commander of Asiatic race who never knew defeat and died in the presence of the enemy[.]" Admiral Yi is also accredited with improving the Turtle Ship. By the end of the 19th century, the Joseon navy had no significant naval force other than coast defense fortresses. In 1893, the Joseon court requested the British Consul-General to dispatch a naval officer for organizing a naval school in an attempt to modernize the navy. In September 1893, the navy school was established in Ganghwa Island. Lieutenant William H. Callwell, a retired British naval officer, and John W. Curtis of the Royal Marines, a gunnery instructor, served as instructors for 160 cadets and sailor recruits. However, the Royal Naval Academy was closed in November 1894, and the Joseon navy (i.e. Commander-in-Chief Three-Provincial Fleet) was brought to an end in 1895 due to the First Sino-Japanese War and the Gabo Reform. In 1903, the government of the Korean Empire purchased its first modern naval ship, KIS Yangmu (Hanja: 揚武), from Japan. She was originally a cargo ship called the Kachidatemaru. In 1904, the revenue cruiser, Gwangje (光濟) was delivered for the Korean maritime customs. She was built by Kawasaki Dockyard Company. The Korean naval tradition was disrupted after Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. Founding years Shortly after Korea was liberated from the Empire of Japan on August 15, 1945, Sohn Won-yil, a former merchant mariner and son of the Methodist minister and independence activist Sohn Jung-do, led the Maritime Affairs Association. The Maritime Affairs Association evolved in the Marine Defense Group on November 11, 1945 (Navy Foundation Day), and some 70 people proceeded to the former Imperial Japanese Navy's Chinkai Guard District at Jinhae to establish a naval unit. In June 1946, the Marine Defense Group became the Korean Coast Guard, and officially recognized by the United States Army Military Government in Korea. The Korean Coast Guard acquired 36 patrol craft (mainly ex-IJN and USN minecraft) through the Military Government. Meanwhile, the Military Government provided limited assistance through U.S. Navy (USN) and U.S. Coast Guard personnel then in South Korea. After the South Korean government was established on August 15, 1948, the Korean Coast Guard was formally became the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), and Sohn was appointed as the first Chief of Naval Operations of the ROK Navy on September 5, 1948. In October 1949, the ROK Navy