Ships and Ports The Ship The human history has been closely related to the sea, and the ship as a means of transportation has played a key role in the human history. We find so many interesting incidents associated with the sea and ships in the human history: There were famous naval wars, which determined the fate of a country, discoveries and explorations of the new world and polar regions, fable-like pirate ships, which stimulated people's imagination, the emergence of beautiful sailors and steamers, and the tragic disasters in the sea. Even today sees the birth of new ships based on the modern technology. We Koreans, who aspire to an advanced maritime nation in the new century, need to understand the history of the ship. ■ The Traditional Ships of Korea The Korean people, who settled in the Korean peninsula, were actively involved in the activities related to the sea and had the skill to build excellent ships. In the ancient times, shipbuilding technology developed through the construction of warships. Likewise, the ancient Korea developed the shipbuilding technology under the government control, and the civilian technicians, who were conscripted to the service of building warships, could also develop the technology of building ships of general purposes. Korea boasts excellent ships such as the strongly-built warship of the Goryeo period and the Geobukseon (the turtle ship) of the Joseon period as well as the sea heroes such as Jang Bogo, Choi Museon, and Yi Sunsin. Thanks to its history, Korea, in spite of a relatively little experience in modern shipbuilding, was able to become one of the biggest shipbuilding countries in the world. This chapter will survey the traditional ships of Korea. 1.Ships of the Ancient Period Korea, whose three sides are surrounded by the sea, has had a close relationship with the sea for a long time. There exist many records that the Korean people had used ships in trades with China and Japan since the Gojoseon (Old Joseon) period. We can assume that our ancestors sailed from the west coast of Korea to the west coast of Japan and from the south coast of Korea via Tsushima to the Kyushu area of Japan by means of the raft. The Korean people used "Ttetmok," and the word refers to the material of the raft, bamboo (which is pronounced as "dae" in Korean). Another word for raft, "beol," originated from the Chinese character, "凹," refers to a large-size raft, while "凹" (Pronounced as "bu" in Korean) means a small-size raft. Even fifty years ago from now, the raft could be seen on the Yalu, the Duman river, and the Han river. The logs cut from the upstream areas were transported downstream in the form of a raft. Hyusanjin was the starting point of the rafts in the Yalu, while the rafts of the Duman river started The raft of the Duman from Yudong. The rafts made of logs were moved River, "凹" downstream of the Han river from Inje. Picture 1 shows a small raft made with three or four logs tied with the vine. Picture 2 shows a raft, which was made with 5 or 8 well-rounded or square-cut logs pierced with the long spears on the sides. People used the raft for collecting seaweed or for fishing with the fishing net. When the sail was attached, the raft could be used for shuttling between islands. The raft can still be found at the east coast and the south coast of Korea. At Jeongdongjin, Gangweondo, at the East Sea, the raft is called "tomakbae," while people in Jejudo call it "tiu." In Tsushima and the west coast area of Japan, we can find the same type of raft as Korea's "tomakbae" or "tiu." The articles arguing that the Japanese raft was handed down by the Korean people supports the idea that the Korean people crossed the sea and moved to Japan by the raft. The southwestern coast of Korea has great tidal range, complicated shorelines, and the wide tideland. In order to adapt to these geological and geographical conditions, the Korean people developed the flat-bottomed raft. The raft with the flat- bottom can approach the shore at the flooding tide and stay at the tideland during the ebb tide. The tomakbae of Jeongdongjin and tiu of the Jeju Island have the same structure as that of the hanseon, the traditional Korean ship. The flat-bottom style is unique, not easily found in the vessels of any other country. Pictures 3 and 4 show the tomakbae, one of the oldest kind of ship made in Korea. It is a more advanced type than the raft which tied logs with vine. The square holes were made at the sides of the logs, and the "gasae," the spear-like wood, was pierced through the logs. Tomakbae was made of the poulawnia wood. When some part of the tomakbae was broken or rotten, that irreparable part was replaced with the new wood. Pictures 5 and 6 show the tiu, used for fishing the sea bream in Jeju Island. A bench or a mast for the sail was often installed on the tiu, and tiu could cross the sea to go to other islands. Almost at the same time when the raft developed, the canoe, which was cut from the whole log with a stone axe, was also made. This type of canoe was used for crossing a lake or a river or for fishing. The relics of the Korean canoe can be observed on the petroglyph from the bronze age, which was found at Bangudae, at Ulju, Gyeongnam Province in 1971. There are altogether three canoes on the petroglyph, which resemble the earthen vessel of the Gaya and Silla period. The shape of the elevated bow and stern is similar to that of the ancient ships of Scandinavia, Egypt, Phoenecia, Persia, and India. The petroglyph, shows the scene of fishing by the fishing net, and this fishing method is still practiced in the southwestern coast of Korea. The relics of canoe deriving from the bronze age include the earthen vessel in the shape of a canoe from the Gaya period, the canoe-shaped earthen vessel excavated from Gyeongju, and the canoe in three pieces, which was excavated from Anapji, Gyeongju. This canoe is about 18 jas long, and the bow is about 2 jas wide, and its bow is about 4 jas and 6 chis wide. The hight of the gunwale is about 1 ja and 2 chis and the bottom is about 5-6 chis thick and made of pine tree. The inside of the log was hollowed out and these three pieces were connected side by side. (Notes: 1 ja = approximately 30 cm. 1 chi = 1/10 ja = approximately 3 cm.) There was a canoe ferry on the Duman river in the 1930s. The boards were added on to the bow and the stern of the ferry. This ferry is basically made of one piece of log. At the same time, a canoe called masangi was used on the Han river for fishing. On the Daedong River, Pyeongyang, a like mesaengi existed and this was so small as to carry only one or two persons. There is a record from the Joseon Period that masangi was often used to cross the river by the soldiers on the Yalu and the Duman River, but the relics do not exist. As the iron age came, people came to make planks, drill holes and peg wooden nails by using steel tools. In shipbuilding, people could make the stern by piling up one to three panels together. Also the space in the stern and the bow was covered with thin boards, and the beam-like yoke bar was put on the canoe. This is the georutbae, the prototype of the sea sailing boat. The Three Kingdom Age and the Unified Kingdom of Silla Period People around the coastal area of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla used the method of eoryang and gotbae for fishing. Gotbae had the got, a net containing stones in order to prevent the ship from being drifted away, and caught the fish, which were moving with the tides. The fishing net was made of coarsely woven hemp, whose holes were big enough for a rice grain to pass through. Besides this gotbae, there existed georutbae for people to go to and come back from the fishing ground, and the cargo ship to carry the fish or the commercial trade ship. The remains of the fishing boat from the Three Kingdoms Period do not exist now, however, the shipbuilding technique at that time seems to have been quite advanced. The earthen vessel in the shape of a canoe, which was excavated at Gyeongju, tells that the ships of the Silla period were able to cross the open sea and were utilized as a fishing boat if modified. The Three Kingdoms Period saw the building of warships in quantities for the purpose of warfare, and the making of ships for crossing the Strait of Hyeonhaetan to go to Japan or the ships of diplomatic purposes. Besides this large-scale shipbuilding led by the government, each individual or village or community may have built ships for fishing or ferry boats or carriers for the convenience of life on a small scale. Goguryeo Goguryeo, occupying the east and west coast of the northern Korean peninsula, had many waterways such as the Daedong river, the Cheongcheon river, the Yalu, the Duman river, and the Ryaoheo river. Therefore, lots of activities using the inland waterways were done in Goguryeo.