Gunpowder first came to Korea in the mid-14th century. From 1356 onwards, Korea was much harassed by
wokou, and the king of
Goryeo, Kongmin Wang, sent an envoy to the court of
Ming China appealing for a supply of firearms. Although China at that time was under
Yuan dynasty, the first Ming leader, the
Hongwu Emperor, seems to have treated the request kindly and responded in some measure. The
Goryeosa mentions a certain type of bombard, the chongtong, which could send arrows from the Nam-kang hill to the south of the Sun-ch’on Sa temple with such force and velocity that they would penetrate completely into the ground together with their fins. In circa 1372, Li Khang (or Li Yuan), a
saltpetre expert, perhaps a merchant, came from
South China to Korea, and he was befriended by the courtier Choi Muson. He asked him confidentially about the secrets of his craft and sent several of his retainers to learn from him. Choi became the first Korean to manufacture gunpowder and gun barrels, all depending on Li Khang's transmission. A royal inspection of a new fleet happened in 1373 including tests of guns with larger barrels for shooting incendiary arrows against the pirate ships. In 1373, a new mission, led by Sang Sa-on, was sent to the Chinese capital to ask for urgent supplies of gunpowder. The Koreans had built special ships to repel the wokou, which needed gunpowder for their cannon. In the following year, another request was made to the Ming emperor after the military camps at Happo were set ablaze by wokou, with over 5000 casualties. At first, Thai Tsu was reluctant to supply powder and arms to the Koreans, but in the middle of 1374 he changed his mind, he also sent military officers to inspect the ships built by the Koreans. The Goryeosa records the first systematic manufacture of hand cannons and bombards in Korea in ca. 1377, saying that the arsenal was directed by a "Firebarrel Superintendent". Improvements were made during the reign of
Taejong of Joseon, and in the 1440s,
Sejong the Great made even more. Earlier in the century, the
bullanggi, a
breech-loading swivel gun was introduced from Portugal via China. In 1596, more improvements were made, and by this time (i.e., on the dawn of the
Imjin War), the Seungja class of
hand cannons were phased out in favor of Japanese-style
muskets and
arquebuses. The Koreans called these
jochong (). During the 1650s,
Hendrick Hamel and others were shipwrecked on
Jejudo, introducing a Dutch cannon the Koreans called the
hong'ipo, which was used alongside the native Korean cannons. They were finally discontinued in the late 19th century when Joseon abolished the old-style army in favor of an army based on contemporary Western militaries. ==Cannons==