Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who led the Joseon Navy to a myth of invincibility during the Hideyoshi invasion, was a true soldier and leader who struggled to protect people. Drama Yi Sun-shin is not a biography of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, nor does it inetnd to reconstruct a part of the Joseon Dynasty that existed in the 16th century. This drama will merely look into many human beings, incliuding Yi Sun-shin, who underwent an extreme situation. It is not just a historical drama series. It’s rather about human nature that makes both of the war and peace. It is a Korean version of “War and Peace” in 21st century. No hero has ever been sent by heaven. He has emerged as one ultimately after undergoing a lifelong process. Drama Yi Sun-shin is designed to shed a new light upon him as a human being.

Jingbirok, the name of a book written by real-life Joseon historian and scholar Ryu Seong Ryong (Kim Sang Joong),detailing the Imjin War (1592-1598). The drama will be a telling of historical events with the scholar as the central character, in the samevein as “Jung Do Jun”(who influenced the founding of the Joseon dynasty). Ryu Seong Ryong was an official who served during King Seonjo’s reign in the late 16th century. He was a brilliant Confucian scholar who was put in charge of military operations during the Imjin War, and greatly influenced AdmiralLee Soon Shin.

The fifth episode of the 500 Years of Joseon Dynasty series depicts the history of the Imjin War, also known as the Seven Year War, where the newly unified Japan was led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and invaded Korea twice, from 1592 to 1598. The fighting in this extended period includes the famous naval battles under Admiral Lee Soon Shin.