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The Koreans, on the other hand, had few firearms and did not know how to use or manufacture them. Outnumbered and armed only with swords, bows and arrows, and spears, the Korean military was severely disadvantaged in the face of the Japanese invading army armed with 300,000 muskets. Although a few courageous Korean units resisted, such as those under the command of General Kim Si-Min, the army of Japan reached Seoul in just 15 days and occupied the entire country by May 1592. 

The Korean king, Son Jo, fled with his court to Uiju in the Northern Provinces with permission from the Ming emperor of China with whom the Koreans had several treaties. When the Ming armies joined in the fight, the tide of the war shifted away from the Japanese. They had to fight Korean guerilla groups as well as the Ming army, while at the same time finding themselves cut off from their supplies by Admiral named Yi Sun-Sin. Disease, malnutrition, and the cold soon took its toll on Japanese morale. Having lost the will to fight, retreating Japanese forces were stalked by guerilla forces led by Confucian scholars and Buddhist monks. Peace negotiations eventually took place between the Ming general and the Japanese, but these talks dragged on for five years and reached no conclusion.

In early 1592, at the outset of this conflict, Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, in charge of the Right Division of Chulla Province, made his headquarters in the port city of Yosu. In Yosu, he constructed his famed turtle ships. The first Kobukson was launched and outfitted with cannons only two days before the first Japanese troops landed at Pusan. In the fifth month of 1592, assisted by Admiral Won Kyun of the Left Division of Chulla Province, Admiral Yi engaged the Japanese at Okpa. In his first battle, Admiral Yi commanded 80 ships compared to the Japanese naval force of 800 ships. The Japanese were trying to re-supply their northern bases from their port at Pusan. By the end of the day, Yi had set afire 26 Japanese ships and the rest had turned to flee. Giving chase, he sank many more, leaving the entire Japanese fleet scattered. 

Several major engagements followed in which Admiral Yi annihilated every Japanese squadron he encountered. Courageous and a tactical genius, he seemed to be able to outguess the enemy. In one incident, Admiral Yi dreamt that a robed man called out "The Japanese are coming." Seeing this as a sign, he rose to assemble his ships, sailed out, and surprised a large enemy fleet. He burned twelve enemy ships and scattered the rest. In the course of the battle, he demonstrated his bravery by not showing pain when shot in the shoulder. He revealed his injury only when the battle was over, at which time he bared his shoulder and ordered that the bullet be cut out.

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