Asia-Pacific Journal of Advanced Research in Music, Arts, Culture and Literature
Vol. 1, No. 1 (2016), pp. 63-70
http://dx.doi.org/10.21742/ajmacl.2016.1.1.10
Development of Admiral Yi Sun-shin's Turtle Ship as the Beginning
of R&D in History of ROK Science and Technology: Pedagogical
Significance in Ryu Seong-Ryong's Discernment and Admiral Na
Dae-Yong's Active Roles
Jae-Oh Park1, Jun-Ho Huh2
1
2
Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
(Ph.D of Computer Engineering) Departments of Software, Catholic University of
Pusan, Republic of Korea
1
[email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
The historical and pedagogical significance of Yi Sun-Shin's turtle ship as a beginning of
R&D work in the history of science and technology of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been
contemplated in this study to reflect it on the history curriculum. Seoae (a posthumous title)
Ryu Seong-Ryong, in a sense, conducted a modern R&D using national resources to convince
King Seonjo of Joseon Dynasty while Cheam Na Dae-Yong took the lead in the development
of the ship, becoming an Admiral in spite of disparity in social standing. However, as their
activities are being reflected on the current Korean history textbooks, this study attempts to
contemplate and include them in the curriculum development process. The development
process of the turtle ship in the Korean history of science and technology shows us an
important historical lesson of preparing for national security, as well as the benefits of daring
investment on R&D. Through the historical revaluation of performances of these historical
figures, the curriculum that includes the historical facts the students entering science and
engineering colleges should know will be designed.
Keywords: R&D, R&D in History, History Education, Course Pedagogics, Turtle Ship.
1. Introduction
Turtle ship was an advanced weapon developed during the Jeosun Dynasty which existed
just be-fore the Korean Empire. This ship was the world's first armoured submergible
battleship used by Ad-miral Yi when he fought against Japanese (also called 'Wae' at the
time) navy during their invasion (AD 1592-1598). The ship played a significant role in
defeating the invaders by winning all 24 sea battles and became a pride of Korean ship
building history. Many countries including UK and even Japan are learning about the history
of this ship at their naval academies as the world's first assault ship [1-6].
However, only the roles played by Admiral Yi and his ship are being emphasized in
current Korean textbooks while the contributions by both Ryu and Na are described
minimally. Therefore, the signifi-cant activities of these two prominent figures will be
reflected on the textbooks. Today, the intense competitions at the world market in an era of
internationalization and liberalization are increasingly emphasizing the importance of R&D
investments by governments and firms. On the other hand, the possibility of desolation of
human life by scientism, technicism and materialism are also increasing.
AJMACL
Copyright ⓒ 2016 GV School Publication
Asia-Pacific Journal of Advanced Research in Music, Arts, Culture and Literature
Vol. 1, No. 1 (2016)
Therefore, in order to direct these double-faced ideas in the right direction, a
multidisciplinary study in which humanities and science are integrated should be pursued and
taught to students. This study proposes that the science-technology history to be included in
the college history curriculum as a proper teaching-learning process. The term Research and
Development (R&D) refers to "a creative work to augment the knowledge of human, culture
and society and use of knowledges to devise new applications", according to the OECD.
R&D's can be scientific, technology development-oriented, and sometimes carried out as a
part of corporate or government activities.
In some way, Premier Ryu secured the R&D budget in his government by using national
finance before he attempted to persuade King Seonjo. General Na was in charge of
construction of turtle ships and followed Admiral Yi, in his war against Japanese navy,
making a significant contribution. Meanwhile, ICT and R&D have currently become two big
issues in the ROK and many academic conferences are being held regarding these two
subjects. Especially, in Honam region, the study of turtle ships is very active. Thus, a new
history curriculum that studies Admiral Yi's turtle ships is pro-posed in this study as one of
the early case of Korean R&D history. The currencies give people a sense of belonging and
pride by inserting their country‟s proud figures or cultural illustrations so that the currencies
have some potential educational values in pedagogical perspective.
Figure 1. Korean Currencies Using the Images of Turtle Ships
The turtle ship described in this study has been used for the Korean currencies since
establishment of the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) as shown in Fig. 1. The
pictures (a), (b), and (c) were the currencies printed by the US in 1953 and had been used
during the period from Feb. 17 1953 to Jun. 10 1962, indicating 10 Hwan (old Korean
denomination), 100 Hwan and 1,000 Hwan, respectively. We can see that the turtle ship was
used at the time. The pictures (d) and (e) were the 500 Won currencies used from 1960s to
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Asia-Pacific Journal of Advanced Research in Music, Arts, Culture and Literature
Vol. 1, No. 1 (2016)
1970s and this time both Admiral Yi and his turtle ship appeared on them. Meanwhile, the
turtle ship is being printed only on a rarely used 5 won coin (2016) whereas Admiral Yi can
be seen on a 100 won coin. A new curriculum has been proposed in this study in the hope of
reflecting the efforts of many people in Josun Dynasty who participated in the construction
project of turtle ships along with Admiral Yi on current history curriculum.
The term „latent curriculum‟ appeared as a result of observations where some conflicting
or unintended learning results have been found deviating from the actual goal of the
curriculum. Such observations were possible as pedagogical perspectives on the existing
curriculums had been changed and become more sophisticated. In some cases, students go
through many experiences that are not intended by school as they also experience other things
beyond the boundaries of school curriculums, plans, and regulations in their daily school life.
These experiences can be functional or dysfunctional. The other term „latent function‟ derived
from an anthropologist Robert K. Merton‟s observation of Hopi Indians‟ in the Arizona
region.
Many countries are using the images on the currencies, coins, and stamps for the naming of
government/public facilities as well as military armaments (e.g., subway stations or ships).
These facts are then printed on their textbooks with the explanations of their significance.
Thus, this study aims to create a curriculum with which students can learn about these
historical images in detail, focusing on the figures acknowledged by the ROK Navy.
2. Related Research
Since there are many preceding researches [1-3] regarding outbreak and progress of
the Japanese Invasion of (1592) (Imjinwaeran), Admiral Yi's naval battles, land
warfares, as well the description and analyses of 'Nanjungilgi' which described his
warfares in detail, it is safe to say that the horizon of understanding is quite wide [4]. A
method of referring to the books and literatures is widely used to understand
Imjinwaeran. Two outstanding examples are 'Jingbirok' [10] and 'Nanjungilgi' [11]
written by Premier Ryu and Admiral Yi, respectively. On the other hand, it is possible
to find quite different perspectives through the Japa-nese narrative literatures like
'Conquest of Josun' [12] by commander Ozeki under a vanguard Gen-eral Konishi
Yukinaga, 'Josun Diary' [13] by Shitak, a war-time Zen priest, and 'The Story of Josun'
[14] by commander Tachibana Mubesige. Then, what was the war like in the eyes of
third parties? There are a few books written by Europe-ans remaining and one of them
is a literature titled 'Japanese History' [15] written by a Portuguese Jesuit missionary
Luis Frois. Frois went over to Japan in (1563) to propagate Catholic and maintained a
close relationship with Shoguns (a man of supreme power) like Oda Nobunaga and
Toyotomi Hi-deyoshi until his death in Nagasaki (1597). Well-acquainted with internal
affairs of Japan, he docu-mented the history covering the period from 1549 to 1594
following the Portuguese national project which was to publish the history of
Portuguese East Indies, where the cause, and development of Japanese invasion and
final defeat of their war had been described in detail through his eyes as a westerner.
The same was published in the ROK with the title 'Imjinwaeran and Toyotomi
Hideyoshi' [16].
3. Proposed Curriculum
In the ROK navy, the names of submarines are taken from the generals or commanders
who had defeated Japanese forces, or the anti-Japanese independence fighters. Navy vessel
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'Jeong Ji' (1800t) took the name of General Jeong Ji (Koryo Dynasty) who subjugated
Japanese pirates in the southern coasts of Korean Peninsula. Korea's first submarine
'Jangbogo' (1200t) borrowed the name of a commander (Shilla Dynasty) who defeated pirates
to protect people and secured safe sea trading route in the southern sea by establishing a navy
and trading base (Cheonghaejin) at Wando.
There are other notable names such as Commander Yi Cheon (Koryo Dynasty) who
defeated Mongolian military during Koryo-Mongol war, and Choe Mu-Seon (1325-1395)
who invented an explosive powder for the first time in Korea and used it as a weapon against
Japanese invaders. He was both scientist and a military man. Bak Wi, another submarine
name, subjugated Tsushima Island and burned 300 enemy ships with his 100 battle ships to
round-up Japanese pirates at the end of Koryo Dynasty. Commander Yi jong-Mu's name was
also used for a submarine as he achieved the same brilliant success as Bak. Additionally, 4
submarines uses the names of heroes of Imjinwaeran. A spearheading commander under
Admiral Yi was Jung Wun who achieved many remarkable military gains and perished in the
sea battle of Busanpo. Yi Eok-Gi, a commander of Jeolla Province, participated many battles
along with Admiral Yi and Won Gyun contributing much successes. Again, Gneral Yi's name
is being used by both submarine and destroyer. Na Dae-Yong distinguished himself in the
battles with Admiral Yi. He led the construction of turtle ships.
3.1. Historical Perspectives on Ryu Seong-Ryong's Achievements
On the 24th of March 2011, the 3rd AEGIS vessel of Korean Navy (KDX-III) was named as
Seoae Ryu Seong-Ryong. Fig. 2 shows the vessel and its logo.
Figure 2. AEGIS Vessel 'Seoae Ryu Seong-Ryong', the ROK Navy
Ryu, who had saved the country by recommending the great generals like Yi Sun-Shin and
Kwon Ryul, revived as an military ship participated in by high-ranking government and
military officials during its launching ceremony. Meanwhile, having the name 'Shield of God',
AEGIS vessel has a system that can detect over 2,000 targets simultaneously and attack more
200 of them. The ROK Navy has deployed the first AEGIS vessel, 'Sejongdaewang' (7,600t)
20 years after (2008) starting their Korean-model destroyer acquisition project in 1986. The
second one, 'Yulgok II' was officially commissioned in September 2010, after its launching in
November 2008. The construction of the vessel started in 2007. There were many opinions
regarding the naming of AEGIS vessels. The ROK Navy had 3 names (i.e., King Sejong,
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Vol. 1, No. 1 (2016)
Yulgok II, and General Kwon Ryul) prior to their commissioning but taking the names of
civilians and unknown soldiers was an another option. An Yong-Bok, a fisherman who acted
as a protector of Ulleungdo and Dokdo Islands, and the sergeant Ji Deok-Chil who was killed
in action while attempting to rescue a fellow soldiers at the Vietnam War were the candidates
but they were not considered eventually. The 3rd ship's candidate was General Kwon Ryul,
but considering the historical significance, Ryu's name was chosen instead. Such a change
was due to Kwon Ryul's punishment of Admiral Won Gyun for losing a sea battle. An army
general punishing a navy admiral was not accepted well among the Navy officials.
3.2. Historical Perspectives on Na Dae-Yong's Achievements
Since Na's image associated with the development of turtle ship is so strong, he always
makes an appearance when explaining the history of turtle ship. However, his personal profile
is relatively not known. Despite the controversy, his name is being used for a Jangbogo-class
submarine as the ROK Navy recognizes him as one of the heroes of Imjinwaeran who had
contributed to so many sea battles, and as a man of pen and sword.
As shown in Fig. 3, the SS-069 Janbogo-class submarine has been named as
Nadaeyongham and is being operated since December 2000.
Figure 3. ROK Navy's 'Nadaeyong' Submarine
4. Conclusion and Future Work
This study has proposed that the description and history of works performed by Seoae Ryu
Seong-Ryong and Cheam Na Dae-Yong to be included in the ROK's science and technology
history curriculum to give a historical lesson to students that the development history of turtle
ships reflects the benefits of watertight security posture and bold R&D investments.
The pictures of ships and vessels shown above will be included in the curriculum along
with existing history contents. We suggest to include more names and pictures in the
textbooks. Other countries are using the images printed on the bills, commemorative coins
and stamps in their textbooks so that we should also include those historical figures
recognized by the ROK Navy in our teaching materials. In order for the new curriculum to be
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included in the overall Korean Middle School history curriculum, a higher citation index is
needed followed by the recognition by both history and history education circles. This process
could take many years and the change will be made only when updating the textbooks. We
expect that the proposed curriculum will be substantial in content so that those students
entering the science and engineering fields can learn more details about the great figures
involved in the development process of turtle ships, as part of our proud cultural heritage.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Emeritus Professor Hong-Wook Huh (Former Dean of The
College of Education, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea).
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