List of Korean inventions
Encyclopedia
Underfloor Heating system
OndolOndol
An ondol, also called gudeul, in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating which uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor...
is the first underfloor heating
Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling which achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using conduction, radiation and convection...
system which was invented in Korea as early as 1000 BCE.
Metal movable type printing
movable typeMovable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
, transitioned from ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
type to metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
cast type, occurred in 1234 during the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and is credited to Yun-ui Choe. A set of ritual books, Sangjeong Gogeum Yemun were printed with the movable metal type in 1234. Examples of this metal type are on display in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington, D.C. The oldest extant movable metal print book is the Jikji
Jikji
Jikji is the abbreviated title of a Korean Buddhist document, whose title can be translated "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings". Printed during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1377, it is the world's oldest extant movable metal print book...
, printed in Korea in 1377.
Featural alphabet
HangulHangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
is the first featural alphabet
Featural alphabet
A featural alphabet is an alphabet wherein the shapes of the letters are not arbitrary, but encode phonological features of the phonemes they represent. The term featural was introduced by Geoffrey Sampson to describe Hangul and Pitman Shorthand...
, wherein the shapes of the letters are not arbitrary, but encode phonological features of the phonemes they represent.
Multiple rocket launcher
HwachaHwacha
Hwacha or Hwach'a is the world's first multiple rocket launcher developed and used in Joseon Korea. It had the ability to fire up to 100 steel-tipped rockets, or 200 Singijeon flaming arrow projectiles from a range of 500 yards in multiple salvos...
is the first Multiple rocket launcher
Multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system. Like other rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers are less accurate and have a much lower rate of fire than batteries of traditional artillery guns...
which was a platform device on wheels that used gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
to fire fire arrows, a predecessor of the modern MLRS.
Standardized rain gauge
The Cheugugi was first standardized rain gaugeRain gauge
A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
. Created around 1450 by the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
scientist Jang Yeong-sil
Jang Yeong-sil
Jang Yeong-sil was a prominent Korean scientist and astronomer during the Joseon Dynasty . Although Jang was...
, it was used throughout the country for official purposes.
Soft bullet-proof vest
Myeonje Baegab is the world's first soft bullet-proof vest, developed by Kim Gi-du and Gang Yun in the late 1860s in the Joseon Dynasty.Modern science and technology
- MP3 Portable Player: The world's first commercial, mass-produced Digital Audio Players were built by Saehan Information SystemsSaehanSaehan is a South Korean corporation established in the beginning of the 1970s. It is now mostly based on textile production. The Saehan Automobile division later became Daewoo Motors...
in 1998. - MP3 Phone: The world's first mobile phone with built-in MP3 players were produced in South Korea in October, 1999. The innovation spread rapidly and by 2005, more than half of all music sold in South Korea was sold directly to mobile phones.
- Touch screen mobile phone: LG KE850 is the world's first Completely Touch Screen Mobile Phone using finger touch instead of stylus, having a main button directly below the display. The developer,LG ElectronicsLG ElectronicsLG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...
has claimed the iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
's design was copied from the LG KE850. - WiBroWiBroWiBro is a wireless broadband Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE 802.16e international standard...
- Digital Multimedia BroadcastingDigital Multimedia BroadcastingDigital Multimedia Broadcasting is a digital radio transmission technology developed in South Korea as part of the national IT project for sending multimedia such as TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices such as mobile phones...
- Ring system Positron emission tomographyPositron emission tomographyPositron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...
(PET) was first proposed by Zang-Hee Cho and James Robertson in mid 1970. - AxinoAxinoThe axino is a hypothetical elementary particle predicted by some theories of particle physics. Peccei-Quinn theory attempts to explain the observed phenomenon known as the strong CP problem by introducing a hypothetical real scalar particle called the axion...
is a hypothetical elementary particle predicted by some theories of particle physics. theoretical physicist Jihn-Eui Kim suggested it. - SupersolidSupersolidA supersolid is a spatially ordered material with superfluid properties. Superfluidity is a special quantum state of matter in which a substance flows with zero viscosity.-Background:...
is a frictionless solid and the term was named by Eungsung Kim and Moses Chan . - HantavirusHantavirusHantaviruses are negative sense RNA viruses in the Bunyaviridae family. Humans may be infected with hantaviruses through rodent bites, urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste products...
causes renal syndromes and it was first isolated by Howang Lee. - Chisanbop
Games
- YutYutYut Nori is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The game is also called cheok-sa or sa-hee...
is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The game is also called cheok-sa or sa-hee. The suffix nori means "game".
Korean musical instruments
- YanggeumYanggeumThe yanggeum is a traditional Korean string instrument. It is a hammered dulcimer. Unlike other traditional Korean instruments , the yanggeum has metal strings. It is played by striking the strings with a bamboo stick....
a hammered dulcimer with metal strings, struck with a bamboo stick. - JangguJangguThe janggu or sometimes called seyogo is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin...
is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin. The two heads produce sounds of different pitch and timbre, which when played together are believed to represent the harmony of man and woman. - GayageumGayageumThe gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument...
is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument.
Martial arts
- TaekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
- Taekgyeon is believed that it originated with warriors from the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE–668 CE) who learned subak from the neighboring Goguryeo armies when they appealed for their help against invading Japanese pirates. Practicing subak became part of the training for Silla's hwarang, and this contributed to the spread of subak on the Korean peninsula. But again, it is not known exactly which techniques the hwarang practiced. Buddhist monks, who added more spiritual aspects to the art, often instructed the hwarang. Their greatest contribution to the development of Korean martial arts is probably adding a spiritual dimension to the training practices, something that Korean martial arts lacked before. Empty-handed combat appears to have played a small role; most of the emphasis was on armed combat. It has only been recently that empty-handed combat has gained more popularity than armed combat.
- SsireumSsireumHistorically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....
is a Korean wrestling style and is the traditional national sport of Korea. In the modern form each contestant wears a belt that wraps around the waist and the thigh. The competition employs a series of techniques, which inflict little harm or injury to the opponent: opponents lock on to each other's belt, and one achieves victory by bringing any part of the opponent's body above the knee to the ground. - Gukgung Korean archery, making use of a traditional composite horn bow.
Social sciences
- Blue Ocean StrategyBlue Ocean StrategyBlue Ocean Strategy is a business strategy book first published in 2005 and written by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne of at INSEAD. The book illustrates what the authors believe is the high growth and profits an organization can generate by creating new demand in an uncontested market space, or...
denote all the industries not in existence today—the unknown market space, untainted by competition. The term was coined by W. Chan Kim.
Sports culture
- ThundersticksThundersticksThundersticks, sometimes known as cheerstix, bangers or bambams, are long, narrow plastic balloons that are used as promotional noise makers. The noise is created when two thundersticks are struck together...
are inflated plastic tubes that make a loud clapping noise when struck together. They are usually used at sporting events but have also been used at political rallies in Korea.
See also
- Science and technology in KoreaScience and technology in KoreaLike most other regions in the world, science and technology in Korea has experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation....
- Inventions of the Islamic Golden Age
- List of Chinese inventions
- List of Indian inventions
- List of Japanese inventions
- Timeline of historic inventions