Can a historical myth be unbustible? Here's what I mean by that. Sometimes when you're exploring the past, you come across

a figure whose reputation has quite obviously been inflated by legend or conversely tarnished by slander.

But usually with a bit of research, some critical reading and a close comparison of historical sources, we can disprove many of these misconceptions.

We can bust the myth, or at least add some nuance to the story.

I mean, you know, obviously this kind of stuff is my bread and butter here.

But are some myths bust proof? There are rare cases where it seems pretty clear that the story that's been preserved about a person or an event is skewed in some way. A figure seems a little too perfect, or things seem to unfold in a way that seems

a little too close to a well-known storytelling trope, but we have no evidence to support a different

reading. This can often be the case with religious figures.

If you're not a believer, then you're likely going to be skeptical about the miraculous tales associated with Moses, the Buddha, Jesus, or the Prophet Muhammad.

But trying to find a historical source pertaining to the life of those figures that's not been written or redacted by their religious followers can be a difficult

and often impossible thing to do.

You might smell a myth, but with no available evidence to contradict it, that myth might prove to be

unbustible.

This can also happen with national heroes, people who have been held up as the embodiment of a particular national or cultural identity.

Sometimes the reputation of a national hero

can become so unassailable that getting a clear picture

of who they actually were can be difficult.

I would argue that this is the case with one of Korea's most celebrated historical figures.

The Admiral Yi Sunshin, savior of the Korean people and hero of the Great East Asian War, or what Koreans call the Imjin War.

In a 2019 Gallup poll,

Admiral Yee ranked number one on a list of historical figures

South Koreans respect the most.

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