Gukgung (Korean Traditional Archery)
국궁Korean traditional archery with the gakgung composite bow and a target at 145 m, without sights. Since 2020 it has been Korea's national intangible heritage.
Quick Facts
South KoreaCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Gukgung (Korean Traditional Archery)
Gukgung is Korean traditional archery. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, bows were shot on Korean territory since prehistory, and under the Joseon dynasty archery was part of the state military examinations. The Cultural Heritage Administration registered it on 30 July 2020 as national intangible cultural heritage under the purely Korean name hwalssogi. According to Asia Business Daily it was given no holders, because anyone practises it.
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After the reforms of the late 19th century, the old archery customs died out, according to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, and revived with the founding of the Hwanghakjeong archery range in Seoul's Sajik-dong district, which the encyclopedia dates to 1899 and the Korea JoongAng Daily to 1898. In 1922 the predecessor of today's Korea Archery Association was founded, which has governed only traditional archery since 1983. Shooting takes place at a target 80 gan away, that is 145 m. Of the bows used under Joseon, according to the encyclopedia only the composite gakgung has survived, and making it takes roughly a year. The Korea JoongAng Daily states it is made of bamboo, ox sinew, fish-bladder glue and buffalo horn. At the association's competitions only an approved gakgung or a laminated bow may be used, and sights and other mechanical aids are not allowed. A study in the International Journal of the History of Sport (2016) states that gukgung instructors taught several Korean Olympic archers in the early days of their success. University competitions have been held since 2024.
History
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture cites split stone arrowheads found throughout the country as evidence of prehistoric archery. According to the chronicle Samguk sagi, the Baekje king Biryu had an archery platform built west of the palace in 320. In Silla, officials were selected solely by archery until 788, and under Joseon archery was part of the state military examinations.
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After the Imjin War, King Seonjo had a pavilion built by the eastern wall of Gyeongbokgung palace and opened it to the public, which the encyclopedia regards as the beginning of private archery ranges. A peer-reviewed study from 2020 describes archery brotherhoods, mutual-aid societies that supported the private ranges, and analyses the rules of one of them from 1828 to 1920. After the reforms of the late 19th century the old customs died out and revived with the founding of the Hwanghakjeong archery range in Sajik-dong, in 1899 according to the encyclopedia and in 1898 according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. By 1945 there were over 40 ranges in Seoul. According to Asia Business Daily, archery became an official discipline of the national sports games in 1928. The predecessor of the Korea Archery Association was founded, according to the encyclopedia, on 11 July 1922 at Hwanghakjeong by 35 founders. The association has borne its current name since 1948. In 1962 it took over Western archery, in 1963 it joined the international federation, and in March 1983 it separated Olympic archery into an independent federation. Since then it has governed only traditional archery. The Cultural Heritage Administration registered archery on 30 July 2020 as national intangible cultural heritage, under number 142 according to Asia Business Daily.
How it differs
According to Korea Times, gukgung differs from Olympic archery in its distance of 145 m with an arched arrow trajectory and in having no attachments, sights, or aiming aids. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture states that the Korea Archery Association also took over Western archery in 1962 and separated it into an independent association in 1983. It differs from Japanese kyudo, according to Martial Arts of the World, among other things in thumb protection. The Japanese bow is held at one third from the bottom and the thumb is protected by a reinforced glove, whereas in Korea and China a thumb ring was used. According to the same encyclopedia, kyudo is taught as a spiritual and physical discipline and accuracy alone is not valued in it, whereas in Korean archery competition, according to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, hits are counted.
Technique
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes shooting as one continuous sequence of movements without stopping. The archer is to draw the bow without stray thoughts, concentrate the mind and release the arrow without thinking of the shot, building the movement of horizontal and vertical components in balance of stillness and motion. On failure the archer is to seek the fault in themselves. Under Joseon, according to the encyclopedia, foot, mounted and standing shooting and theory were practised. The arrow flies 145 m along an arc, which the Korea Times calls a hallmark of Korean traditional archery. A study by Choi Seokgyu and Ok Gwang (2016) states that modern Korean archery took from the traditional technique arm alignment, string release, drawing the arm back and aiming by wind direction.
Training
According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the range has a target 80 gan (145 m) away, a wooden board 12 ja high and 9 ja wide. The pavilion on the range serves as a meeting place for archers and for running competitions, and behind the target there is usually an earthen embankment. The archer Andrew White states in an article on the World Archery website that 145 m ranges have no rules on flatness, and in some places one shoots uphill, downhill or across a bay. Of the seven kinds of bows used under Joseon, only the composite gakgung for practice shooting has survived, and of the eight kinds of arrows only the practice yuyeopjeon. Making one bow takes roughly a year. The Korea JoongAng Daily gives bamboo, ox sinew, fish-bladder glue and buffalo horn as the material, and Asia Business Daily mulberry, horn, ox sinews and dried fish bladders. According to the Korea Times, new members of the ranges go through three-month training in drawing and shooting, and the ranges stress Confucian etiquette. According to Asia Business Daily, nine principles of the archer and technical standards are taught at the ranges. A peer-reviewed study from 2020 states that in the clubs the order is based more on age and standing than on rank, and older archers are greeted first.
Ranks and progression
According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the Korea Archery Association holds dan examinations in traditional archery once a year, and at competitions it has a special category for dan holders. The international federation World Archery states that in the examinations the archer must hit the target a set number of times. For the first to third dan, examination is with a modern laminated bow, from the fourth dan upward only with the traditional gakgung. According to a peer-reviewed study from 2020, traditional titles survive in the clubs. The president is called sabaek or sadu, the manager yusa and a member jeopjang.
Competition
According to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, only gakgung bows and laminated bows approved by the Korea Archery Association may be used in competitions, and only gakgung in provincial competitions and the overall championship. Sights and other mechanical aids are not allowed. A provincial team has seven archers and the sum of the five best counts, in range-versus-range contests five archers of one range compete, and individuals compete in dan-holder and non-dan categories. According to the encyclopedia, the main competitions are the championships by men's and women's categories, the overall championship and the provincial competition for the birth anniversary of Admiral I Sun-sin. Traditional team contests between archers were called pyeonsa, and ranges, neighbourhoods, or Seoul with its suburbs competed in them. The first university competition took place, according to Korea Times, on 15 August 2024 at Induk University and the second, according to World Archery, on 17 November 2024 in Seoul. According to Korea Times, university clubs shoot indoors at 30 m.
Today
The Cultural Heritage Administration registered archery on 30 July 2020 as national intangible cultural heritage. According to Korea Herald, it chose the name hwalssogi because it is a purely Korean word for archery that often appears in documents from the Korjo and Joseon periods. Asia Business Daily states that, as with ssireum wrestling or kimchi making, no holders were appointed, because anyone can practise archery. Korea Times describes three tiers: member outdoor ranges with a fixed distance of 145 m, public indoor practice halls with targets at 30 m, and university clubs that use these halls. According to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, of the historic ranges, Hwanghakjeong and Seokhojeong in Seoul, among others, still operate. A study in International Journal of the History of Sport (2016) states that gukgung instructors taught several Korean Olympic archers in the early phases of their success.
Did you know
According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the Hwanghakjeong range was built by King Gojong originally inside Gyeongbokgung palace and later moved to Sajik park. The same newspaper states that the book Bowmanship of Joseon, published in 1929 by linguist Lee Jung-ha, was the first to describe traditional bow making in detail. At ranges, according to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the path for collecting arrows is called yeonjeon-gil and the flag that signals a hit and its direction of impact is called gojeongi.
Frequently asked questions
What distance is used in Korean traditional archery?
145 m, which the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture gives as 80 gan. University clubs and public training grounds shoot in halls at 30 m.
What is the gakgung bow made of?
According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, of bamboo, ox sinew, fish-bladder glue and buffalo horn, and Asia Business Daily also mentions mulberry. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, making one bow takes roughly a year.
Are sights used in gukgung?
No. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture states that sights and other mechanical aids are not allowed at competitions of the Korea Archery Association.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.