Archery in Korea a Path to Harmony
Created: Jan 25 2010
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“From righteous mind comes righteous body.”
From stillness and virtue…comes action. That’s one of the ancient codes of conduct of Korean archery which has been practiced for thousands of years.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“When I prepare to shoot I have to calm down and control my breathing. Good archery is not just shooting an arrow - it comes from focusing the mind. The correct physical action originates from internal stillness.”
When Donghyung Cho was a boy he lived near an archery field where he would often watch people training.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“When I was 9 years old, I hoped to do archery like them (archers) so I tried to make a bow and arrow using bamboo and rubber bands.”
40 years on, he’s now fulfilling his childhood dream.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“I was really happy when I rediscovered archery. Now I’m playing with the real thing, I have a real bow and arrow like the soldiers of ancient days.”
He’s been playing for six years now. Cho was so inspired by archery; he convinced his wife to start as well.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“I recommended it to my wife. Now we enjoy playing archery together and this hobby has given us more time to talk with each other, and to love each other more.”
And their marriage was in need of a bit more love.
[Hyejeon Min, Archer, Dohyung Cho’s Wife]:
“I was unhappy with our marriage before, because my husband would stay out late and I was alone. After I started archery with him I became very happy in with marriage and there are no more problems.”
But still, archery is a very a male dominated sport.
[Hyejeon Min, Female Archer]:
“There are only a few women archery players in Korea. I was told by my husband that there are women players. I’m very proud of myself being a woman and playing archery which is a male dominated sport.”
According to the president of the Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club, there are 50,000 members of the sport, and it’s growing each year.
[Pilhwa Kim, President, Gyeryeong Archery Club]:
“It’s good for health and a good tool to get along with others. This sport requires virtue.”
It’s not so surprising why there’s a recent boom in Korean archery here.
Emma Hall, NTD, Gyeryeong, South Korea.
“From righteous mind comes righteous body.”
From stillness and virtue…comes action. That’s one of the ancient codes of conduct of Korean archery which has been practiced for thousands of years.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“When I prepare to shoot I have to calm down and control my breathing. Good archery is not just shooting an arrow - it comes from focusing the mind. The correct physical action originates from internal stillness.”
When Donghyung Cho was a boy he lived near an archery field where he would often watch people training.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“When I was 9 years old, I hoped to do archery like them (archers) so I tried to make a bow and arrow using bamboo and rubber bands.”
40 years on, he’s now fulfilling his childhood dream.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“I was really happy when I rediscovered archery. Now I’m playing with the real thing, I have a real bow and arrow like the soldiers of ancient days.”
He’s been playing for six years now. Cho was so inspired by archery; he convinced his wife to start as well.
[Donghyung Cho, Secretary, Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club]:
“I recommended it to my wife. Now we enjoy playing archery together and this hobby has given us more time to talk with each other, and to love each other more.”
And their marriage was in need of a bit more love.
[Hyejeon Min, Archer, Dohyung Cho’s Wife]:
“I was unhappy with our marriage before, because my husband would stay out late and I was alone. After I started archery with him I became very happy in with marriage and there are no more problems.”
But still, archery is a very a male dominated sport.
[Hyejeon Min, Female Archer]:
“There are only a few women archery players in Korea. I was told by my husband that there are women players. I’m very proud of myself being a woman and playing archery which is a male dominated sport.”
According to the president of the Gyeryeong Archery Dao Club, there are 50,000 members of the sport, and it’s growing each year.
[Pilhwa Kim, President, Gyeryeong Archery Club]:
“It’s good for health and a good tool to get along with others. This sport requires virtue.”
It’s not so surprising why there’s a recent boom in Korean archery here.
Emma Hall, NTD, Gyeryeong, South Korea.
