The Admiral: Roaring Currents (Korean: 명량), or simply The Admiral, is a 2014 South Korean epic historical action-war film directed and co-written by Kim Han-min. Based on the historical Battle of Myeongryang, it stars an ensemble cast led by Choi Min-sik as the Korean naval commander Yi Sun-sin. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on July 30, 2014.
The film recorded 10 million admissions only 12 days after its premiere and set a record in South Korea for achieving such a high number of viewers in the shortest amount of time. The movie also surpassed Avatar's record of 13 million viewers to become the most-watched and highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea with 17.6 million admissions and a worldwide gross of US$138.3 million.
A prequel, Hansan: Rising Dragon, was released in 2022 and a sequel, Noryang: Deadly Sea, was released in 2023.
Contents
Plot
The film revolves around the titular Battle of Myeongryang around 1597, which is regarded as one of legendary Joseon Admiral Yi Sun-sin's most remarkable naval victories. He led only 12 ships under his command to a heroic victory against an invading Japanese fleet of 133 vessels.
At the onset of the battle at their base in Haenam, the Japanese invaders under Tōdō Takatora are confident that their planned expedition to Hansong to capture King Seonjo will be rather straightforward. However, they remain reserved over the news that Joseon's greatest admiral, Yi Sun-sin, has been restored to his former command after the disaster at Chilcheollyang, which has reduced the Korean navy to a mere dozen battle-ready ships. To ensure the success of the operation, Hideyoshi sends one of his finest naval war leaders to Joseon, Kurushima Michifusa, the commander of the Murakami Clan Navy who is an expert in naval combat but enjoys a shaky reputation among his fellow daimyō as a pirate. One of the admirals of the Japanese Left Army, Wakizaka, first meets Kurushima and his lieutenant, Kimura, while he finishes off the remnants of a group of Joseon soldiers. He especially distrusts Kurushima and draws his sword on him several times, especially after the latter insults him by shaming his defeat at Hansan Island. Later, Kurushima and Haru, his sharpshooter, drink sake as Kurushima elaborates on his personal vendetta against Yi Sun-sin, stating that his brother Michiyuki had been killed by the latter earlier in the war.
In the meantime, Yi Sun-sin is facing the despair mounting among his officers and troops. Facing an enemy force that far outnumbers them and seeing no reasonable chance of success in the inevitable clash even with one single turtle ship remaining, many consider the fight lost before it has even started. Despite his outwardly indifferent demeanor, Yi is hard-pressed to maintain morale among his men and desperate to find a solution to his problem. However, the breaking point seems to be reached when General Bae Seol, the deserter of Chilcheollyang, burns the turtle ship and has his men try to assassinate Yi. Although Yi escapes and Bae is killed for his act of treachery, the ship is lost, which boosts confidence among the Japanese and further dispirits Yi's troops. To seek an answer, Yi travels to the Myeongryang Strait, an area notorious for its strong and treacherous currents, which the Japanese intend to cross on their way to Hansong. Later, he confides in his son Hoe that to win the fight, he must turn the fear paralyzing his men into courage.
Historical background
The Battle of Myeongryang, on October 26, 1597, the Korean Joseon Kingdom's navy, led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, fought the Japanese navy in the Myeongryang Strait, near Jindo Island, off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula.
With only 13 ships remaining from Admiral Wŏn Kyun's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chilchonryang, Admiral Yi held the strait as a "last stand" battle against the Japanese navy, who were sailing to support their land army's advance towards the Joseon capital of Hanyang (modern-day Seoul).
Release
Credits
CJ Entertainment (2014) (Korea) (theatrical)
Big Stone Picture (2014) (Korea) (theatrical)
Cj Entertainment (2014) (Korea) (theatrical)
CJ CGV Viet Nam (2014) (Vietnam) (theatrical)
CJ Entertainment America (2014) (USA) (theatrical)
CJ Entertainment America (2014) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
CJ Entertainment (2014) (Worldwide) (theatrical)
Min Gyo Tour (2014) (Australia) (theatrical)
Viva International Pictures (2015) (Philippines) (theatrical)
Madman Entertainment (2015) (Australia) (DVD)
New KSM (2015) (Germany) (DVD)
Twin Co. Ltd. (2015) (Japan) (DVD)
Reception
Box office
The Admiral: Roaring Currents drew 682,882 viewers on its first day in theaters on July 30, 2014, grossing US$4.77 million. This was the all-time highest opening day box office in South Korea, for both a foreign and domestic film, breaking the previous record set by Kundo: Age of the Rampant. It went on to set other new records: highest opening weekend, with 3.35 million admissions (US$25.94 million), surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon's record of 2.37 million (set in 2011) by 41%; biggest single day for a film in South Korean history with 1.25 million admissions (US$9.71 million); the first time that a film generated over ₩10 billion in a single day; and the quickest film to reach 10 million admissions.
By August 15, The Admiral: Roaring Currents became the all-time most-watched film in South Korea, breaking the previous record held by Hollywood blockbuster Avatar (13.62 million). By August 17, it became the first film to sell more than 14 million tickets in South Korean theaters and the first domestic film to exceed the US$100 million mark. At 17,607,820 admissions, it has grossed US$132 million in South Korea.
It opened in limited release across 30 theaters in North America, beginning August 15, 2014. Due to favorable reviews from critics and moviegoers, it expanded to 42 theaters on its second week, and its first week gross of US$1.18 million surpassed the previous record held by Masquerade (US$923,442) as the highest-grossing film directly distributed by a South Korean distributor. The film has grossed CN¥26.53 million in China, US$2,589,811 in the United States, and US$138.3 million internationally.
Critical response
Naval battle scene
Song Ji-hyun wrote in The Korea Economic Daily that "61 minutes of naval battle scene was not boring at all."
Choi Su-moon wrote in the Seoul Economic Daily that "By only showing navy's efforts not chains, like a theory from historians, it upgraded the movie's quality."
Heo Ji-woong, in Seol Jeon, said that "61 minutes of naval battle scene is hard to figure out in Hollywood, and it was great."
Amazing casts and acting ability
SBS funE's Kim Ji-hye said, "Nice casting and amazing acting ability upgraded the movie's quality. Actors feelings were well delivered."
Kim Hyun-shik wrote in No Cut News that "Because it only followed history, there is no impact, although there are romance going on."
MBN Yoo Myung-joon said that "The movie was so focused on Korean navy, especially Yi Sun-sin, and Japanese navy seemed insignificant."
Sequels
While producing The Admiral: Roaring Currents in 2013, Big Stone Pictures announced plans to produce two more films related to Yi Sun-sin if the first film was successful. It was later confirmed that the rest of the trilogy would be produced with Kim Han-min directing.
The second film in the trilogy, Hansan: Rising Dragon, was released in 2022 to box office success. It is based on the Battle of Hansan Island, with Park Hae-il playing Yi Sun-sin.
The third film of the trilogy, Noryang: Deadly Sea, based on the Battle of Noryang, was released in December 2023.
