Korea's oldest gunpowder weapon found on Naju mountain during mine-clearing operation

An artifact believed to be the oldest gunpowder weapon ever found in Korea has been discovered on Geumseongsan in Naju, South Jeolla Province — a mountain that served as a key military stronghold in the Yeongsan River basin.

The small gunpowder weapon, thought to date from the late Goryeo or early Joseon period, has drawn wide attention as a treasure-class cultural heritage find that could rewrite the history of Korean firearms development.

The National Naju Cultural Heritage Research Institute held a press briefing Monday at the auditorium of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where it unveiled the artifact, known as the hwangjahwatong.

A hwatong is a weapon that uses gunpowder to fire arrows or projectiles and was known to surpass the bow — the dominant weapon of the era — in both range and destructive power.

After the reign of King Sejong of Joseon (r. 1418–1450), such weapons came to be called "chongtong."

The Naju hwangjahwatong was discovered in November 2023 by military personnel.

An Air Force anti-aircraft battery has been stationed at the summit of Geumseongsan since 1966. Soldiers came across the artifact by chance on a rocky cliff near the ninth ridge while sweeping the area for land mines to create a hiking trail.

The artifact measures 23.75 centimeters in length with a bore diameter of 1.66 centimeters and weighs 1,032 grams. With a wooden handle attached, it would have extended to about 1.2 meters — suggesting it could have been carried by an individual soldier.

Examination revealed that the hwangjahwatong consists of three main parts: the muzzle through which projectiles are fired, the powder chamber where gunpowder is loaded, and the socket into which the wooden handle is fitted.

A total of 28 characters are engraved in intaglio on the socket and the muzzle.

The inscription reads: "Jeongsasibiwolil yeon hwangjahwatong jungil geun sipsa ryang gamjo noksa anhyubo jangin seok."

Translated, it states: "In the 12th month of the year Jeongsa, a hwangjahwatong was made. Its weight is one geun and 14 ryang. The supervisor was Noksa An Hyu-bo, and the craftsman was Seok."

The inscription thus preserves the year of manufacture, the weapon's precise weight, the official rank and name of the production supervisor, and the name of the craftsman.

Cultural Heritage Administration chief Heo Min called the artifact "an important clue that lets us confirm the early history of Korean gunpowder weapons through a physical object and shows how that technology developed over time."

The "Jeongsa" year cited in the inscription is estimated, based on historical records and previously known gunpowder weapons, to be either 1377 — the late Goryeo period — or 1437, during the reign of King Sejong of Joseon.

According to the historical chronicle "Goryeosa," 1377, during the reign of King U (r. 1374–1388), was the year the Hwatong Dogam was established at the recommendation of Choe Museon (1326–1395), a military official and weapons developer.

The Hwatong Dogam was the government office responsible for producing gunpowder and firearms.

It was the first year the state began producing gunpowder weapons at a national level, and some experts at eight rounds of advisory consultations leaned toward 1377 as the more likely date.

The year 1437, in the early Joseon period, was a time of active improvement and refinement of gunpowder weapons.

"Either way, this is the earliest among all chongtong-type weapons ever found or excavated in Korea," the institute said, describing it as "the oldest surviving gunpowder weapon in the country."

CT and X-ray analysis confirmed that the powder chamber has a rounded shape, consistent with the form used before firearms were redesigned during the reign of King Sejong of Joseon.

The presence of impurities — including sulfur, silicon and silver — left over from the smelting process indicates the hwangjahwatong was made using traditional bronze casting methods rather than in recent times.

Scholars believe the artifact has strong grounds for designation as a national treasure.

Since the ssangjachongtong was first designated in 1975, a total of 14 gunpowder weapons (16 individual items) have been designated as national treasures, including the jijachongtong and the sechongtong.

Among artifacts with a confirmed date of manufacture, the earliest is the cheonjachongtong, dating to 1555.

The Naju hwangjahwatong is considered a key piece of evidence for illuminating the early history of Korean gunpowder weapons, as its excavation site is clearly documented and its date of manufacture and the parties responsible for making it can be verified through the inscription.

Eo Chang-seon, head of the institute's curatorial research division, called it "an artifact that will shake up the history of Korean weaponry" and "a weapon that opened new possibilities in combat through the power of gunpowder."

However, further research will be needed to narrow down the date of manufacture.

Determining whether the weapon was made in 1377 or 1437 would require comparison with other gunpowder weapons from the late Goryeo or early Joseon period, but no suitable artifacts for such comparison currently exist.

"The site where the hwangjahwatong was found is still in a restricted zone," Eo said. "We plan to conduct a detailed survey within the scope that is possible, with the cooperation of the military."

How the hwangjahwatong was manufactured and used will be investigated through future experiments.

The institute will display the hwangjahwatong at the National Palace Museum of Korea from Wednesday through Nov. 22. The artifact will also be featured in December at the Korea Defense Exhibition (K-DEX).

Naju Mayor Yun Byeong-tae said the discovery was "dramatic," noting that the hwangjahwatong had been found on Geumseongsan, a mountain that had long been off-limits to the public. "I hope its historical value becomes widely known," he said.