Medium Mortar (1986-1)

Wangu, also called "daenggu", is a type of muzzle-loading cannon said to have been made by Choe Hae-san during the reign of King Taejong of Joseon. A wangu can be divided into three main parts: the bowl (wan), the wooden-plug barrel (gyeokmoktong), and the powder chamber (yaktong). The bowl is the bowl-shaped part on which the projectile - a large stone or iron ball - is placed. The powder chamber of the Medium Mortar is where the gunpowder is loaded, and it has two touch-holes for inserting the fuse. Between the powder chamber and the bowl is the wooden-plug barrel, which houses a wooden plug used to transmit to the bowl the explosive force released when the gunpowder ignites. The Medium Mortar is 64.5 cm long overall and was discovered by chance in 1985 by a local resident hiking in Donghwa-ri, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do. Surviving records show that it was made in September 1590, the 23rd year of King Seonjo, by Yi Mul-geum of the Hamgyeong-do region, and that a single shot had a range of about one ri. It appears that after being made in Hamgyeong-do, this mortar was carried all the way to Hadong in Gyeongsangnam-do during the Japanese invasions of Korea, in order to pursue retreating Japanese forces. Although buried underground for a long period, it shows no external damage; its craftsmanship is refined and its casting date clearly established, and as a relic that can be shown to have been used directly during the Japanese invasions, it is regarded as important material for research into the development of the history of firearms.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jinju, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물