Korea: Admiral Yi - II: Be Like a Mountain - Extra History

Well they learned it at some point. There's a reason 400 years from now we had so much trouble with the Japanese Navy in World War II.

Sean Sarff

Thank you! It's fun to have this nice mix of analysis and storytelling. Really stretches those creative muscles!

Extra History

Technically they breathed smoke, but still, mad props to whomever decided to style that feature like a dragon just to INTIMIDATE THEIR FOES.

Extra History

Glad to hear it!

Extra History

Thank you!

Extra History

You're an early access donor, right? Soo-ooon! :D

Extra History

It's very true, if a bit odd to think about since these days we tend to associate Japan with a very strong navy. Perhaps they learned a lesson from this encounter.

Extra History

Admiral Yi only gets better!

Extra History

Marvellous! Though I certainly enjoy the episodes of various gaming tropes, I think THIS is where you truly shine. Absolutely keep making these! And I will continue to throw money at you.

SovietWomble

Outstanding!

Armored ships with fire breathing dragon heads? I believe the scientific term is Epicly Awesome!

Ethan Stine

i like it

shadowolf

I love you more than you?:P I don't think that would be nice to say:P

Martin Ockovsky

Amazing as always.

Tommy Laukkanen

Cannot wait for the coverage over Yi's most epic battles. Namely, the 2nd battle of Busanpo, the battle of Hansando, the battle of Myeongnyang, and the battle of Noryang.

Ki-Young Joannes Jang

I did a little research on the difference between the warships of the Japanese Navy and the Korean Navy. The Turtle ships are epic. They're basically floating fortresses with cannons. In one source I heard they have more than 100 cannons of various sizes on them against the Japanese who had two on their heavier warships. The best way I can think to describe it is the Japanese were using Roman tactics (slam ship into other ship, get on ship, kill everyone, take ship) against what amounted to a small fleet with the firepower to sink them before they got even close to them.

Sean Sarff

EH is always good, but this one's extra good :D

Blake

I actually think it would have gone much worse. I mean, he's a clever fellow, so I think he'd have managed the land forces better than some of his contemporaries who DID command the land forces. But the advantage Yi had in technology (turtle ships + cannons) gave the Korean forces their strongest advantage at sea, so having their best commander serve there worked out best in the end. Even though he'd never commanded a naval force before...

Extra History

Yayyy! I often post them super early - technically, they're not *supposed* to go out till 10am PDT Friday morning, but I just can't wait to share them with you all.

Extra History

8-Ball says, "Seems likely."

Extra History

This is why history is my favorite subject. It's story time for grown-ups!

Extra History

I hear ya, but we can only do so much to keep the story moving along within an eight minute episode!

Extra History

Yeah, if the Japanese navy had been stronger at the time, it would have gone much rougher for Korea. Although that said, Yi didn't have any formal navy training when he took over his fleet, either, so you gotta give him credit for making it as strong as it was.

Extra History

I feel like Yi wouldn't have let himself be trapped in an engagement against the full Japanese fleet, but the carelessness of some of the Japanese commanders certainly let him gain an early edge back!

Extra History

Awesomeness? :D

Extra History

Or Rome and Carthage (If my memory about that time period holds true... its been a while)

David May

This is the best type of education ever made. I love you more than ... something else!

Martin Ockovsky

Funny how the only reason the Koreans prevailed was because one commander got greedy. Had he waited like he was told, the entire fleet would've descended on the Korean fleet and turned it into flotsam and jetsam.

Michael Jebbett

This land power - sea power dynamic is very interesting, like the conflict between Great Britain and France.

Wesley Wu

Kudos to your brief analysis of the state of the two nations, kinda like outlining the faction bonuses in a strategy game. But I feel you fell short on explaining China's role and makes me detached from Japan's motive to invade China in the first place. Also the Jurchens were still a threat, to Koreans and Japanese alike.

Hung Nguyen

You are in for a "treat"

Hung Nguyen

I keep thinking, at almost every episode of EH "Wow, this is so amazing." or "I can't believe that happened." It shows that real world tales make for awesome stories without the need for fiction!

Iggy van Hoof

I have to wonder if the corruption in Korea is going to effect Yi again

Aaron hutchinson

Amazing

Mark Robertson

My favorite thing to do every Friday morning is open up my email and find the link for these episodes.

Dave Hoyt

I wonder how it'd have turned out if Yi would've commanded armies on land instead