judge, sentenced Davis on Sept. 21 to dismissal from the Air Force and two years in prison. Davis now is in the Charleston Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C.

But final post-trial action is still pending because the official trial records” including a transcript of legal proceedings and trial exhibits” have yet to be given to Air Force Lt. Gen. Garry R. Trexler.

Now because of a possible court clerical error Davis may now have more time taken off his already amazingly lenient two year sentence he has already received. The continuing strangeness of this case just makes you wonder if the conspiracy theories are true.

With the defeat and beheading of Admiral Won Kyun, King Seonjo immediately reinstated Yi Sun-shin to his post as commander of the Korean navy. The only problem, was that there wasn’t much of a Korean navy left to command. Yi had only 13 ships and a little over 130 men to fight the Japanese with. Once the Korean King realized how complete the destruction of the Korean navy had been, he ordered Admiral Yi to disband the navy and the remaining soldiers to join the Korean army to fight the Japanese mainland advance.

Once again, Yi refused the order from the King and was determined to fight the Japanese navy with the few ships he had. The Japanese navy on the other hand were preparing to move around the peninsula by sea to attack and recapture Seoul. The only thing standing between the Japanese military and an open invasion route to Seoul was Yi Sun-shin and his 13 ships.

Images of Yi can be seen all over Korea to those who pay attention. For example Yi’s likeness is on the Korean 100 won coin.

On October 26, 1597, Admiral Yi lured the overconfident Japanese armada of 133 ships into a narrow channel between Chindo Island and the Korean mainland. The narrow channel did not allow the Japanese ships to maneuver and surround the 13 Korean ships. On the other hand the Korean ships with their superior fire power were able to easily pick off the Japanese ships as they entered the channel. The Koreans were even able to capture the Japanese flag ship where Admiral Yi had the Japanese captain beheaded and his head raised on a flagpole.

The remaining Japanese ships now realized their blunder and tried to exit the channel. However, just as Yi had planned, the tide rolled in preventing the Japanese ships from exiting the channel. In addition a metal chain installed by Yi’s men was pulled across the channel trapping the Japanese ships. In all 31 Japanese ships were destroyed and 90 were partially destroyed and heavily damaged in the battle where Yi’s forces lost no ships except for the one battle ship commanded by Bae that fled from the fight. This amazing victory was called the “Miracle of the Myongyang” and solidified Admiral Yi’s mythical status as the man who defeated 133 boats with only 12 of his own. Definitely an achievement of a legend.

The Japanese were back on the defensive and Yi was eager to crush them once and for all. To do this he requested naval support from the Chinese. A Chinese naval armada led by Admiral Chen Lin arrived to augment Yi’s forces. The Chinese proved ineffective in hunting down the Japanese because negotiations between the Japanese and the Chinese restarted and the Chen Lin was willing to take bribes to leave the Japanese navy alone.

In September of 1596, Hideyoshi had grown ill and died. The regents he placed in power until his son was old enough to rule had decided to withdraw the Japanese forces from Korea. However, Admiral Yi would not let the Japanese navy leave intact to threaten Korea again in the future. The Japanese navy in an effort to crush China’s navy before withdrawing, cornered Chen Lin’s armada and Chen requested Yi to come to his aid. Yi’s forces arrived and battled the Japanese Navy on December 15, 1598 in the Noryang Strait between Namhae Island and the Korean coastline.

In this climatic battle Yi and his Chinese allies destroyed hundreds of Japanese ships and finally delivered the long awaited knockout blow to the Japanese navy. However, this victory came at a great cost as Admiral Yi was fatally wounded during the battle in the arm pit. He hid his injury during the battle from his men in order to not discourage them. After the battle Yi died from his injuries at the age of 53. Admiral Chen Lin reportedly fell to the deck of his ship three times in grief after learning of the death of the beloved and respected Yi.

With the end of the Imjimgaeran War, people mourned Yi Sun-shin throughout the Korean peninsula. In death Yi had finally received the respect he deserved from the Korean nobility when he was post-humanously given the title of the third head of state and the feudal great lord of Tokpung. His long time friend Prime Minister Yu Song-nyong provided the eulogy for the great admiral:

“He was capable of withholding the falling sky with a single hand of his.”

Yi was not only a hero in Korea but his exploits and honorable nature were lionized in both China and Japan. In fact in 1905, Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo declared that Admiral Yi was the greatest naval commander of all time and closely studied his strategies which would later prove invaluable during his defeat of the Russian Baltic fleet in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.

It is ironic that the Korean naval hero, Yi Sun-shin would end up inspiring the Japanese naval commander responsible for rebuilding the Japanese navy that would ultimately lead to the conquest of Korea. After the defeat of the Russian navy at Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese had open access to Korea’s waterways that finally completed the conquest of Korea that Hideyoshi had begun 300 years earlier. Unlike 1598, this time there was no Yi Sun-shin to save Korea.

Prior Posting: The Fall of a Korean Legend

Next Posting: The Aftermath of the Imjimgaeran War