Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Guri Guy]

I think it is safe to say that Koreans have never been great inventors. However they have been skilled innovators. That is, taking a product and improving on it. Living next to China allowed Korea access to a lot of advanced technology. This was subsequently passed onto Japan.

I don't think the invention of Hangul is all that special to be honest. It seems likely they got the idea from the Mongols about modifying Chinese to suit their own language's phonetics. I read an account on how the Mongols commisioned Tibetan monks to do this for them. I will say that the shape of the characters being related to tongue position is pretty cool though. That and the Ying-Yang Dark and Light Vowels thingee makes Hangul somewhat scientific so I will give Koreans credit for that.

About suspension bridges:

Some of the earliest suspension bridge cables were made from twisted grass.

Rope made from bamboo, itself a form of grass, was used to hang the Anlan suspension bridge in China, first constructed about A.D. 300. The bridge spans the 1,000-foot wide Min River, using piers that support eight sections of cable to do so.


People have walked across the Anlan Bridge for 1,700 years.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/meetsusp.html

As far as prnting presses go, I believe Korea had the first metal movable type printing press.

Block printing

The original method of printing was block printing, pressing sheets of paper into individually carved wooden blocks (xylography). Block printing is believed to have originated in Asia. Recently, an excavation of a Korean pagoda unearthed a Buddhist sutra which predates the dates to 750-751 CE, and is now considered the oldest discovered printed work in the world. [1] [2]. Before this discovery, it was believed that the earliest known printed text was the Diamond Sutra (a Buddhist scripture), printed in China in mid-9th century. The technique was also known in Europe, where it was mostly used to print Bibles. Because of the difficulties inherent in carving massive quantities of minute text for every block, and given the levels of peasant illiteracy at the time, texts such as the "Pauper's Bibles" emphasized illustrations and used words sparsely. As a new block had to be carved for each page, printing different books was an incredibly time consuming activity.
Movable type

Movable type allowed for much more flexible processes than hand copying or block printing. It was invented in 1041 by Bi Sheng in China. Sheng used clay type, which broke easily, but Wang Zhen later carved more durable type from wood. Eventually, the Goryeo dynasty of Korea created metal type and established a brass type foundry in 1234, using Chinese characters. Examples of this metal type are on display in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The oldest extant movable metal print book is the Jikji, printed in Korea in 1377.

Since there are thousands of Chinese characters, the benefit of the technique was not as large as with alphabetic based languages, which typically are made up of fewer than 50 characters. Still, movable type spurred scholarly pursuits in Song China and facilitated more creative modes of printing. Nevertheless, movable type was not extensively used in China until the European-style printing press was introduced in relatively recent times.

Johann Gutenberg is credited with inventing the first printing press. Gutenberg is also credited with the first use of an soy-based ink. He printed on both vellum and paper, the latter having been introduced into Europe somewhat earlier from China by way of the Arabs, who had a paper mill in operation in Bagdad as early as 794.

Before inventing the printing press in the 1450s, Gutenberg had worked as a goldsmith. Without a doubt, the skills and knowledge of metals that he learned as a craftsman were crucial to the later invention of the press. Gutenberg made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality prints.

http://www.answers.com/topic/printing-press

[Privateer]

[edit]Interesting post, Guri guy![/edit]

[Guri Guy]

Thanks Privateer. I find Asian history fascinating.

It is possible that the "Korean invention" of the Ironclad ship is in doubt too. The idea is found in a Wikipedia article so I am not 100% sure of it's accuracy.

n 1576, the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga had six partially iron-covered war ships (Ōatakebune 大安宅船) constructed. These ships were called "Tekkousen" - literally, iron armored ships - and were armed with multiple cannons and large caliber rifles. Nobunaga defeated the navy of his enemy Mori Motonari with these ships at the mouth of the Kizu River, Osaka in 1578 with a successful naval blockade. Despite being regarded as floating fortresses, they were used as warships in the Seven-Year War with Korea. The most notable and largest of these ships was the Nihon Maru, which briefly fought a Korean turtle ship in the battle of Angolp'o harbor in 1592.

Although not a generally accepted theory, some postulate that the first instance of an ironclad warship may have been a ship designed by General Qin Shifu during the Song Dynasty in 1203. Some Chinese historical records credit Qin Shifu with the invention of a ship that was shaped like a Falcon, which had sheet-iron armor and an iron ram.[1]

It is noted that the Chinese ships actually had Iron side armour while the Korean ships only had iron on the top. I suppose it depends on your definition of Ironclad as to who was first.

I don't believe Koreans invented bombs or mortars either. I believe they may have modified an already existing Chinese invention.

GUNPOWDER

Gunpowder, reportedly produced from saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal, is a Chinese invention. Earliest records of the formula date to the 800s. The Chinese used gunpowder to propel rockets, and to produce incendiary and explosive projectiles thrown by catapult. By the 1200s, a Chinese Bureau of Munitions was operating seven factories that produced 7,000 rockets and 21,000 bombs a day. The weaponry included a so-called "thunder-crash bomb", which the Chinese unleashed in 1232 on Mongol troops besieging Kaifeng, capital of the north Chinese Jin Empire. During the later years of the 13th century, the Chinese invented cannons, using gunpowder to fire projectiles from metal barrels.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/oldwrld/armies/gunpowder.html

All in all, it is conceivable that Koreans have the metal movable type printing press as their only great invention and it was really just an upgrade on the Chinese wooden one.

[SeoulFinn]

I don't remember reading that Romans or Greeks used ironclad ships. But that's not the issue here, though. Samuel Hawley in his book "The Imjin War (2005)" mentioned couple times how Oda Nobunaga used "iron ships" during late sengoku period. I recommend his book to everyone who is interested about the Japanese 1592 and 1597 invasions.

[VanIslander]

China has been the source of more inventions than whatever country the op is from.

If one is going to compare east vs. west.

But this thread seems intended to be a sort of Real Reality writ small.

Glad to see posters taking it in another direction.

[Guri Guy]

No no Seoulfinn. You gave much more information than I did. That's a good source you found. I talked about the subject in general and you were much more specific. Good work.

[doggyji]

[Zulu]

[Zulu]

[SirFink]

[Natalia]

[laogaiguk]

[own_king]

Yeah, I can't see why having an alphabet is such an incredible idea. Not having one - now that's really something. The only reason King Sejong sanctioned this undertaking, was because all official business of the time was conducted in Chinese, but very few people could read or write Chinese. Actually, King Sejong had little to do with the making of hangul. The idea of developing an alphabet for the Korean language had been batted around for a couple quite some time, but a few of the aristocrats who could read and write Chinese got their noses out of joint, because they saw their influence and power going out the window. As a result, they always thwarted any attempts to introduce one. To his credit King Sejong finally got the job done, but it wasn't his invention, just like the turtle boat wasn't built by Admiral Yi. It was built by the workers and Hangul was developed by a few of the more forward thinking scholars, who wanted to appease Sejong for their own gain. So often in history, credit goes to the powerful or famous - not the true builders and visionaries.

[bluelake]

[Kwangjuchicken]

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the first computer around 500 years ago.

The only problem was that there was no place to plug it in.