(A KIM HAN-MIN FILM)
(1597 Second Japanese Invasion)
(Six years into the Japanese Invasion)
(Yi Sun-shin is dismissed from his post as Naval Commander,)
(court-martialed to Hanyang and tortured.)
(On the seventh lunar month, at Chilcheollyang of Geoje,)
(Admiral Won Gyun's Joseon's navy is decimated.)
(For the first time, Japanese forces)
(sweep through Jeolla Province)
(and bring down Namwon Fortress on August 16th,)
(and Jeonju Fortress on August 25th.)
(They head north to attack the capital, Hanyang.)
(Afterwards, Yi was hastily pardoned)
(and reinstated by the king,)
(and rallied remaining warships and troops.)
(He scrounged 12 ships that survived previous campaign,)
(and encamped on the Southern Sea.)
(Just 20km away in Eoranjin, Haenam, Japan's navy)
(has set up base, preparing to attack with over 300 ships.)
(ROARING CURRENTS)
(Jindo Joseon Forward Operating Base)
(12 days after reinstatement)
So, Admiral. When will you join them?
What do you mean?
(Naval commander of Gyeongsang Province, Bae Seol)
As per royal order, of course.
Your orders are to join forces with ground troops
under Captain Kwon Yul.
Is that what it says?
What?
With all due respect,
the enemy has over 200 ships!
Our men are deserting their posts! Are you aware of that?
In just 10 days, the number of deserters has reached...
(Naval commander of Jeolla Province, Kim Uk-chu)
50...
I must ease my mind.
200 enemy ships could invade at any moment!
Where and how...
do you intend to repel their attacks?
Let's hear from the young officers!
Do we stand a chance?
Do we?
Don't save your breath!
Admiral.
Please help us erase all doubt.
Aside from a damaged turtle ship, what plan is in place?
You're addressing our commander!
How dare you!
I'm your ranking officer!
Shut your hole and listen!
You have no right.
You're merely a deserter
who fled from Chilcheollyang!
You fool. Thanks to me,
we still have 12 ships left.
You're ignorant tongue does not know its place.
Admiral.
I'm sure you know how reckless this is.
I was witness to Chilcheollyang.
I saw how swift and depraved the enemy were.
10,000 people died!
Do you mean to decimate every living soul here?
This briefing is adjourned.
Dismissed.
Admiral!
He gave you an order!
Everyone, out!
Our priority is to repair ships and train our men!
Now!
(Eoranjin, Haenam, Japanese Forward Operating Base)
We must capture King Seonjo and end this war.
He must not slip through our fingers like before.
We must coordinate, like a perfect storm!
- Prepare at once! - Yes, commander.
We can't allow Konishi to dethrone Joseon first.
But Chancellor Hideyoshi wants us to wait for his man.
So we have no choice.
Aren't those Wakizaka's ships?
Yes, back from reconnaissance.
How many trips exactly?
Three, including last night's.
But sir...
Who is the chancellor sending us?
Someone essential to this battle, I'm told.
One who can overpower Yi Sun-shin.
(Joseon Forward Operating Base's flagship)
(It will be impossible to fight the enemy)
(with our outnumbered and fatigued troops. Dismiss the navy)
(and join forces)
(with Commander-in-chief Kwon Yul's army.)
Captain Bae drew his sword, but they're going to kill him.
He had to! Because they're trying to kill us all.
Father!
I will...
(General Wakizaka Yasuharu)
have your head!
Father!
Forgive me for interfering.
I couldn't simply pass by.
Are you the one
sent by the chancellor?
It's Iyo navy from Ehime Prefecture.
That's not a navy. They're more like pirates.
Move out!
Get moving. Quickly!
(Junsa)
(Jindo, Joseon Forward Operating Base)
(Full deployment imminent.)
It's swarming with activity.
Over 200 warships are docked,
supply ships are being loaded,
and they're stealing provisions from villagers.
They cut off the nose of any who resist,
and use children for target practice.
It seems as if
they're wiping out villagers before deployment.
(Lieutenant Song Hui-rip)
Is it true that
25,000 Japanese reinforcement soldiers are en route from Jeonju?
Yes, it appears so.
They act like our navy does not exist,
and talk of swarming the capital,
like it was nothing at all in their drunken stupor.
We must do something,
or the capital will run with blood.
Deliver this to Junsa and return with his report.
At once, sir.
The shell is complete!
The turtle ship's shell is complete!
Sweetheart.
Another talisman?
This isn't my first mission.
But I'll treasure it.
I'm off.
Take care of yourself!
(Joseon Army Base, Kwon Yul's base)
(Commander-in-chief Kwon Yul)
Is Yi disobeying the royal order again?
He is only pursuing what is right.
Disobey the royal order again,
and his life will be on the line.
They've taken Namwon and Jeonju fortresses.
Japan's ground forces are northbound.
Should their navy also reach
the capital via the Southern Sea,
what would happen?
But what can he do with a measly 12 ships?
How can 12 measly ships
reinforce the army?
Don't mince words!
I know he's not even in good health!
And who's responsible for that?
You son of a...
Do you even know the situation here?
The infamous Kiyomasa is knocking at our gate.
Which is why
we're in desperate need of every able body still standing!
Grab him!
Let go!
Please, commander.
Grant us men and weapons!
Our navy is a candle in the wind!
So obey the royal order.
Will you ignore Admiral's
earnest request?
How dare you!
You are out of line!
What are you all waiting for?
Take him away and lock him up this instant!
- Commander! - Get up!
Commander!
Admiral wishes to convey these words!
"To forfeit the sea
is to forfeit Joseon!"
Commander!
I've waited half a day.
Is this how you treat your guest?
We were too focused on the war briefing
to give attention to our guest.
I beg your forgiveness.
By the way,
how do you capture a king,
like a real pirate?
Please enlighten us.
I've surveyed the region.
If we ride the morning tide via Myeongnyang Strait,
we can resupply the troops by night,
and sail into the capital, Hanyang.
Therefore,
it'll only take us a day and a half.
Easier said than done.
Yi Sun-shin is not a feeble adversary.
Sailing the open sea around the strait,
and approaching the capital
to annihilate Yi with the army
is the best strategy.
Why do you think Hideyoshi sent me,
Wakizaka?
How dare you...
utter his name!
With this hand,
I will crush Yi.
Will you allow Konishi to walk into the capital first?
I've committed a grave mistake.
Please forgive my men.
Come, sit with me.
Kurushima.
(I vow by my long sword)
(that the mountains and skies shall tremble.)
(A sweep of my sword shall tinge the mountains and skies in blood.)
Mother...
Father, It is I, Hoe.
It is nice to sit together.
(Yi Hoe)
Yes.
Father.
Speak.
Isn't this for the best?
Use this chance to leave everything behind
and return to our hometown.
You've yet to place Grandmother's memorial tablet to rest,
so it's just sitting there.
Send over the remaining forces to the army
and say you are too ill to carry out your duties.
You resent the king deeply.
He was ready to take your life.
Does that not upset you?
Father.
We've lost everything but for 12 ships.
Can we even call ourselves a navy?
Even if
we win the battle with our meagre men,
the king will desert you.
What are you fighting for?
Loyalty.
To such
a scrupleless king?
It is said,
a soldier's loyalty must follow the truth,
and that truth must follow the people.
Not the king?
The people are what makes a nation exist,
and that nation is how the king exists.
Even if the people you speak of
only look out for themselves
and there's nothing to gain from it?
Finish your food.
Don't let it go to waste.
Make way!
Admiral.
(You will also perish.)
Look... Look at this.
Isn't he Bae Hong-suk,
the flagship commander?
He's the one that led the battle from a while ago.
- It's a head! - A head!
It's Bae Hong-suk!
- Get them out of here! - Get them out!
Now!
(Kurushima Michiyuki, aged 25)
Was it your idea to send the prisoners' heads
over to the enemy?
I also cut off the noses and ears.
Do you
wish to die by my sword?
Why provoke the enemy
like this?
If it's a fight we can't give in to,
why not?
But will they be provoked?
Yi Sun-shin is not to be underestimated!
You know, from your troops,
many of them revere the craft of his martial art.
from what I hear.
After the defeat they suffered at Hansando,
I'm not surprised.
You imbecile, how dare you!
Let me reiterate this.
Why do you think the chancellor sent me?
It's because unlike you, I don't tremble in fear at Yi's name.
Think again before you draw your sword.
Before that sword is even drawn, your head will part your body.
My brother Michiyuki went to conquer Joseon
as the chancellor's dog,
and returned a dead man.
He went instead of me
and suffered the sword Hideyoshi aimed at me.
And
he died at Yi's hands.
The chancellor is ailing.
He won't last until next year.
That is why he's hastening
this war.
The Joseon our chancellor so wanted
will be mine.
That is why
Yi Sun-shin must die.
Do you understand?
This will be like a commemoration
of Michiyuki's death as well.
What's going on?
Isn't that Oh Sang-gu?
He got caught trying to flee!
It is him! He was on the flagship.
The admiral is coming.
(Oh Sang-gu)
He was captured near Blood Isle while fleeing.
In Chilcheollyang, my comrades of six years
all died.
I just buried their heads with my own hand
I couldn't help myself. I am so scared...
Now, my turn will come.
Must we all...
die in vain?
Are those your last words?
Discipline
is absolute!
Understood?
There's no way out.
He'll kill even his own.
There is...
always a way!
(Blood Isle Myeongnyang Strait)
As bottleneck of the strait,
the water clashes and whirls.
It's so treacherous that the current roars.
Is it here?
Sir, we must assume that they'll only enter this strait
if they see it as an advantage.
Look at those waves.
The fast currents will bring them to our ships in a blink of an eye.
We don't stand a chance.
That's why we need the turtle ship.
It will ram the front line,
and our warships can fire cannons from a distance.
It takes half a day for the tide to change.
You think the turtle ship will hold for that long?
When the tide changes, the sea calms considerably.
But that sound...
has changed from what is was before.
It is like the sound of a man's howling.
The real problem is the maelstrom.
You rarely hear the sound during the high tide.
But if somehow you should hear it then,
a giant maelstrom appears.
The high tide arrives in two days,
so it could only mean...
Do you hear it?
I hear that sound...
as the howling of men lost in Chilcheollyang.
Is your only tactic...
that turtle ship?
Tactics are not the problem.
It's the fear,
that is spreading among my men
like a virus.
Is there a way to overcome it?
If we cannot, what are we to do?
Is beheading our own men,
like you did to Oh Sang-gu,
the only means of discipline?
Can we achieve victory that way?
But you...
We may be able to use it.
You mean...
the fear?
Admiral...
It is unjust...
Admiral...
It is unjust...
Avenge us...
My men...
Avenge us.
My friend Hong-suk.
Commander Choi... Commander Yi...
Avenge us...
Come.
Accept my drink.
Please take this drink.
My men...
Where are you going?
Commander Yi, Commander Choi... Hong-suk...
Please!
Don't leave me...
Father!
The turtle ship's on fire!
Admiral!
It's Naval Commander Bae Seol's first mate.
Put out the fire!
Hurry!
Put it out!
Get the water!
He's there!
Listen, everyone! Do you want to live?
A dying man,
is leading us to the gates of hell!
However...
I have found a way out!
Do not senselessly throw away your lives!
So join me!
Put out the fire!
Everything is burning!
Admiral Yi!
It's dangerous!
Admiral!
Let me go!
This can't be!
That is our turtle ship!
It's over.
It's over, Admiral!
Don't say that, it's right there!
I will fight my battle on that turtle ship!
No!
Commander Todo!
Yi's turtle ship has burned.
What?
A scout was sent after spotting fire
and smoke from Yi's base.
It's confirmed that the ship is now in ashes.
It was his last turtle ship, was it not?
That's correct.
Yi does not have any turtle ships left.
Taito mumun...
"Do not look back when the only course is in front of you."
I feel the great resolve in your calligraphy.
This is the spirit we need at this junction.
Prepare to deploy!
Get ready!
Junsa... where are you...
On the double!
Wiped out...
Help!
Grab him!
No!
Save me!
Please!
Hurry up!
I spotted another!
Find him!
Hurry up!
March!
Move your ass!
I'm from a fishing village,
and I row very well!
What's he jabbering?
I'm a really good rower!
What the hell?
I'll kill you!
No! Wait!
Don't kill me!
Calm down!
A maelstrom...
Turtle ship...
Father!
A message from Junsa!
Tomorrow morning we'll reach Myeongnyang.
We deploy with the tide,
and the fleet is over 330 ships.
The captain of the vanguard is,
unfortunately, someone new.
Versed in similar conditions, and known as the Pirate King,
Kurushima from Ehime.
Fortunately, supporting him is a man you defeated in Hansando,
known as Wakizaka.
I hope you find some comfort in this.
I will join you once I fulfill my duty.
- Move out to main base. - Sir?
We cannot fight with the strait behind us.
We must relocate to the base in Haenam immediately.
A message from Konishi.
He's pressing me.
We'll dethrone the king before he does.
We're ready for deployment.
Joseon looks particularly savory today.
I like this land.
My lord.
Status.
All prepared, sir.
There are only prisoners below deck,
and we've stockpiled gunpowder.
Yi Sun-shin...
will not survive this.
Even the turtle ship is gone!
How do you call
a single line a battle formation?
Has the admiral lost his mind?
I agree!
Don't you hear the cries?
We can't just wait to be killed.
We need to take special measures!
Special measures, I tell you!
What measures do you say we take?
You're suggesting we kill our commander like we killed Bae Seol?
No.
That's not what I meant!
Goodness, this matter is too urgent
for us to write to the State Councillor about.
Let us go.
Where to?
I will try to persuade Yi.
If he cannot be persuaded,
I'll let him take my life.
Your Majesty.
If the navy is dismissed at this time,
my only worry is
that the enemy will go around the West Sea
and attack Your Majesty directly.
12 ships yet remain in my hands.
If we fight with deadly determination,
it is more than possible.
As long as I am alive,
the enemy
will not dare underestimate us.
Admiral.
At the risk of my own life, allow me to speak my mind.
This battle is...
futile!
- It's futile! - It's futile!
Even if we clash with the enemy at the narrow strait,
this battle won't end in our favour
without a single turtle ship.
I urge you to save this battle for another day.
- Please, Admiral! - Please, Admiral!
Is that what you believe?
If you believe otherwise,
please take my life.
I'd rather die by your sword!
If that is what you believe,
very well.
Gather all the men in front of the camp.
Yes, sir!
Kim Dol-son and Hwang Bo-man, have you brought it?
- Yes, Admiral! - Yes, Admiral!
Pour it!
(Hwang Bo-man, Kim Dol-son)
What are you waiting for?
- Pour it! - Yes, sir!
- Light it! - Yes, sir!
Admiral!
This is madness!
Stand back!
Admiral!
It's shameful that you still
only consider your own lives!
We cannot!
Avoid death!
Is evading the combat the path to survival?
Are we any safer on land?
Behold!
I am burning this land to die at sea!
There's no place
we can flee and hide!
Do not hold onto life!
Those who seek life shall die.
Those who seek death shall live.
One man
at a choke point
can fend off a thousand men!
Those words
were spoken to describe our situation now!
Father.
How do you plan to put these strong fears to use?
Is this Bae Hong-suk's son?
Yes, sir.
Instead of Scout Lim Jun-young, he brought Junsa's message.
Junsa encountered him by chance and helped him escape.
This was your father's.
Take it.
What is your name?
Bae Su-bong, sir.
With your father by my side,
we fought for six years.
I will neither forget your father's name nor yours.
I... I have a request, sir.
Go on.
Please allow me to board your ship.
I will fight for you!
Only if you'll take an oar rather than a sword.
Thank you!
Thank you, sir!
(Usuyeong Harbor, Navy Main Base)
Mother...
Your unfilial son
will soon join you in the afterlife.
I hope that my death
will not be in vain.
Admiral.
Good work.
I am monk Hye-hee.
Thank you. You'll be a great help.
Admiral!
Junsa, great work.
All units...
deploy!
All units!
Deploy!
Let's go to war!
Deploy!
- Deploy! - Deploy!
(Myeongnyang Strait 8pm, reverse current)
Lateral formation.
The current's pushing us back! Row harder!
Drum louder!
Load the cannons!
We must hold our position!
Row harder!
Get rid of it.
- Look! - What is that?
What's that black mass?
The ships are retreating!
Close the lid!
Su-bong, I think we boarded the wrong ship.
Didn't you know it was the flagship?
But why must the flagship be at the front?
I'll raise the flag and order them to hold position now!
Let them be.
Pardon? But Admiral...
Lower the anchor and prepare for battle.
Lower the anchor!
Why isn't Yi
raising his command flag ?
Just look at them.
Even if he did, would his men follow him?
Vanguard 1, advance.
Vanguard 1!
Advance!
Rotate starboard and prepare the cannons.
Prepare the cannons!
Starboard oars, halt!
Port oars, row faster!
Nah Dae-yong!
Song Hui-rip!
Aim all cannons and explosive arrows
at vanguard ships!
Yes sir!
Aim all cannons at the vanguard!
Archers, battle station!
Aim!
Prepare to fire!
Ready!
Fire!
The current is picking up, steer carefully!
Ready to fire!
Fire!
Increase speed and rotate to port!
Fire!
Watch out!
Fire!
Yi is selectively attacking the front line.
Iyo vanguard ships are colliding into one another.
His remaining ships are holding position.
Could they be waiting for something?
Shouldn't we join the assault and reinforce the front?
No.
Wait a little longer.
Fear
does not discriminate. It equally affects the enemy.
Six years of defeat in their battle against me
has planted great fear in the enemy.
Fear does not discriminate...
Is that all?
Is that how we use fear?
If we turn our fear into courage...
Send in Vanguard 2, and press harder.
Vanguard 2! Advance!
Kurushima is recklessly sending in ships.
He's very skilled in handling strong currents.
Let's wait and see.
Just watch.
The current is on our side.
We will demolish them.
Admiral!
The current is affecting our cannon accuracy!
Cut the anchor loose.
Ride the current towards Blood Isle.
Yes, sir!
I got him!
Fire!
- Get the poles! - Yes, sir.
Starboard oars, row harder!
Our ship mustn't hit the rocks!
Sir! We must raise the flag now!
We won't last long with Blood Isle on our back!
Hui-rip, switch to shrapnel shells.
And prepare for close combat.
Get ready
for close combat!
Charge!
Now!
Release!
Board!
Kurushima is about to win the battle!
Yi held his ground long enough.
We're all going to die!
Admiral!
Take all cannons below deck
to the port oar of the ship.
Can you do it?
But we could all die...
Just get it done!
Yes, sir! It will be done!
Hold your ground!
Place cannons on port oar opening now!
What are you waiting for!
Get the gunpowder and shells right away!
Su-bong, it's too dangerous!
Don't do it!
Gather all the shells and gunpowder!
On the double!
Admiral!
We are ready to fire!
Brace yourselves!
Is that how we use fear?
If we can turn our fear into courage...
That courage will be
a hundred, even a thousand times stronger.
But father...
How can we turn such great fear
into courage in our men?
I... must die.
Could this be... the end?
Look!
The flagship survived!
It survived!
The flagship survived!
Destroy them all!
Sons of bitches!
(Commander Kim Eung-ham)
(Captain Ahn Wei)
Full speed ahead!
(Myeongnyang Strait 2pm, fair current)
Maelstrom...
It's the maelstrom...
Yi Sun-shin...
So there was a reason why you held your ground.
The current has changed. A maelstrom is forming!
Thanks to that, the water near the isle is calm,
which greatly increases their cannon accuracy.
If he holes up there, no one can penetrate the strait.
And he'd take this battle.
Increase speed to Yi's flagship
- before he nests in formation. - Yes, sir.
Their main fleet, sir.
- Raise the flag. - Yes, sir.
(The flag used to call admirals)
I got you!
Admiral!
Ahn Wei!
You must be disciplined under strict martial law,
but as we're at war,
I command you to fight to the death.
You must defend Blood Isle with your life.
Understood?
Yes, Admiral!
Hui-rip, we must reach the centre of the strait quickly.
Yes, Admiral!
To the centre of the strait!
Impeccable timing, sir.
The explosion will be massive.
We won't fall for that decoy of Yi's.
We will continue towards the fleet near the isle.
Sir!
Not their main fleet,
but a straw-covered ship is approaching!
- Archers in formation! - Yes, sir.
Fire!
We're sitting ducks! Haul out the water!
Hurry!
We're out of shells on the deck! You must hurry.
It's empty?
Row harder!
It severed my chain!
Grab his sword!
Lim Jun-young?
Junsa!
It's carrying gunpowder?
Admiral, that vessel is carrying gunpowder.
Our scout Lim Jun-young is onboard.
Do we not have a response from Cpt. Kim Eung-ham yet?
Load the cannons immediately!
Sir, there's no answer!
Sweetheart,
wave something and get them to notice this ship!
This ship...
mustn't reach the admiral.
You must!
Good.
That's it.
Let's all signal! Everyone, hurry!
Captain!
Look over there!
A straw ship is heading to the flagship!
- Get ready to fire! - Yes, sir!
Ready!
Fire!
Good work.
Now that I have seen you,
I can finally rest my mind in peace.
Admiral. The enemy flagship is heading for us!
Incoming!
Grab your oars, now!
Get your oars!
Yi Sun-shin, it's over!
Close combat!
Charge!
Kuroda!
- Prepare! - Reinforce, sir?
We're shorthanded!
Let's reinforce our men!
To the deck right now!
Su-bong. Su-bong!
Yi Sun-shin!
I'm coming!
Admiral!
Our ships are flanking around Blood Isle!
(Captain Song Yeo-jong)
(Captain Jung Eung-du)
Kimura!
Catch up to them immediately!
Our ships are stuck in the maelstrom.
Load!
Fire!
You must request reinforcements!
Don't you get it already?
They'd have come already!
Shouldn't we reinforce them?
Yi Sun-shin!
Are you...
a mole or a traitor?
Yi Sun-shin!
Admiral.
Our ship is failing...
Admiral!
We'll pull you out!
Admiral!
Our fleet is coming!
We must destroy them before they get into formation!
Why aren't we going faster?
But the currents have turned...
I know that!
Whip the rowers to row faster!
Speed! I need speed!
That's our only chance!
Full speed!
Don't let go of the oars!
Hang in there!
Come on!
When will this end, dammit!
We got out!
Admiral!
Here is my order!
It can't be...
Are they ramming?
Are they suicidal?
Those bastards!
Please, hold on a bit longer!
Ramming...
Turtle ship has risen from the dead!
Rebirth of the turtle ship!
Turtle ship has returned!
Was that...
his tactic all along?
They're fleeing!
Look at them!
Fire!
Yi Sun-shin...
Retreat!
Turn the ship around.
The currents have again turned in our favour.
23 enemy soldiers!
17 enemy bodies!
3 enemy commanders and 9 enemy soldiers!
Invade all they want, they can't do shit on our watch!
- Have some. - I am already eating.
I looked one in the eye and he pissed his pants!
I'm the shit!
Will our descendants know how hard we fought?
If they don't, they better go to hell!
Damn them all!
Let's head back to our wives and kids.
You said it!
Here, have some water!
Isn't this taro?
It feels good to eat.
- Admiral! - Admiral!
How can we ease...
their suffering...
Father.
How did you think of using the maelstrom?
Father.
What did you say?
The maelstrom that struck
at the most critical moment.
If it weren't for that...
It was a godsend.
Godsend?
Then
you could have been very disappointed.
Yes.
That's true.
If at that moment,
our people did not save me...
Did you mean the people were a godsend,
not the maelstrom?
What do you think
could be more of a godsend?
(July, 1592)
(Hansando, Southern Sea)
There...
What is that?
(ROARING CURRENTS)
(CHOI MIN-SIK)
(RYU SEUNG-RYONG)
(CHO JIN-WOONG)
(KIM MYEONG-GON, JIN GOO, LEE JEONG-HYUN)
(DIRECTED BY KIM HAN-MIN)