Bonguk geom (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

본국검 "

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

", also ''singeom'' 신검 "Silla sword") in

Joseon era Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

Korean martial arts Korean martial arts ( or ) are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of ...

(17th to 18th centuries) referred both to a type of

and a style of

swordsmanship Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

. The term was introduced in the ''

Muyesinbo The ''Muyesinbo'' (; alternatively ''Muyeshinbo'') is a Korean martial arts manual published in 1759.Ehwa University Press 2008, Sippalgi: Traditional Korean Martial Arts, Dr. B.K. Choi The book is a revision of the older ''Muyejebo'', made du ...

'' of 1759, and the system was supposedly a creation of

Crown Prince Sado Crown Prince Sado (; 13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762), personal name Yi Seon (), was the second son of King Yeongjo of Joseon. His biological mother was Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jeonui Yi clan. Due to the prior death of Sado's ...

. It contrasts with

Jedok geom ''Jedok geom'' () or ''Admiral sword'' or ''Commander sword'' is a sword-skill originating from China and used during the Japanese invasions of Korea during the 16th century. The techniques required the use of both a sharp sword and a waist sw ...

, or "admiral sword", a system supposedly introduced by the Chinese admiral

Li Rusong Li Rusong (1549–1598) was a Chinese general of the Ming dynasty from Tieling, Liaodong. He was a Ming army commander in the first half of the Imjin War that took place in the Korean peninsula. Upon the request of the Korean King Seonjo of ...

during the 16th-century

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

(the "national sword" system is conspicuously absent from the older ''

Muyejebo The '' Muyejebo'' (''Compendium of Several Martial Arts'') is the oldest extant Korean martial arts manual, compiled by Han Gyo (韓嶠) in 1598 during the reign of King Seonjo. With the addition of material from Japanese martial arts, a sup ...

'' manual of 1610). The ''Muyesinbo'' stresses the antiquity of this "national" Korean system by including the narrative of a Silla " Flower Youth" called ''Hwangchang'', who killed

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

's king while performing a

sword dance Weapon dances incorporating swords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of Solo dance, solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic dance, Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa, Asia and Europe. Some traditions use ...

, known as Geommu, at the court. The historical swords of the Silla period would have been double-edged and comparable to those of the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

dynastic period (see also Hwandudaedo). However, the Bonguk geom, as presented in the 18th-century manual, is historically based on a single-edged sword; a type common during that era. In contemporary schools of

Korean swordsmanship Since the 1970s, there has been a revival of traditional or reconstructed methods of swordsmanship (劍術 ''geom sul'', or 劍法 ''geom beop'') based on the Korean sword in the Republic of Korea (Korean '' Bon Kuk Geom Beop'' 본국검법 ...

, the term ''bonguk geom'' is used to emphasize their "national" Korean character, without necessarily bearing a direct relation to the 18th-century system.

References

*B.K. Choi, Sippalgi: Traditional Korean Martial Arts, Ehwa University Press 2008 Traditional Korean weapons Korean_swords {{Sword-stub