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| Bows of Korea, an ancient tradition - An Interview with a Gukgung Craftsman, Kwon, Young Doek |
| Koreans enjoy archery, and are also particularly good at it. The world has been able observe the skill of Korean archers during the many Olympic Games where the Korean national archery teams won nearly every single gold medal. |
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Koreans ability with archery traces back to ancient time. Koreans were known as good archers, and the surrounding countries recorded the skill and deeds of Korean archers regarding their excellent marksman-ship at archery.
Gukgung is the name of the traditional bow used in Korea. It has been in existence through out the whole of Korean history. The bow used today is the same as the one that used over 2000 years ago. It has the reputation as the best and the most accurate bow in the world, able to a target at the distance of 145 meters. There is a man whose family has been made Gukgung for 11 generations. His name is Kwon, Young Deok (63 years old), and he makes Gukgung the same way his ancestors did. Here is his expert explanation regarding the history and structure of Gukgung.
The origin of Gukgung traces back 2000 years. The bow was considered the most important weapon in Korea, and archery was the most widespread military art among people.
The bow had been used as a common hunting equipment and weapon in battle around the world since the Paleolithic Age. Gukgung, which succeeds the north district nomads' tradition, is distinguished from stationary archery in the way that it shoots arrows on the running horse. Nomads spent their life on the horse, and their main weapon was a bow. Koreans kept the use of bows on horseback, what they used was Gukgung.
A bow can have various characteristics according to the construction materials and shapes. For Gukgung that represents the traditional Korean bow, water buffalo's horn is used as its material. It has the shape of a short bow about 1.20 m to 1.30 m length. And is about 1 m shorter than the Japanese long bow. The name Gukgung derives its name form the fact that it is mainly made of horn, particularly, the horn of a water buffalo. The other materials used besides horn are cow tendon, bamboo, mulberry tree, and air bladder of fish. The shape of the bow stays in a C-shape when the bowstring is not pulled. However, when it's pulled, the bow draws two curved lines from the middle. Because of the good quality of the materials, it's very elastic and has a long maximum shooting distance.
Modern Gukgungs still keeps the shape and the materials that were used 2,000 years ago. The very first step in producing Gukgung is cutting a bamboo tree, baking it and spreading it flat. The bamboo becomes the frame of the bow. Then the bamboo is connected to the piece of mulberry tree a piece of oak tree in the middle. The mulberry tree becomes the each ends of the bow, and the piece of oak tree becomes a grip. After that, water buffalo's horn is placed inside the bow, and the cow tendons are glued to the outside by using glue made of the fish's air bladder on the outside. The cow tendon should be as thin as possible, and the glue needs to be reapplied several times. This part is very important because it decides the elasticity of the bow. When the bow is completed, it is covered in the bark of a white birch tree. The bark keeps the moisture out of the bow, and helps it to last much longer.
The producing procedure of Gukgung can be done only by hand, and it takes about 100 days to make one Gukgung. Therefore Kwon, Young Deok, who has made Gukgung for more than 40 years, is only able produce less than 30 Gukgungs in one year. This indicates the delicateness of the production procedures for Gukgung.
Gukgung became a sport in the late 19th century as weapons production increased and more became available. Today, there are about 300 ranges for archery all over the country, and 300,000 to 400,000 people enjoying it every year. Archery in Korea is open for everyone who wants to learn.
Korea National Archery Association
Tel 02-420-4261
Seoul Archery Association (Inside the Olympic Stadium in Jamshil)
Tel 02-416-6084
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| 31-05-2001 |
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