National Classical Document “Firearm Collection”

The “Firearm Collection” compiled in August 1635 by Ri So, an official in Kungisi, a governmental department in charge of the manufacture of ordnance, is one of the precious national classics which is helpful to the study of the history of military development of our country.

The document includes various technical data in detail, including the specific sizes of powder weapons and ammunition invented and used by the Korean ancestors during the Imjin Patriotic War and other wars.

First, there were described the various guns that had been handed down until then. It introduces various guns widely used at that time, including details of the technical specifications of these weapons, such as the length of the fuse, the amount of powder, the length of the wooden plug or the earthen plug, the range, the type of ammunition and the mass. There were also described a variety of rifles that were widely used at that time.

In addition, the document classified the kinds of fuse into large, medium and small and disclosed the method of making the fuse and amount of powder. “Firearm Collection” is a national classic which comprehensively dealt with various kinds of powder weapons invented and manufactured in our country and described their detailed technical data. It is a valuable document showing the development of the military technology of our country in the Middle Ages.