''Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin'' (; lit. "The Immortal Yi Sun-sin") is a South Korean television series based on the life of

Yi Sun-sin Admiral Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Over the course of his career, Admiral Yi foug ...

, starring

Kim Myung-min Kim Myung-min (, born October 8, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television series '' Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin'' (2004), '' White Tower'' (2007), ''Beethoven Virus'' (2008), ''Six Flying Dragons'' ...

in the title role. It aired on

KBS1 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 from September 4, 2004 to August 28, 2005 for 104 episodes. The series filmed on location at the actual battle sites. It made extensive use of rendered images and a reconstruction of a

turtle ship A ''Geobukseon'' ( ko, script=Hang, 거북선, ), also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Joseon Navy, Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon, Joseon dynasty from the ...

. Due to the preparation needed, the show took many months to produce.

Plot

It is late 1598, shortly before the Battle of Noryang, the final confrontation of the

Imjin War The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...

. The remnants of the Japanese invasion force are desperate to go home, but are also driven by personal motivation to beat their greatest adversary, Admiral

, once and for all. Self-serving

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

generals and

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

officials also fear Yi's growing popularity and its impact on their personal base of power. These incidentally combining ambitions fan

King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

's paranoia and make him eventually fear that Yi might come after his throne, and after a series of what he calls acts of high treason, he decides to have Yi arrested. Yi, on the other hand, is determined to teach the Japanese a lesson for the atrocities they committed on the Korean people, and despite orders to remain quiet while the Japanese are to pull out without anymore bloodshed, he rallies his naval force and prepares for the upcoming engagement. The battle commences and the Japanese are dealt a crippling blow, but Yi is fatally wounded by an arquebuse bullet. As he lies dying, the plot backtracks on the important events of Yi's life, from his boyhood to his military career, his efforts before and during the Japanese invasion, his disgrace at the hands of his king, and his reinstatement, back to the battle of Noryang, where he succumbs to his wound just as victory is declared.

Cast

Main characters

Yoo Seung-ho Yoo Seung-ho (; born August 17, 1993) is a South Korean actor who rose to fame as a child actor in the film '' The Way Home'' (2002). Since then, he has starred in many television series and movie films as a child and teenager. After his two-yea ...

as young Sun-sin *

Choi Jae-sung Choi Jae-Sung (born November 18, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Choi debuted with KBS TV drama series, ''Diary of a High School Student'' in 1984. Choi entered stardom through ''The Tree Blooming with Love'' and ''Lee Jang-ho's Baseball Team''. ...

Won Gyun Won Gyun (; 12 February 1540 – 27 August 1597) was a Korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty. He is best known for his campaigns against the Japanese during Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea. Won was a member of Wonju Won family, ...

Lee Jae-ryong Lee Jae-ryong (born September 24, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for starring in television series, notably the merchant-centered period epic '' Sangdo'' (2001), the medical drama ''General Hospital'' (1994 and 2008), and Noh H ...

Yu Seong-ryong Ryu Seong-ryong (November 1542 – May 1607), was a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic k ...

, Prime Minister of Joseon * Choi Cheol-ho as

Kim Kyu-chul Kim Kyu-chul (born April 6, 1960) is a South Korean actor. Kim spent more than a decade as a stage actor before he made his onscreen breakthrough in 1993 with Im Kwon-taek's ''Seopyeonje'', considered one of the classics of Korean cinema. Kim be ...

as Im Chun-soo

Supporting characters

*Choi Sung-joon as

Yi Eok-gi Yi Eok-gi (; 3 September 1561 – 27 August 1597) was the commander of the Eastern Jeolla Fleet and later came to be the commander of the Western Jeolla Fleet. At age 32, despite being 15 years younger than Supreme Naval Commander Yi Sun-sin, Yi ...

* Choi Yoo-jung as Bang Yeon-hwa * Kim Gyu-ri as Park Mi-jin/Park Cho-hee *Park Dong-bin as Han Ho *

Jeon Ye-seo Jeon Ye-seo (born July 26, 1981) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Television series Film Awards and nominations References External links * * Jeon Ye-seo Fan Cafeat Daum * * * * Jeon Ik-ryungon Daum Jeon Ik- ...

as Chung-hyang *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor on Korean film and television. He is particularly known for his mastery of ad-libbing In music and other pe ...

as Chun Moo-jik *Ahn Yeon-hong as Hong-yi *Lee Han-gal as Nal-bal, Yi Sun-Sin's bodyguard *

Jung Ae-ri Jung Ae-ri (; born August 11, 1960) is a South Korean actress. Career Jung Ae-ri made her acting debut after she was chosen at the KBS talent audition in 1978. In 1980, she moved to another network, MBC. She rose to stardom in the 1985 drama ...

as Yi Sun-sin's mother *Ahn Hong-jin as Yi Wan, Yi Sun-Sin's nephew *Son Jong-beom as So Ŭn-woo * Lee In as Prince Gwanghae *

Gi Ju-bong Gi Ju-bong (born September 3, 1955) is a South Korean actor. Career Gi began acting in 1977 and is notable for ''Offending the Audience ''Offending the Audience'' is a play by Austrian writer Peter Handke. It is sometimes called an "anti-p ...

as Yoon Hwan-shi, a young officer promoted by Yi to the post of naval engineer *Kim Joon-mo as Yi San-hae *

Jung Dong-hwan Jung Dong-hwan (born August 5, 1949) is a South Korean actor. Jung began his career in theater, then was most active in Korean cinema in the 1980s, with leading roles in ''Late Autumn'' (1982), ''Jung-kwang's Nonsense'' (1986), and ''A Top Knot ...

Yun Doo-su Yun Du-su ( ko, 윤두수, 尹斗壽; 1533–1601) was a Korean scholar-official of the Joseon Kingdom. He was a politician, poet, writer, scholar, and part of the Yi Hwang school among Westerners (Hangul: 서인, Korean: Seoin). Among many othe ...

*Lee Won-bal as Yun Geun-su *Im Hyuk-joo as Jeong Tak *Hwang Joon-wook as Yi Deok-hyung *Park Chan-hwan as Kwon Joon *Ahn Sŭng-hun as Jung Woon *Jung Jin-gak as Shin Ho *Jeon Hyun as

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he spen ...

as Kim Wan *Kim Myung-gook as Song Hui-rip *Lee Sang-in as

Na Dae-yong Na Dae-yong (Hangul: 나대용; Hanja: 羅大用) was a Korean naval officer who fought against the Japanese navy in Imjin war and was also known as a designer of the turtle ship. Biography Na Dae-yong was born in Jeolla-do of Naju, passed th ...

, inventor of the Geobukseon *Kim Hong-pyo as Joo Soo-chang *Park Hye-sook as Neob Chool-nye *Lee Jae-pyo as Woo Chi-juk *Choi Joon-young as Lee Woon-ryong *Yoo Tae-woong as Lee Young-nam *Lee Il-jae as

Yi Il Yi Il (; 1538 – 1601) was a Korean military official of the mid-Joseon Period. During the reign of Seonjo of Joseon, he made a great contribution to the conquest of the Jurchen people in the north. When Imjin War occurred, he was appointed Mob ...

* Lee Hyo-jung as

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

*Lee Jung-yong as

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Biography ...

*Jung Sŭng-ho as

Konishi Yukinaga Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...

*Choi Dong-joon as

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. Biography During his lifetime he changed his feudal ...

*Kim Myung-soo as

Wakisaka Yasuharu (1554 – September 26, 1626), sometimes referred to as Wakizaka Yasuharu, was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Awaji Island who fought under a number of warlords over the course of Japan's Sengoku period. Wakisaka originally served under A ...

*Hwang Joon-won as

Sō Yoshitoshi was a Sō clan ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the domain of Tsushima on Tsushima Island at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Sō ...

Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor. Early an ...

Yi Hwang Yi Hwang (January 3, 1502– January 3, 1571) was the most important Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. He was a figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan S ...

*Choi Dang-seok as Sa Hwa-dong *

Kwak Jung-wook Kwak Jung-wook (born 12 June 1990) is a South Korean actor. Personal life On January 24, 2022, it was confirmed that Kwak and Park Se-young Park Se-young (; born July 30, 1988) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2012 with s ...

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects ...

*Kim Jong-kyeol as Shotai *Lee Kyung-young as Genso *Kim Si-won as

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Koba ...

*Shin Dong-hoon as Nagaoka Tadaoki *Kim Ha-kyun as Chen Lin *Song Geum-sik as Hwang Se-deuk * Kim Ki-doo *

Ko Kyu-pil Ko Kyu-pil (born May 2, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He debuted in the 1993 South Korean children's film ''Kid Cop ''Kid Cop'' () is a 1993 South Korean children's film directed by Lee Joon-ik, starring Kim Min-jung and Jung Tae-woo. ''Ki ...

as Dol Soe * Yoon Yong-hyun as Woo wul gi nae * Sun Dong-hyuk as Manni eunggae * Maeng Ho-rim as Yi Kyung-lok

Artistic license in the series

The drama has been the focus of some attention due to historical inaccuracies, explained away with

artistic license Artistic license (alongside more contextually-specific derivative terms such as poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It can include the alterat ...

, though it concerns some that it may be promoting itself as based on fact. When Admiral Yi is portrayed as a boy, he is shown to be a weak, shy, and lonely boy though common belief is that he had leadership and creativity at an early age. Nevertheless, he is portrayed to display those qualities as a growing man, unable to avert his eyes from social injustice. Instead of vilifying

, a Korean admiral who contributed to the jailing of Admiral Yi for jealous reasons, Won Gyun is portrayed as a strong and smart, but very hot-tempered man who befriends and leads Yi throughout his early life. This deviates from the common belief that Won Gyun had always conspired against Yi. In the show, his jealousy and rivalry is portrayed in his later years as a veteran commander when he begins to show his arrogance as one of Joseon's strongest warriors, refusing to follow along with what he deems to be Yi's cowardly tactics and treachery to the king. His betrayal to Yi is explained through the show's ongoing politics and his inability to distinguish military merits from protection of the people. There is much debate about this positive portrayal of Won Gyun as recent research suggests that he may have been excessively vilified during the

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

administration. Reception and reviews have since been positive with much praise for the show's emphasis for humanity and their portrayal of Won Gyun.

Awards and nominations

*2004 4th KBS Right Language Awards:

*2005 41st

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

: Best TV Director - Lee Sung-joo *2005 41st

: Best TV Drama (nominated) *2005 41st

: Best TV Actor - Kim Myung-min (nominated) *2005 18th Grimae Awards: Best Actor - Kim Myung-min *2005

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on 31 December. The highest honor of the ceremony is the "Gra ...

: Best Supporting Actor -

*2005

: Grand Prize (Daesang) - Kim Myung-min *2006 18th Producers Awards of Korea: Best Performer - Kim Myung-min *2006 33rd Korean Broadcasting Awards: Best TV Actor - Kim Myung-min

International broadcast

The series also aired in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 2005 via

KBS World KBS World is the Korean Broadcasting System's international broadcasting service. It consists of KBS World Radio, KBS World television channel and KBS Korea. History The foreign-language radio broadcast from KBS (before its restructure into a ...

Notes

References

External links

''Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin'' official KBS website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin Television series set in the Joseon dynasty 2004 South Korean television series debuts 2005 South Korean television series endings Korean Broadcasting System television dramas Korean-language television shows Cultural depictions of Yi Sun-sin Television shows based on South Korean novels South Korean historical television series South Korean action television series Martial arts television series Japan in non-Japanese culture