Yi Sun-sin trilogy

Yi Sun-sin trilogy
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

The 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: Deadly Sea (2023) is based on Battle of Noryang (1598).^[1]

Overview

Title	Release date (South Korea)	Running time	Budget	Distributor
The Admiral: Roaring Currents	July 30, 2014	127 minutes	₩14.8 billion	CJ Entertainment
Hansan: Rising Dragon	July 27, 2022	129 minutes	₩31.2 billion	Lotte Entertainment
Noryang: Deadly Sea	December 20, 2023	153 minutes	₩31.2 billion	Lotte Entertainment

Cast

Choi Min-sik portrayed 52-year-old Yi in *The Admiral* (2014).

Park Hae-il portrayed 47-year-old Yi in *Hansan* (2022).

Kim Yoon-seok portrays 53-year-old Yi in *Noryang: Deadly Sea* (2023).

Characters	Films
	The Admiral: Roaring Currents	Hansan: Rising Dragon	Noryang: Deadly Sea
	2014	2022	2023
Yi Sun-sin	Choi Min-sik	Park Hae-il	Kim Yoon-seok
Wakisaka Yasuharu	Cho Jin-woong	Byun Yo-han
Lim Jun-young	Jin Goo	Ok Taec-yeon
Junsa	Ryohei Otani	Kim Sung-kyu
Katō Yoshiaki	Kim Kang-il	Kim Sung-kyun

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: Deadly Sea 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.^[a] 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. It became the 2nd highest-grossing Korean film of 2022 with 7.26 million admissions.^[14]^[15]

Notes

^ In 2019 Extreme Job broke The Admiral's record for the highest-grossing South Korean film. But as of July 2022, The Admiral is still the most viewed South Korean film of all the time.

References

^ Park Jin-young (July 1, 2022). '명량' 최민식→'한산' 박해일→'노량' 김윤석…영웅 이순신 3부작 ['Myeongnyang' Choi Min-sik → 'Hansan' Park Hae-il → 'Noryang' Kim Yun-seok… Hero Yi Sun-sin Trilogy] (in Korean). Joy News. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ "초대형 '명량대첩' 영화 '명량-회오리 바다' 크랭크인" [Crank-in of the super-large 'Battle of Myeongnyang' movie 'Myeongnyang - The Sea of Whirlwinds']. Yunhap News (in Korean). January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^ '명량' '한산' '노량' 이순신 3부작 나오나 ['Myeongnyang', 'Hansan' and 'Noryang' Lee Soon-shin trilogy coming out]. Sports Club (in Korean). August 4, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^ 역대 1위 '명량', 이순신 3부작 확정되나 "언젠가는.." ['Myeongryang', the all-time No. 1 'Myeongryang', a trilogy confirmed by Lee Soon-shin, but "Someday..."]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). August 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Shim Sun-ah (July 21, 2022). "'Hansan' director spellbound by legendary Korean naval hero". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Soo Min (July 20, 2022). "'Hansan: Rising Dragon': Release Date, Trailer, Plot, and Cast". Newsweek (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ Steven Borowiec (August 14, 2014). "Heroic tale of 'The Admiral: Roaring Currents' is a hit in South Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ "[Herald Review] Fearful battle for the fearless admiral". The Korea Herald. August 3, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ Lee Hyo-won (December 21, 2014). "2014 South Korean Box Office: 'Roaring Currents' Takes All-Time Record, Stellar Year for Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ Anita Busch (September 22, 2014). "'The Admiral: Roaring Currents' Becomes Top Grossing Korean Film In U.S." Deadline. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ Kim Sung-hyun (July 22, 2022). "Historic Blockbuster 'Hansan' to Open Later This Month". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Song Seung-hyun (July 20, 2022). "'Hansan' director claims film is more than just a nationalistic flick". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Oh Seung-hoon (July 21, 2022). '명량'에 없던 거북선 맹활약, 통쾌한 학익진…'한산'에 다 모였다 [The turtle ship, which was not in 'Myeongryang', was very active, and the exhilarating Hak Ik-jin... Everyone gathered in 'Hansan']. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved July 23, 2022 – via Naver.
^ "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
^ Chae Tae-byung (December 31, 2022). [더차트]2022 '범죄도시2' 흥행 독주…한산 vs 탑건 2위는? [[The Chart] 2022 'Crime City 2' box office solo... Hansan vs. Top Gun?]. Money Today [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Naver.

[9] In 2019 Extreme Job broke The Admiral's record for the highest-grossing South Korean film. But as of July 2022, The Admiral is still the most viewed South Korean film of all the time.

[1] Park Jin-young (July 1, 2022). '명량' 최민식→'한산' 박해일→'노량' 김윤석…영웅 이순신 3부작 ['Myeongnyang' Choi Min-sik → 'Hansan' Park Hae-il → 'Noryang' Kim Yun-seok… Hero Yi Sun-sin Trilogy] (in Korean). Joy News. Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[2] "초대형 '명량대첩' 영화 '명량-회오리 바다' 크랭크인" [Crank-in of the super-large 'Battle of Myeongnyang' movie 'Myeongnyang - The Sea of Whirlwinds']. Yunhap News (in Korean). January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.

[3] '명량' '한산' '노량' 이순신 3부작 나오나 ['Myeongnyang', 'Hansan' and 'Noryang' Lee Soon-shin trilogy coming out]. Sports Club (in Korean). August 4, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.

[trilogy-4] 역대 1위 '명량', 이순신 3부작 확정되나 "언젠가는.." ['Myeongryang', the all-time No. 1 'Myeongryang', a trilogy confirmed by Lee Soon-shin, but "Someday..."]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). August 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.

[5] Shim Sun-ah (July 21, 2022). "'Hansan' director spellbound by legendary Korean naval hero". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.

[6] Soo Min (July 20, 2022). "'Hansan: Rising Dragon': Release Date, Trailer, Plot, and Cast". Newsweek (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[7] Steven Borowiec (August 14, 2014). "Heroic tale of 'The Admiral: Roaring Currents' is a hit in South Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[8] "[Herald Review] Fearful battle for the fearless admiral". The Korea Herald. August 3, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[10] Lee Hyo-won (December 21, 2014). "2014 South Korean Box Office: 'Roaring Currents' Takes All-Time Record, Stellar Year for Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[11] Anita Busch (September 22, 2014). "'The Admiral: Roaring Currents' Becomes Top Grossing Korean Film In U.S." Deadline. Retrieved July 24, 2022.

[12] Kim Sung-hyun (July 22, 2022). "Historic Blockbuster 'Hansan' to Open Later This Month". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Naver.

[13] Song Seung-hyun (July 20, 2022). "'Hansan' director claims film is more than just a nationalistic flick". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2022 – via Naver.

[14] Oh Seung-hoon (July 21, 2022). '명량'에 없던 거북선 맹활약, 통쾌한 학익진…'한산'에 다 모였다 [The turtle ship, which was not in 'Myeongryang', was very active, and the exhilarating Hak Ik-jin... Everyone gathered in 'Hansan']. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved July 23, 2022 – via Naver.

[15] "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved September 26, 2022.

[16] Chae Tae-byung (December 31, 2022). [더차트]2022 '범죄도시2' 흥행 독주…한산 vs 탑건 2위는? [[The Chart] 2022 'Crime City 2' box office solo... Hansan vs. Top Gun?]. Money Today [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Naver.

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