• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.106-119
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• 2014

The $76^{th}$ National Treasure is consisted of seven volumes of Nanjung Ilgi (War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin; each titled by the author based on the zodiac name of the year covered, i.e. Imjin Ilgi, Gyesa Ilgi, Gabo Ilgi, Byeongsin Ilgi, Jeongyu Ilgi, Sok Jeongyu Ilgi, Musul Ilgi), Seogancheob (Letters of Admiral Yi) and Imjin Jangcho (Drafts of Imjin War Reports of Admiral Yi). These are currently in the custody of Hyeonchungsa shrine, the state-managed memorial shrine of Admiral Yi, and has been added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in June 2013 in the appreciation of its historical and academic importance as a commander's hand-written battlefield accounts during Japanese invasions of Korea. Imjin Jangcho, among these nine volumes, is a record of battles, including observations on the enemy fleets, suggestions on naval matters, battle expenditure, and methods of battle preparation, transcribed by someone else according to Admiral Yi's instructions. It is Admiral Yi's honest detailobservations on the war situation during Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 as a Naval Commander of Left Jeolla Province, till 1594 (Year 27 of King Seonjo's reign) as a Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the South. It is a draft of the war report to be submitted to the King in a single volume as a folio (each sheet folded once to produce one leaf) bound in a side-stitched binding with five holes and inner binding of twisted paper. This study explores the condition and the treatment performed on Imjin Jangcho which could have an implication for the conservation of cultural assets on paper of late Joseon Dynasty.