Gogeumdo

Gogeumdo, an island in Wando County, is where Admiral Yi Sun-sin set up his last headquarters. In 1598, the final year of the Japanese invasions of Korea, the Korean and Chinese Ming navies made camp together on Myodangdo at the island's eastern edge, and after the admiral fell at the Battle of Noryang his body was brought back here. Since Gogeum Bridge opened in 2007, the island is just a few minutes' drive from Gangjin on the mainland.

Joint headquarters of two navies

On 17 February 1598 (lunar calendar), Yi Sun-sin moved his base and some 8,000 sailors from Gohado, in today's Mokpo, to Gogeumdo. It was a natural stronghold commanding the sea lanes, and once he was established here the Japanese troops who had been raiding Jangheung and Goheung pulled back towards Suncheon, so there was little fighting. Instead the admiral built his headquarters and took in refugees. The statesman Yu Seong-ryong wrote in his war memoir, the Jingbirok, that tens of thousands of households gathered on Gogeumdo, ten times as many as during Yi's earlier years on Hansando.

On 16 July the same year the Ming admiral Chen Lin (Jin Rin in Korean) arrived with 5,000 sailors. With both forces camped on Myodangdo, the islet served for about seven months as the joint headquarters of the Korean and Ming fleets. The allied fleet sailed in September to attack the Japanese fortress at Suncheon, returned to Gogeumdo in October to regroup, and in November set out for Noryang.

Where the admiral's body rested

On the morning of 19 November 1598 (16 December in the Western calendar), Yi Sun-sin was killed at the Battle of Noryang, aged 54. His body was brought back to Gogeumdo and laid at Wolsongdae on Myodangdo, until it left for his family home in Asan on 11 February 1599. Sources differ on how long it stayed here: ten days or 88 days. Local lore says that grass still refuses to grow on the spot.

What to see

• Chungmusa Shrine: the shrine to Yi Sun-sin. It began as a shrine to Guan Yu, the Chinese god of war, built by Chen Lin after the general appeared to him in a dream, to pray for his men's safety. During the Japanese occupation the statue of Guan Yu, the spirit tablets and other relics were thrown into the sea, and Chungmusa was built on the site after liberation.
• Okcheonsa: a small hermitage built beside the shrine in 1666 during repairs, to guard it and help with the rites.
• Wolsongdae: the spot where the admiral's body lay in state, close to Chungmusa.
• Gogeumdo dolmens: a group of large, well-preserved prehistoric dolmens near the Yi Sun-sin site, open at all times and free.

The Myodangdo site was designated a national Historic Site in 1963.

The island itself

Gogeumdo is a fairly large island of about 40 km² with 54.5 km of coastline. Steep rocky hills of 140 to 226 metres rise in the north-west, while the south-east is low and flat. Oyster and laver (seaweed) farming thrive in the surrounding waters. Three bridges connect the island with Maryang in Gangjin, Yaksan and the Wando side, so a crossing that once meant more than 40 minutes on a boat now takes five minutes by car.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: the Myodangdo Yi Sun-sin site is open daily, 09:00–18:00, and admission is free. There is parking and toilets (tel. 061-550-5464).
• Getting there: drive across Gogeum Bridge from Maryang in Gangjin. The sites on the island are spread out, so a car is the easiest way around.
• Time needed: allow 1–2 hours for Chungmusa, Wolsongdae and the dolmens.
• Combine with: add bridge-linked Yaksando, Wando and the Cheonghaejin site for a day of island driving in Wando County. Heading back via Gangjin, Dasan Chodang is close too.