Around 5000 B.C., stone tools were changing from just chipped tools to hand mills and earthenware spinning wheels for yarn. During the Three Kingdoms Era the Korean states of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje Kingdoms created delicate and fancy art. The Bakeje made iron weapons such as harpoons, swords, and spears. Some milestones during this era were the buildings Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory (in Silla) and the Seokguram Buddhist Grotto (in Silla). Also, many beautiful bronze art pieces were made in Silla during this time. During the 13th century green jade celadon was created.
There is proof that movable metal type was created before 1232, although no one knows exactly when the first one was made. A war between China and Korea stopped printed books from coming in to Korea from China. Because of the shortage of books, Korea had to make their own. Since the Koreans were very good at casting type and there was an abundance of bronze, they made type out of bronze instead of wood. Wood was also expensive and there were not a lot of wood for the type. Metal type allowed them to have neater and more well spaced letters.
The alphabet Hangeul was created because Chinese writing couldn’t portray the meanings Korean language correctly. Hangeul was created by King Sejong in 1443. Originally, it was called hunmin jeongjeum and had 28 letters. The letters were supposed to look like arteries, veins, the heart and other articulator organs. Unlike other alphabets, the letters of Hangeul are arranged in blocks. Hangeul is used as a scientific alphabet and list of syllables.
King Sejong realized the importance of learning and he wanted all of his subjects to be able to write. However, knowing that most people such as peasant had no time to learn a long complicated alphabet, he decided to create Hangeul, an alphabet simple and easy to use. It can be learned in a matter of hours. King Sejong requested the scholars in the Hall of Worthies to create it and they came up with a language that had 11 vowels and 17 consonants.
The Turtle Shaped warship, or Geobukseon, was built in late Goryeo or Joseon Dynasty. It is covered with an iron coating and has to be strengthened every two years. In 1592, when the Japanese tried to invade Korea, the Geobukseon had spikes and canons on the decks. Navigating easily, the Koreans were able to conquer the Japanese in a battle at sea.
The Geobukseon was designed so that it could not be boarded by the enemy. It has an iron plated roof with spikes and is equipped with 14 gun ports. The passengers could see outside, but the enemy wasn’t able to look inside the ship. To make a move quickly, the ship has eight oars on either side of the boat and there are two sails. Geobukseon was designed to look like a turtle, but instead of a turtle head at the bow there is a dragon head instead. The ship has 24 cabins, mostly used for the crew, but 5 of them holds weapons.
A few inventions made by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty…
Chogyonguu is the water clock invented by King Sejong and his technician, Chang Yongshil. His water clock made a sound independently at intervals every few minutes. It did not need humans to hit it to make a sound. The original one was made in 1434. It took many years of research to come up with Chogyonguu. The technology and engineering to make the clock is about 6,000 years old. The new one in National Palace Museum of Korea was modeled from royal records. Water drips down from a vase on top and hits a ball which then drops through a hole and hits a trigger which strikes a drum or gong.
Angbuilgwi is a Korean sundial. It is bronze and geometrical in design. It is thought to be one of the first sundials created for the public. One was placed in Seoul at the corner of the Hyejonggyo Bridge and the other was placed in front of the Chongmyo Shrine in Seoul City.
Cheugugi is a rain gauge. Made in 1441, it was first tool used to measure rainfall. Put on a stand, rainfall was used by a special measuring stick. It was used around the country and government officials would measure the rainfall and report to the government who would record the amounts. The original ones that were the first ever made cannot be found. The oldest ones found date back to 1770.
Hwacha is a weapon that uses gunpowder. They were first created in 1401 by Korean scientists. They were inspired by Chinese fire arrows and the platforms used to launch them. They were basically rockets attached to arrows. After being launched, they would travel 500 yards and explode, raining 100 to 200 metal spikes onto the enemy.
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