Yi Sun-sin trilogy is a South Korean period war action film series directed by Kim Han-min based on three major naval battles led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The first film The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) is based on Battle of Myeongnyang (1597), the second Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022) depicts Battle of Hansan Island (1592) and the last film Noryang: Sea of Death (2023) is based on Battle of Noryang (1598).[1]

Yi Sun-sin trilogy
Park Hae-il as Yi Sun-sin in Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022)
Hangul	이순신 3부작
Directed by	Kim Han-min
Screenplay by	Kim Han-min Jeon Chul-hong (1)
Cinematography	Kim Tae-seong
Edited by	Kim Chang-ju (1) Lee Gang-hui (2) An Hyeon-geon (2)
Music by	Kim Tae-seong
Production company	Big Stone Pictures
Release date	2014–present
Country	South Korea
Languages	Korean Japanese

Overview

Cast

Development

In 2013, while producing The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Big Stone Pictures revealed their plans to produce two more films related to Yi Sun-sin, titled Emergence of Hansan Dragon and Noryang: Sea of Death as sequels, depending on the success of The Admiral.[2] Following the box office success of The Admiral which became the most-watched and highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea, production of the sequels was confirmed.[3][4]

According to director Kim, the charm of Admiral Yi Sun-shin has left him spellbound and inspired him to make a film trilogy about one of Korea's most celebrated historical figures.[5] In a statement in July 2022, Kim explained the different characteristics depicted in the three films:

"The three naval battles differ in their characteristics. The Battle of Hansan Island demonstrated Admiral Yi's wisdom; the Battle of Myeongnyang demonstrated his courage; and the Battle of Noryang demonstrated his insight...capturing these three facets of his character was a great challenge and also an honor.

— Kim Ha-min[6]

Films

The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)

Based on historical Battle of Myeongnyang (1597), The Admiral narrates the against-the-odds triumph over Japanese navy. The film focused on Yi’s planning for the battle and the swashbuckling naval clash.[7] 61 minutes of its naval battle between 12 vessels of the Korean navy by led Yi and 330 invading Japanese ships, captivated the audience and was praised by the critics.[8] The film attracted 17 million moviegoers becoming the most-viewed and highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea.[lower-alpha 1] It also became a box-office hit internationally and grossed US$138.3 million worldwide.[9][10]

Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022)

Hansan depicts the historical Battle of Hansan Island which took place five years before Battle of Myeongnyang depicted in The Admiral.[11] The naval battle scenes which takes 51 minutes of screentime in the Hansan were shot using visual effects, unlike the previous film The Admiral which was actually filmed in a boat floating on the sea.[12][13] It was released on 2,223 screens on July 27, 2022 in South Korea.

Notes

References