::A Geek in Korea::

Hwacha!

The Mythbusters tested the legendary Hwacha (화차), which is a giant 200 arrow rocket launcher. It was completely awesome to see them dealing with a Korean myth on the show! They build this gigantic contraption and stacked it full of 200 arrows that exploded on contact. Every step along the way this improbably device met their testing requirements.

My dad, when going through the Seoul War Museum was really impressed by the Hwacha they had on display. My dad said that according to the sign on the display that the Hwacha they had at that museum was the oldest known (war?) device with the original blueprints to build it. He thought that it was impressive that the knowledge how to build such a device could be kept for hundreds of years and passed down to this day.

To see the Mythbusters build a massive Hwacha and then launch it was fantastic. It seemed like a lethal device to me. Check out Season 6, Episode 16 of the Mythbusters, or visit their website to see their launch. (No Deep Linking available.)

I love Mythbusters, and seeing a war machine I’ve seen in person tested on the show was fantastic. I hope they do even more Korean myths, but nothing as silly or as implausible as, say Fan Death.