Study on Machlock Musket of the Late Choson Dynasty

Abstract

Large scale wars such as the Japanese Invasion of Korea or the Second Manchu Invasion of Korea brought about reorganization notonly of the military system but also of the weapon system, which had stressed bow and arrow, to Choson military, and firearm was at the center of this reorganization. After the wars,machlock musket was assigned as the basic firearm of Choson military, and this introduction of machlock musket had a great meaning in that it resulted in the fundamental change of Choson military tactics and also influenced the drastic reform of the military system. Due to introduction of machlock musket to the world as well as Choson and East Asia, the early ruling class-centered combat groups were changed to those consisting of farmers and general people. In regarding to the its importance in military history, researchers in Japan and Korea had studied introduction and management of machlock musket,and changes ofmilitary systems, tactics, and society. Researches in Korea started from manufacturing and introduction of machlock musket in the late Choson dynasty and advanced to weapon systems and tactics. Lately, some researches dealt with the aspect of military changes caused by introduction of machlock musket. Besides,there were also researches looking atthe weapon system changesof Choson in the perspective ofproduct exchange or political use. Therefore,the main purpose of this article is to examine advanced researches related to machlock musket, which was the major firearm of the weapon system of the Choson Dynasty. Key words :Machlock musket, Musketeer, Gunpowder weapon, Tactics, Militarysystem, Weapon system, Civilization interchange Keywords: Machlock musket; Musketeer; Gunpowder weapon; Tactics; Militarysystem; Weapon system; Civilization interchange. 조총; 포수; 火器; 전술; 군사제도; 무기체계; 문물교류 Publisher ROK Army Military History Institute Language: ko