The Divine Weapon, a Korean film

The Divine Weapon

The Divine Weapon is a 2008 South Korean film.

Plot

During the reign of King Sejong the Great, Joseon Korea faces increasing hostility from Ming China. Ming China, without restraint, mounts unrelenting demands against the Korean crown, further entrenching distrust and aversion to subservience. Ming China has especially been provoked by a leaked news that Korea had under way an arms development program that would undermine theirs. Mounting pressure by threat of invasion and sending down Emperor's commands requesting young Korean girls to be sent to China, to reduce Korea's manpower and debilitate its military capacity, the grip around the throat becomes ever tighter. It seems Joseon's fate is dependent on completing an unfinished project - that of making Singijeon or the Divine Weapon a reality.

In the final battle, severely outnumbered Korean forces (less than 100 men) successfully defeat the thousands of Ming Chinese in armed combat with spears, bombs, and several finished Singijeon via several hwachas. Thousands of Ming Chinese footsoldiers are killed as the arrows in the Singijeon are launched. More are killed with the gunpowder packed inside the arrows. Those in the Ming Chinese army who remained are finished off with the large model Singijoens, except one of the nobles who prefers peace over warfare.

Why are you talking about this movie?

I was impressed a lot by the movie, but what I want to talk about now is Singijeon and hwachas!



After watching the movie, my friend and I wondered if the Singijeon actually existed. It was a definitely awesome weapon, but I've never seen it on Korean historic movies and dramas! Perhaps, I didn't pay attention to what weapons the army used.

Was the hwacha really strong like in the movie?

I am going to show you a video. Then, judge yourself whether or not it's really strong.



I got this video from the Seoul Searcher. Would like to know about a hwacha more? Click here: Did Ancient Korea Also Have Advanced Technology?

Reference

1. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Divine_Weapon
2. The Seoul Searcher - http://yujinishuge.wordpress.com/