Photo = Lee Jeongwoo

A ceremony on Nov. 11 marks the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Korea Navy in front of the statue of legendary naval hero Admiral Yi Sun-sin at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. The day marks the launch of the Navy's ancestor, Marine Defense Group, on the same day in 1945, when Admiral Son Won-il, the country's first chief of naval operations, organized the force to protect the nation's waters.