The KTA revival part 2: What is left to maximise the growth of traditional archery in Korea
With federal university organisation and youth participation at an all time high, it seems the future of Korean Traditional Archery (KTA) is well intact going forward.
However, Andrew White, an English business professor and KTA club founder for Seoul’s Induk University, states more can be done to incorporate students into the senior level at 145 metres, which involves them shooting at the aforementioned jeongs.
“Ideally, I would like that to happen while they’re still university students, while they can still have their competitions amongst different schools.”
“Have those occur not at a university at a 30 or 50-metre distance but have those occur at the 145-metre distance.”
“That requires a lot of acceptance and support from these membership clubs to be willing to host these college clubs to come onto their premises and to have these competitions.”
It is not as simple as just rocking up to any old range though. Jeongs are accessed exclusively by members and newcomers must be acquainted with their chosen one before even aiming an arrow.
This courting process can take up to a month before getting connected to the training and coaching system each jeong possesses for beginners.
Then follows the arduous, challenging task of learning how to shoot an arrow onto a target 145 metres away, involving an increased amount of back tension and muscular stretching compared to recurve archery.
Mastering the draw technique before dropping any accurate shots can take up to a further three months, but White affirms it is worth the wait as he likens the process to a par three golf course.
“Every par three is different and with the KTA, as a sport, the 145-metre distance from the shooting line to the target could be like on two sides of a mountain with a valley between it,” he explained. “I've been to some where the ocean is coming in and there’s a little cove in between and you're shooting over a bay or a cove of saltwater.”
“Some of the targets are very much inclined on the side of a hill, others are declined, so there are no regulations on flatness and so for me personally, that's a great benefit, to the struggles of hitting the target.”
But due to the private nature of jeongs, information on joining them can be hard to come by, which is why White has set up a Facebook group as a way for fellow and new KTA archers to connect.
Anyone on it asking to partake KTA, White invites them to his range, Surakjeong in Seoul, educating them on the sport of the body and the Confucian elements of the mind as a tour guide.
His enthusiasm for KTA awarded him an honorary Seoul citizenship in 2018, but White believes more can be done to encourage participation in the nine jeongs in the capital and the several others scattered around the rest of Korea.
“I would actually say that there’s hardly any promotion from the government. A lot of soft promotions going on like what I’m doing, but in terms of the government, it’s the difference between hard and soft.”
“Hard is promoted by the government, it’s funded and has marketing involved. That’s not really done with KTA.”
“If people show interest and they ask, I’m willing to bring them onto my range, and if there’s not too many people at the shooting line, I’ll give them a bow and I’ll let them shoot because it’s a unique experience that most people really can’t do.”
As strong as Korea in the Olympics have been and will most likely continue to be, it is not just because of their incredibly stringent, hard working camps.
It is a nation who’s culture is significantly intertwined with archery, whether it be for historical military reasons or a previous noble pastime.
Although we are now in 2024 where numerous other hobbies are accessible and known of thanks to the endless prism of the internet, Korean Traditional Archery’s recent rise amongst university students shows that no matter what, the bow will never leave Korea and Korea will never leave the bow.
This was Part 2 on Korean Traditional Archery. Read Part 1.
