Staying on target: Artisan Yoo Se-hyun keeps the art of traditional Korean arrow-making alive

Gungsijang Yoo Se-hyun is a 60-year-old artisan that has been making traditional Korean arrows for over 40 years — a family business that's been handed down for four generations.

Yoo Se-hyun, an intangible cultural asset for his skills in making traditional arrows, checks on the shaft to see whether the shaft is twisted or not at his studio located in Young Jip Bows & Arrows Museum in Paju, Gyeonggi. [PARK SANG-MOON]

[ZOOM KOREA]

According to multiple documents, the Chinese described ancestral Koreans as Dongyi people in ancient times. Dongyi means people who are adept at archery living in the east.

Bows and arrows were reportedly used first in prehistoric times as tools for living, and they were developed into weapons and thrived the most during the country’s Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668). Archery became the most popular sport in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) regardless of hierarchy.

Many leaders in history were excellent archers. King Dongmyeong (58 B.C.-19 B.C.), the founder of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo (37 B.C.-A.D. 668), began making bows and arrows at the age of seven and hardly missed his targets. King Taejo (1335-1408) of the Joseon Dynasty was a highly skillful archer.

Records show that he could shoot five crows down with a single arrow. King Jeongjo (1752-1800) of the Joseon Dynasty hit 50 targets about 145 meters (475 feet) away with 50 arrows. Admiral Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598) was dubbed the best archer in the Joseon Dynasty.

During the Joseon Dynasty, archery became an important royal ritual, and thus, kings used to shoot arrows on special occasions. Artisans who made bows, known as gungjang, and those who made arrows, known as sijang, were specially treated. The term for these craftsmen has been combined as gungsijang, and their skills are designated as national intangible cultural assets.

Yuyeopjeon reproduced by Yoo. It is a traditional arrow with an arrowhead that looks like willow leaves. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Yukryangjeon is designed to fly farther with its arrowhead that weighs 225 grams. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Gungsijang Yoo Se-hyun is a 60-year-old artisan that has been making traditional Korean arrows for over 40 years — a family business that's been handed down for four generations. Yoo’s great-grandfather used to make arrows in the now-defunct Jangdan, which currently belongs to the demilitarized zone, in the late Joseon Dynasty. Jangdan had the largest number of arrow makers from the Joseon Dynasty.

Young-ki (1936-2023), the father of Yoo, was designated in 1996 as a national intangible cultural asset for his skills in making Jangdan arrows, which were widely beloved by archers across the nation.

The father compiled traditional arrow-making techniques and reproduced arrows from various periods. He also opened the Young Jip Bows & Arrows Museum, the first of its kind, in Tanhyeon, Paju.

A grueling procedure is needed to make a single traditional arrow. Six materials are needed, including bamboo, sinews, fish glue and pheasant feathers. An arrow is produced after 130 processes. Of all the procedures, the most important stage is picking the right bamboo and baking the arrow shaft on a charcoal fire.

Yoo weighs the shaft using a scale [PARK SANG-MOON]

Bamboo, which is less than two years old and grown in a sea breeze, is preferred. Yoo is in search of the right bamboo every year from late November to late December, traveling every nook and cranny of the nation to find it. Many things are taken into consideration when searching for bamboo. The length of the internodes, the thickness and the weight should be consistent.

The bamboo is dried in the shade for about 50 days and then it is baked until it turns brown on a charcoal fire that is up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit). This process requires craftsmanship because the color of the shaft turns out wrong or the shaft simply burns when it is baked a few seconds too long or too short.

After the baking, which is called bujabi, another tricky process called joljabi, which involves straightening some bent parts of the shaft, ensues. Then fish glue is made by boiling the swim bladder of a croaker. The fish glue is used to attach the arrowhead to the shaft. Ten arrows come as a set, and each arrow should have a similar weight, allowing for a difference of only 0.375 grams (0.01 ounces) between each arrow.

According to Yoo, the best arrow is the one that suits its user. When the master receives an order, he meets his customer. No matter how good the materials are that are used, Yoo says the arrow becomes useless unless it fits its user. Even when the same arrows are given, the accuracy rate varies depending on the physique, strength and shooting habits of the one who uses the arrow.

Yeongjeon is an arrow used by generals [PARK SANG-MOON]

Sinjeon is an arrow used to deliver a king's commands. The arrow is reproduced by Yoo Young-ki [PARK SANG-MOON]

Yoo spent much time reproducing some forgotten techniques of making arrows while traveling around the country with his father. He put much effort into remaking the arrows used in the Joseon Dynasty and even the ones used by ancient Koreans who were dubbed Dongyi people by the Chinese.

Yoo and his father reproduced two types of arrows: sinjeon and yuyeopjeon. Sinjeon was specifically used when delivering kings’ commands. A small flag with the letter of the Chinese character meaning “trust” is attached to the shaft. The shaft is decorated with some patterns and letters, too. Yuyeopjeon is an arrow with an arrowhead that looks like willow leaves. Since the arrow is lightweight, it was widely used during battles in the late Joseon Dynasty.

Yoo takes pride in contributing to culture and history as a traditional arrow maker. Dreaming of the day when archery will become the most representative cultural asset of Korea, Yoo keeps working on traditional arrows at his studio.

BY PARK SANG-MOON [park.sangmun@joongang.co.kr]