The Hwacha weapon was an ancient Korean rocket launcher and an organ gun created at the beginning of the 15th century during the Joseon Dynasty. Called 화차 in Korean, it translates as “Fire Cart.” This rocket cart was frequently employed until around the middle of the 17th century. As an anti-personnel weapon, it may have been one of the first gunpowder-based weapons of its kind. The original design of the Hwacha dates back to the time of King Taejong of Joseon (1367–1422), but the weapon has been refined and improved upon through the years into a multiple rocket launcher.
What Was a Hwacha Weapon?
The hwacha was a platform built to unleash a barrage of flaming arrows at the enemy army. It was hitched to wagons and rolling carts. One Hwacha platform might hold anywhere from 150 to 200 fire arrows, arranged in seven or more rows of fifteen arrows. The points of the fire arrows were hollow, and the shafts were capped with pipes. Gunpowder was placed in the pipes and tips, and a fuse was attached to each.
Although it is now popularly referred to as “Hwacha,” back then the weapon was called “Hwageo,” which roughly means “fire carriage.”
Origin of the Hwacha
The Huo Che (“wasp nest”), which dates back to the Ming dynasty, was most likely the first rocket launcher in history. The Hwacha came in second in 1451.
During the Goryeo Dynasty, Choe Museon found that potassium nitrate could be mined from the ground and processed into powder. In his research, he developed the first version of the hwacha weapon in 1377. This invention went by the name “Juwha”. Korea’s very first rocket launcher.
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In contrast, the “Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty” and the “Taejong Annals” document the creation of the Hwacha in the ninth year of King Taejong’s reign which is 1401.
“The fire cart is constructed with several dozen iron feathered arrows placed in copper barrels and carried on small carts. When ignited with gunpowder, it produces a fierce and powerful force capable of restraining the enemy.“
The Annals of Taejong, Volume 18.
Gun Kisogan, Yi Do, and Choe Haesan (the son of Choe Museon) were among the creators of this multiple missile launcher. Among them, Choe Haesan was a commander who inherited his father’s weaponmaking secrets; his father had developed the first version of this Korean war machine.
More Than 100 Projectiles
The inventors described a wagon filled with iron tubes used to launch numerous explosives. However, its usage in a military context at the time was limited. In 1592, Byeon Yijung drilled more than a hundred holes into the Hwacha, lit them on fire, and used them to fire the projectiles.
These modifications were specifically made during the reign of King Munjong of Joseon. Before that time, the wooden launcher saw very little usage in real conflict, but that would change soon. This invention allowed a single man to carry 100 rockets in battle, and it could hit several enemies in a single attack.
How Did a Hwacha Weapon Work?
The fuses on the fire arrows had to first light the powder in the pipes. The arrows’ heads contained gunpowder, which would explode if the fuses burned long enough, hopefully in the vicinity of the opposing troops. However, the weapons were so evasive that the Koreans had to unleash barrages of shots in order to do any real damage.
After the 1400s, both Korea and China started producing fire arrows, which is considered to be the beginning of the Hwacha era. The 3,000-foot range of the fire arrows was extraordinary when measured against the capabilities of any other weapon.
Hwacha were notoriously inaccurate; hence, they were most effective against large groups of enemies at middle range.
The shrapnel from the fire arrows could do substantial damage even if they weren’t aimed properly at their target. Even seasoned men would break and flee at the sight of the noise and light caused by the bursting arrows. This artillery weapon was assembled on the battlefield before use, like Lego bricks.
It Changed the Course of History
The Hwacha’s full capability emerged during the Imjin War, also known as the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Hwacha was most widely used during the 1592–98 Japanese invasion of Korea. The Japanese samurai usually moved in tight formations. As a result, the hwacha had no trouble hitting them. In the Battle of Haengju, 3400 Koreans and 40 hwacha defeated 30,000 Japanese.
“Singijeon Hwachas” were hwachas built for the exclusive purpose of launching Singijeon fire arrow rockets. Together with the Turtle Ship—the first armored battleship in history also made by the Koreans—this rocket launcher changed the course of the invasion.
Hwachas were not only employed as weapons but also as carts to convey supplies for the troops. Byeon Yijung helped Kwon Yul acquire 300 Hwachas, which he used with other weaponry to great effect at the Battle of Haengju in 1593. The Koreans used this weapon to fire intense arrow rockets at the Japanese. Hwachas were too heavy for a single person to move, so they were usually handled by a small team.
Panokseons and other ships under Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s fleet utilized this kind of weaponry at the Battle of Noryang in 1598. This gun was effective in striking the sails of the enemy ships.
How It Was Constructed
Five distinct Hwachas variants were developed under the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The foundation of a Hwacha was a two-wheeled carriage, upon which was attached a Chongtong (small barrels) or Singijeon (fire arrow rockets). They functioned as an apparatus, often resembling a rack.
Chongtong Variant
The Chongtong (“gun tube”) version could shoot up to 200 bullets, arrows, or small projectiles in rapid succession from 50 primed barrels. In this design, each row included 4 arrows (4×50 arrows). For comparison, the Singijeon version could fire off a hundred Singijeon arrows in rapid succession.
During the Imjin War, Byeon Yijung upgraded the Hwacha by attaching 40 Chongtong barrels to the cart and wiring their fuses together so that they could be fired in rapid succession. At the Battle of Cheongju and the Battle of Haengju, as well as aboard naval boats, Byeon Yijung’s Hwachas proved invaluable all the time.
Singijeon Variant
The size of the Singijeon fire arrows ranged from small to large. In the large version, the rocket arrows, each measuring 20 inches in length, were discharged from handguns through separate fuses. By calculating the length of the fuse, they exploded around the time they hit the target.
Larger versions of these anti-personnel weapons were developed once it was discovered that many rockets could be fired from a single cart. These bigger anti-personnel weapons were designed to be moved around with the help of trolleys or even just regular old wheelbarrows with two wheels.
The range of the large Singijeons was between 3,000 and 7,000 feet, but they were too large to be fired from a Hwacha. Thus, a smaller Singijeon arrow was designed. But it couldn’t explode like its bigger brothers since it was only an arrow with a black gunpowder bag attached to the end. It was often this small Singijeon that was shot from a Hwacha at a range of about 330 feet and was released in batches of 100.
Why Hwacha Fell Out of Favor
Because the rack placed on the Hwacha was cantilevered, rockets could be launched at an angle. The late Joseon kingdom relied heavily on the Singijeon variant to fight against Manchurian and Japanese invasions. The hwacha was a formidable weapon with great psychological effect, but it was also complicated to construct and operate.
These rocket launchers had been phased out of service in favor of cannons and arquebuses by the time the first American and Russian missions landed in Korea. When bullets and artillery shells proved more effective than fire arrows, the hwacha were rendered obsolete.
Based on a Chinese War Machine
According to various sources, the true origin of the Hwacha could be based on the Chinese invention “Tu Huo Qiang.” Translated as “fire lance,” this weapon was one of the first true guns in history. It was a single-projectile weapon made from a moso bamboo tube that was filled with gunpowder.
Due to the low explosive capacity of the gunpowder of the time, this gun produced more smoke and flames than anything else. Thus, it was primarily used for its shock effect rather than its lethality.
Therefore, it’s not out of the question that the ancient Koreans knew how to create a new version of such a weapon, given China’s cultural and military hegemony over the region.
Hwacha in Today’s Society
Video Games
- Video games such as Rise of Nations (2003), Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Warlords (2006), and Sid Meier’s Civilization V (2010) include Hwacha as a distinctive military unit for the Korean civilization.
- In the video game Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (2019), this weapon fires 60 arrows in three seconds.
- It is also featured in The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land (2015).
- In the game Medieval II: Total War, such devices are used by the Mongols.
- In the Korean MMORPG Black Desert, this artillery gun is also present at sieges.
- In Ghost of Tsushima (2020), the Hwacha are used by the Mongols to attack the island of Tsushima. The player can also use this gun in battles.
TV Shows and Movies
In 2008, the TV program “MythBusters” attempted to recreate the Hwacha and investigate its veracity by conducting an experiment. The target was at 1500 feet (460 m), and they needed to see whether the weapon could hit it while firing 200 arrows at once.
They tested three factors:
- Can it send arrows over a distance of 500 yards?
- Would the arrows explode on impact and have fatal consequences?
- Can 200 arrows be fired simultaneously in a single shot?
First, they saw that rocket arrows could actually be launched that far, and then the team saw that, with the correct amount of gunpowder, they could provide fatal power. Finally, the MythBusters were able to manufacture a working Hwacha and fire 199 out of 200 arrows at once, which all landed near the target. All three factors were confirmed, proving its historical accuracy.
The arrows’ shape allowed them to fly beyond the target, yet they all landed inside a narrow region. Had a large army been there, the attack would have been devastating. This confirmed the historical reports.
This rocket launcher is shown in the seventh episode of the eleventh season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, “Promises Broken.”
In the movie “Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones” (2002), the Battle of Geonosis used the IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank, which slightly resembles the Hwacha.
References
- Featured Image: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, edited from original.
- Firearms (washington.edu)
- Huolongjing – Google Books
