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| Subject |
Gukgung Shooting an Arrow at Your Own Heart |
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994 |
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| Author/Position |
Park Ok-soon Freelance Writer |
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| Photographer |
Ahn Hong-beom |
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Gripping a bow in his left hand and an arrow in the right, a silver-haired archer takes his position at the shooting stand. The target stands exactly 145 meters away. The archer takes a breath and raises his bow before drawing the bowstring to its proper tautness. His right hand holding the tautly drawn bowstring quivers ever so slightly. There is a hushed stillness for several seconds. And finally, the arrow takes flight. About two seconds later, a thwack is heard as the arrow strikes the target.
‘Movement of Tranquility’
“It looks easy enough, but the more you practice, the more difficult shooting an arrow becomes,” explains Professor Shin Kwak-kyun moments after stepping down from the stand. “Most of all, you can’t do it right if your heart isn’t ready. You have to focus and put everything into it. You shouldn’t be too eager to hit the target. Your body, mind, and breathing have to come together as one. At the moment the arrow is released, you and the target must be one.” Turning 70 this year, Shin started to learn gukgung just 10 years ago. He had wondered what he would do during his retirement years and decided to take up Korea’s traditional archery. It has become so integral to his life that he now practices every day at Bundangjeong, an archery range in Seongnam, south of Seoul.
Another septuagenarian professor, Kim Hyung-kook, who first took up the sport after age 60, has since become addicted to it. Every day, he practices at Hwanghakjeong, an archery field in Sajik Park in central Seoul, the capital area’s foremost site for traditional archery. Some years ago, he published a book, an introductory survey on the culture of Korean traditional archery. Professor Kim observes that “the moment of uniting movement and tranquility is the essence of this martial art.”
Although beloved today as a sporting activity for physical exercise and good health, gukgung is fundamentally about handling a weapon comprised of bow and arrow — a type of martial art with a history of thousands of years. According to an ancient document, the distance from the stand to the target should be just over 200 meters, at a maximum, requiring the arrow to travel at a rate of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour. But pyeonjeon, a shorter arrow about 24 to 36 centimeters in length, known as a “baby arrow,” can strike a target up to 420 meters away, for which it must reach a speed at 70 kilometers per hour.
Archery of the East and the West
From ancient times, the Korean people were widely known to be excellent archers. While the Chinese favored the spear and the Japanese the sword, Koreans were highly skillful with the bow and arrow. From long ago, the Chinese called Koreans Dong-i-jok, literally meaning the “eastern tribe with large bows.” Like Jumong, the legendary founder of the Goguryeo Kingdom, the founders Wang Geon of the Goryeo Dynasty and Yi Seong-gye of the Joseon Dynasty were also known for their archery prowess. In modern times, the Korean women’s archery team has won six consecutive championships at the Olympic Games, while the Korean men’s archery team is not far behind with three consecutive victories, an unprecedented record of dominance, perhaps somehow related to the longstanding reputation of their forebears who also gained international recognition.
Before the emergence of weapons with gunpowder, the bow was an effective and lethal weapon. Indeed, in the seventh century, an arrow shot by a commander of Goguryeo forced the retreat of a large-scale Tang army when it struck the eye of Emperor Taizong. As an accurate, powerful weapon, archery was long at the center of Korean history. Today, this traditional archery form is called gukgung, literally “national archery,” to distinguish it from the Western-style archery that is part of the Olympics. But what are the differences?
A modified version of traditional Western-style archery, which had originated in England and Europe, was introduced to Korea in the early 1960s. The so-called “Robin Hood bow” was reborn in Korea as yanggung, meaning “Western archery.” With this form of archery, which uses a mechanical or fixed sight, you shoot an arrow to strike the center of a target at a maximum distance of 90 meters. In contrast, gukgung uses no mechanical sight affixed to the bow, involves a distance of 145 meters, and scores any hit on the target. One reason for yanggung’s shorter range is the relative straightness of its bow, which provides much less thrust than the gukgung bow’s pronounced curvature.
Korea’s traditional archery incorporates the advantages of both the short bow and the long bow. In general, bows are classified as a short bow, about one meter in length, or a long bow, with a length of two meters. The bows used in today’s archery competitions typically range from 120 to 130 centimeters. This is shorter than the English longbow (192 centimeters), the Japanese bamboo bow (220 centimeters), and the Mongolian horn bow (160 centimeters), though slightly longer than the native North American wooden bow (110 centimeters). Due to its compact length, the Korean bow can be easily carried and used, while its design allows maximum range without requiring great strength.
The typical Korean bow is made with the horn of a water buffalo. It is thus also called gakgung, or “horn bow.” It is also known as mangokgung, meaning “gently curved bow.” The bow looks like a gentle wave at rest, but takes on an “M” shape when the bowstring is drawn taut. The arrow is usually made of bamboo with a length of 60 centimeters. Making a traditional horn bow requires two months at least, making it too expensive for regular archers. For recreation and sport, modified bows and arrows are made from materials used in Western archery, with the characteristics of Korean archery retained to the extent practical.
Discipline of the Body and Mind
Nowadays, the people seen on the archery fields include those of the younger generation as well. The popular film “War of the Arrows” (Choejong byeonggi), a huge box office success last year, has served to spark people’s interest in traditional archery. The movie tells the story of a “legendary archer” who played a key role during the Manchurian invasion of Korea in 1636. The number of those with an active interest in archery is estimated at some 35,000, while archery fields across the country have mushroomed as well, reaching 356. There are 20 institutes that teach traditional Korean archery, along with 10 professional teams. According to statistics compiled by the Korean Olympic Committee, the number of traditional-style archers in 2009 amounted to 11,560. As such, archery can be seen as the second-most popular sport in Korea, after soccer. In addition, an archery competition is held every week at most archery fields as part of a large-scale competition, beginning in March when the weather warms up. More than 40 major competitions are annually conducted these days.
Bae Tae-rang, a 21-year-old male awaiting the start of his military service soon, has been learning traditional archery for a month after practicing Japanese fencing (kendo) last year. He is not yet allowed to shoot an arrow, but instead practices drawing back the bowstring. He is learning the ethos of Korean archery from a master. Under an eave of the pavilion overlooking the archery range there is a carved axiom that reads Seonye Hugung, which means: “Learn the way first and then shoot.”
Bae says: “I got interested in archery because it is a traditional martial art. Unlike the extreme sports that are popular these days, gukgung requires discipline of the body and the mind. With a bow in my hand, I feel relaxed and focused. I think it is especially helpful to improve concentration.”
Seo Sook-hee, another gukgung enthusiast encountered at the archery range, said that she took up the sport in April last year. She loves sports and has worked her way through various activities, such as riding horses, shooting guns, and learning Western archery, but she’s two thumbs up for gukgung, insisting that no sport can match it. Amazingly fit and spry at 78, she says, “While shooting, you automatically use abdominal breathing, so the activity is healthy, and I can feel my mind clear up. There are not so many sports you can start after turning 70, but I’ve enjoyed gukgung every day since starting it.”
Kim Su-hee, found at another archery field, is a 35-year-old housewife who was introduced to this sport in September last year. She began the phase of jipgung, or shooting, in December. It took her a bit longer than the usual two months for learning the basic skills before shooting, because she couldn’t practice enough due to her children and household responsibilities. “After I started archery, my poor posture improved, along with my psychological outlook. At the beginning, it might be a little boring, but if you can overcome that stage and taste the real flavor of archery, you can get really engrossed,” she said.
The Real Target is Yourself
At the Hwanghakjeong archery facility, there are 180 members who pay monthly fees of 40,000 won for men and 30,000 won for women. A notable member is a 68-year-old German engineer, Karl Zeilinger, who has been given the Korean name Chae Rim-geo. Since first learning about gukgung some 27 years ago, he has visited Korea every year to learn its finer points by traveling around the country and visiting various archery ranges. He spends much of his time with the craft masters of bow and arrow making to learn about their intricate processes. He is now writing a book on the history of Korean archery, and Korean archers will readily acknowledge that finding anyone who knows more about gukgung than Zeilinger would be “next to impossible.”
If dizzying change and speed have come to characterize our modern society, then gukgung would be at the opposite end of this lifestyle. It emphasizes patience and contemplation, rather than the pleasure of immediate gratification. The goal of this sport is the training of oneself. When an archer draws back the bowstring, he seems to look at the target 145 meters in the distance. But the essence of gukgung is about shooting at your own heart. This is why ever more people have come to embrace this ancient form of martial art as a fundamental part of their everyday life.
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