The purpose of this research is to reconstruct the history of ancient Korean iron technology which is currently disconnected and to throughly investigate the history of korean science and technology. Based on this research, it has been attempted to pr ...
The purpose of this research is to reconstruct the history of ancient Korean iron technology which is currently disconnected and to throughly investigate the history of korean science and technology. Based on this research, it has been attempted to provide supply of traditional iron hardware which can be used for restoring ancient buildings and other structures and to use cultural contents for a variety of areas.
During the three years of research program, three iron smelting and refining experiments were carried out respectively with the aim of reconstructing iron smelting process (bloomery iron production) and refining process (refining → refined forging → forming). In this research, based on the theory and experience obtained from 35 years of collaborative work, our team was composed of researchers from a variety of fields such as archeology, metallurgy, history and folklore as well as iron craftsmen. In addition, pocelain potters, Onggi potters, and field archaeologists participated as research collaborators. University students and graduate students from the department of archeology, Korean history, conservation of cultural properties, and metal engineering also participated in the experiments, and through continuous experiments and analysis, it provided a desirable opportunity to learn experimental archeology by using the collaborative methodologies.
In addition to these experiments conducted by our research team, we also participated in local festivals such as Ulsan and Yeoju festival, and it was possible to inform local residents the outcome of the research, and to discuss and correct the technical issues which was raised during the experimental works. It has also been widely communicated to the people through such central and local mass media.
While, as a result of three years of research, it is considered that most of the fundamental factors which were related with iron smelting technologies have been reconstructed, it is necessary to improve technical details in the future. Through these achievements, it became possible to attempt the mass iron production by re-using the built smelting furnace.
The results of the 1st iron smelting experiment were published in the book, and the results of 2nd and 3rd iron smelting experiments and the refining experiments were also being prepared. The detailed technical information was presented through four papers and a number of domestic and international academic conferences. In addition, the scope of academic interactions in our research is expanding internationally.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to conduct follow-up research due to the stopping of support due to the unfair evaluation of the National Research Foundation. In the future, we will continue to make efforts to reconstruct more advanced iron production technologies such as pig iron smelting, and the production of parched iron and cast iron, which have not been properly tested.
Finally, in order for this kind of research to proceed appropriately, national support is desperately required. And thus, continuous research support should be provided.