This copy of the exploits of Adm. Yi Sun-sin, one of Korea's national heroes and the savior of the nation from a Japanese invasion in 1592, was handed out in front of the Barnes and Nobles at Union Square for free one Saturday I was working the green market.
It tells the story of one of Korea's greatest military geniuses (chosen as the greatest figure in Korean history by a 43.8% of voters in 2005) and about the rather insecure land nestled between two historical behemoths, China and Japan. The continued invasions by the close neighbors have left an indelible imprint upon the national psyche of Koreans.
This book is paperback and bound as if done at Kinko's, but the information is incredible. I can say that in American schools we learn of European explorers and the basic history of western Europe, from Greece to the Pilgrims, while glossing over thousands of years here and there. In thirty years of being alive I'd never heard of Yi Sun-sin, or, as we westerners would probably be more comfortable, Sun-sin Yi, or his great naval victories like the Battle of Hansan, or what's been labeled a Maritime Miracle, the Battle of Myongnyang.
It's an indispensable trove of history that westerners will never have heard of, and they were handing it out for free. Very cool.
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