Korean Hwacha on ‘Mythbusters’

by Robert Koehler on February 15, 2009

In case you haven’t seen it:

That’s pretty damn cool.

More about the Hwacha here.

{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

1 CactusMcHarris February 16, 2009 at 7:15 am: It would have scared the heck out of this invading barbarian.

Does anyone know if the historical reference given is accurate, i.e. the last time these were used was in the 1500s?
2 WangKon936 February 16, 2009 at 9:01 am: Any chance they could put samurai helmets on the dummies?..
3 WangKon936 February 16, 2009 at 9:02 am: Okay, at least ashigaru helmets.
4 CactusMcHarris February 17, 2009 at 3:00 am: #3,

No, the first one – those the ones with the elaborate horns coming out of the side?
5 NetizenKim February 18, 2009 at 12:39 am: Okay….so what was the “myth” that needed to be busted here?
6 WangKon936 February 18, 2009 at 1:10 am: Relax… I’m just stoked that American audiences got to see a hwacha in action.

Mythbusters also did one with a samurai sword too.
7 WangKon936 February 18, 2009 at 1:13 am: Here it is:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4174800534294847844
8 JW February 18, 2009 at 1:15 am: According to below wiki article, first recorded mention was in 1409, but didn’t get widely used until 1500s

Why it was considered a myth I have no idea but still that’s messed up. Thought Koreans were backwards eh? Bitches!

http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/화차_(무기)
9 WangKon936 February 18, 2009 at 6:02 am: See my reply to # 5. They also tested out samurai swords. Don’t take it personally.
10 JW February 18, 2009 at 6:06 am: What was the myth? Can’t watch the video here at work…no sound. Are you sure the japanese wouldn’t get pissed off? Heh heh
11 Andy Jackson February 18, 2009 at 12:28 pm: The “myth” part that was tested was the advertised capability of the Hwacha (200 arrows, 500 yards, etc). I saw the show and it took them a few tries to set it up properly.

There is no need to get too angry about this. A lot of tales get taller witht the telling and this is a piece of technology that is not well known in the West.

I am just glad that nobody has blamed Grant Imahara yet.
12 thekorean February 18, 2009 at 12:32 pm: I watched the whole show, and it does show Grant in samurai garb, to be blown up by hwacha arrows. That was funny.
13 Robert Koehler February 18, 2009 at 1:16 pm: Sperwer — Accidentally erased your comment.

My bad.
14 wjk, 검은 머리 외국인 February 18, 2009 at 1:31 pm: Thank you so much for giving me another chance. I won’t disappoint you.

Good stuff on the hwa-cha.

Through the works of people like you, I finally can visualize what this looked like in action.
Keep up the good stuff.

One thing I always wondered was, how come Imjin waeran weapons from the Korean side were pretty much not used again in subsequent wars.

For example, why and how did the guhbooksun stop real time action? I don’t think hwa-cha was used against the Qing. Why not?
15 Linkd February 18, 2009 at 1:55 pm: dda!! Help!!

I still have greasemonkey loaded and running, but wjk’s comment is right in front of me, desecrating my screen! What can I do?
16 Sperwer February 18, 2009 at 1:56 pm: No worries. Reloaded:

Is there any testimony or other credible evidence contemporary to the actual combat use of the hwacha regarding its real combat effectiveness? Given the time that it took the fuses to burn down and the bunching of the spent projectiles, it seems like the hwacha’s utility would be a matter of pure chance, except against a relatively large, stationary body of troops or one of great depth of ranks moving very slowly., and even in those cases subject to complete ignorance on the part of the enemy of the existence of the weapon. Looks like little more than a gimmick to me (which is what the Koreans themselves may have realized; hence the apparent infrequency of use to which wjk refers below.
17 JW February 18, 2009 at 1:59 pm: Mr. Robert Koehler, you are a most beneficent patrolman of these boards. Thank you.

This does not mean that I agree with wjk’s anti-chinese rantings. No sir, no.
18 WangKon936 February 18, 2009 at 2:11 pm: Because the Joseon Dynasty was crap and didn’t learn anything useful from the Imjin Wars like any normal government would.
19 WangKon936 February 18, 2009 at 2:41 pm: Apparently the hwacha were used to good effect at the battle of Haengju. Kwon Yul had more than ten of them and the Japanese advanced in three groups of roughly 10,000 each. Haengju was a old san song or mountain fortress so the Japanese were moving slowly uphill in densely packed formations. The Koreans probably pre-sighted the entire hill and knew exactly where the hwacha’s arrows would land.

Against Jurchen cavalry who made it a point to avoid mountain strong points? Not nearly as effective.

As far as primary sources are concerned. Just scanned my Chingbirok and didn’t see any mention of the hwacha. It’s likely in the Shillok somewhere. Anyone know enough Hanja to query it out?
20 Sperwer February 18, 2009 at 8:31 pm: Thanks for the reference re Haengju; (btw, what’s the source?). Anything there about actual effectiveness?
21 robert neff February 18, 2009 at 10:43 pm: If I remember right, in the late 1890s the Korean government, strapped for cash and trying to rebuild(?) its military, brought these back into use along with the padded armor, at least for a short time. They were claimed to be highly effective, against what, I am unsure…..
22 WangKon936 February 20, 2009 at 9:37 am: Turnbull. Both “Samaurai Invasions” and his Osprey campaign book on the same subject.
23 SomeguyinKorea February 21, 2009 at 7:54 am: They were supposedly great against samurais because they advanced in close formation.
24 SomeguyinKorea February 21, 2009 at 7:56 am: “Thank you so much for giving me another chance. I won’t disappoint you.”

Nooooo!!!!! Run away! Run away!
25 SomeguyinKorea February 21, 2009 at 7:57 am: Samurais…Which had long begun losing influence in Japan.
26 WangKon936 February 21, 2009 at 8:27 am: I read someplace that the commander of Haengju, Kwon Yul, said that the hwacha was the decisive weapon in repelling the Japanese hordes. He had more than 40 of them for the battle. If such a quote exists, then it would likely be in the Shillok. It’s available online so just query for the term “火車” or “화차.”

It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see how much devastation that 40 hwachas can wreck on 30,000 troops advancing on a front of limited size. If the Koreans had any smarts, they would have carefully pre-sighted the entire hill, meaning that they had at least a rough idea of where the arrows would land and would ignite the hwacha when a body of Japanese troops crossed that area. 40 times 150 equals 6,000 arrows in one single salvo…