나주서 찾은 '황자화통', 명문 28자로 제작 시기 확인…가장 이른 화약무기

Translation

The Naju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced its findings on the gunpowder weapon 'Hwangja Hwatong', found on Geumseongsan Mountain in Naju, at the National Palace Museum of Korea auditorium at 10 a.m. on 21 September, having read the 28 characters inscribed on its body to establish when it was made, the weapon's name, its weight, and the rank and names of its supervisor and maker. A hwatong is a weapon that uses gunpowder to fire arrows or shot, a small gunpowder weapon with far greater range and destructive power than the bow, the main weapon of the time. The relic was found by chance in November 2023 during mine detection carried out ahead of trail construction in an 'unconfirmed minefield' on Geumseongsan. It is 23.75 cm long with a bore of 1.66 cm and weighs 1,032 g, a small firearm that one person could carry, and the institute spent three years on scientific analysis and expert consultation. The inscription reads that the Hwangja Hwatong was made in the twelfth month of a Jeongsa year, weighs one geun and fourteen nyang, was supervised by the recorder An Hyu-bo and made by the artisan Seok. Analysis of records and of the development of gunpowder weapons in Korea narrows that Jeongsa year to 1377, when the Directorate of Gunpowder Weapons was set up on the advice of Choe Mu-seon, or 1437, and although it cannot be settled between the two, either way it is the earliest gunpowder weapon found or excavated in Korea. It will be shown to the public at the National Palace Museum from 23 September to 22 November.