Jinju National Museum

  There is a newly-coined Korean word "pobangbu" describing the predilection of the Korean Ministry of National  Defense for artillery. With its long range and destructive  power, artillery is considered to be one of the most efficient  means to defend South Korea given that seventy percent of  its terrain is mountains.

  The same was true in the past. The Goryeo Dynasty suffered repeatedly under invasions by foreign forces but succeeded in producing gunpowder, a cutting-edge military technology of the time, During the Joseon Dynasty, King  Sejong and King Munjong both endeavored to develop new gunpowder weapons and establish a defensive system that utilized them. The fifteenth-century Korean military included  gunpower weapons the equat of any in the world, Knowledge of gunpowder and the production of gunpowder weapons played important roles in some of Joseon's victories over Japanese forces during the unpanese Invasions cf Korea (1592-1598). 

  The Jinju National Museum specializes in the history of  the Japanese Invasions of Korea and has been conducting  research on Korean gunpowder weapons since 2018. The  museum published a research report entitled Weapons of  JoseonⅠ : Small Firearms in 2019 as the first outcome of this  effort, The 2021 special exhibition on Joseon weaponry, entitled  The Age of Gunpowder in Joseon is a visual representation of  this research. The exhibition introduces Joseon forces armed  with chongtong (hand cannons) and muskets rather than the bows and spears often seen in historical dramas about the Joseon Dynasty. We cordially invite you to indulge in this  vision of Joseon-era Korea as a country captivated by the  flames and smoke of gunpowder and the tremendous destructive power of weapons using it.