🎧 Yul's Korea Audio Guide
Tongyeong & Dongpirang Mural Village
Narrated in English with Korean phrases by YUL of KVIBE IDOLS.
🎵 Background music: Still in That Spring (그 봄에 머물러) — KVIBE IDOLS · Listen to the full song →
Full transcript
Annyeong, yeoreobun! Yul here in Tongyeong, a harbor city with so many islands that people call it the Naples of the East. But this pretty sea was once a battlefield, the stage for one of the greatest naval victories in history.
The year is 1592. Japanese armies have invaded Joseon. That summer, a Japanese commander named Wakizaka Yasuharu leads about seventy ships into a narrow strait. Admiral Yi Sun-sin knows fighting in there is too risky. So he sends a few ships forward as bait. The Japanese chase them out into the open sea near Hansan Island, and then, surprise! Yi's fleet spreads out in a U shape, like the wings of a crane, and closes in. Most of the Japanese fleet is destroyed. This is the Battle of Hansan Island. Daebak!
In 1593, Yi became the first commander of the navies of three provinces, with his base on Hansan Island. Later, this naval headquarters, Tongjeyeong, moved to this town, and that's where the name Tongyeong comes from! For years the city was even called Chungmu, after Admiral Yi's posthumous title.
Now a modern twist. On the hill above the harbor sits Dongpirang village, once planned for demolition. But in 2007, a local civic group held a mural contest, artists covered the walls with paintings. Art saved the village!
Yul's tip! Ride the cable car up Mireuksan for island views, then try Chungmu gimbap: little rice rolls served with spicy squid and radish kimchi.
Next, a fortress where a fallen kingdom found a new home. Kaja!
