@wittmann:
Only just looked at the pictures Marc. 60 years ago, wow! I also looked at what their navy is today, because of your post. Thank you.
My pleasure. As I was exiting the Metro station near the Old Port, I happened to see a group of about half a dozen sailors from the Korean ships entering the station. As far as I could tell from their uniforms (they wore the classic “dixie cup” naval caps) they were enlisted sailors rather than officers, and they appeared quite young. They looked understandably eager to enjoy their liberty time ashore. There was a good crowd of locals waiting to visit the ships when I arrived, despite the drizzly weather. One of the areas of the supply vessel which was accessible to the public was a room containing a small trade show for the Korean defense industry, with videos and posters and models and pamphlets. One of the posters, which highlighted Korean naval history, showed a portrait of Admiral Yi Sung-sin and included an illustration of a curious-looking ship which the text didn’t discuss to any extent, but which I recognized as one of the famous “turtle ships” which Yi Sung-sin had created to defend Korea from a Japanese invasion. They were history’s first armoured warships: cannon-armed, oar-propelled galleys whose upperworks were covered by protective iron plates (studded with sharp spikes to discourage enemy sailors from boarding). As I recall, they helped Korea win some important naval battles against Japan, and I think that Yi Sung-sin (in the finest Nelsonian tradition) died just as Korea won the final decisive engagement.
By the way, I’ve just realized that I should have said “the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice” because, technically, the war never officially ended.
