Won Gyun - Legacy

Legacy

Next to his military career, Won Kyun is perhaps best known for his personal faults, which included excessive alcohol consumption and attempts at adultery. In his War Diaries, Yi Sun-Sin recalls reports and rumors about "cruel deeds" committed by Won and even mentions an incident in which Won had unsuccessfully attempted to seduce the wife of one of his subordinates, calling him a "wicked man" and (at least partially) blaming him for his degradation (as derivable from the citation, "Won employs all means to entrap me").

Much controversy lingers in regards to Won Gyun as a military leader. Widely panned by scholars and historians, there is recent research to suggest that Won Gyun may have been excessively vilified during the Park Chung-Hee administration in order to elevate Yi Sun-sin by juxtaposition. In particular, Won Gyun's earlier successes against the Jurchen have been buried and there is an interest in providing a more objective view of Won Gyun's military career.

While fault exists for Won Gyun's mistakes as a naval officer, much of the blame of the troubles during that period lies in the factionalized incompetence of the Seonjo court. However, it is still hard to ignore his actions and lack of competency as a naval commander and blame the political instability and indecision of the Seonjo court for the result of the battle of Chilcheonryang. The battle led to the near complete annihilation of the entire Korean naval combat forces in a single engagement against the Japanese fleets which were simply unable to prevail against the Korean fleets in any of the previous engagements.