A catapult, a bow that works in a mechanical way, was one of the excellent weapons of Koguryo.
It was made up of two parts ― a bow and a body. The bow was for loading shooting force on the arrow and the body was for holding and directing the arrow.
Our country has the longest history of a catapult in the East. A catapult was of two types ― single-shot and multi-shot.
The most well-known multi-shot catapult was a three-arrow-shot catapult of our country in the middle ages.
Upgraded from the Koguryo’s single-shot catapult, the three-arrow-shot catapult could hold many arrows and discharge three arrows at a time.
Other countries did not have such a multi-shot catapult in those days.
The catapults invented by our resourceful ancestors were absolutely unique in structure, way of working and manufacturing technique, so they are still attracting admiration of people.
A great number of people are particularly impressed by the line of sight inscribed on the catapult that can be seen only on modern weapons.
That is why even weapon experts from other countries praised, “The simple but clever construction of a catapult amazes modern people. It is so interesting since it works like a today’s rifle. As an invention 2 000 years ago, it is absolutely amazing.”
Indeed, the catapult of Koguryo demonstrates our ancestors’ extraordinary creative wisdom and talent.
Kim Kwang Jo, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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