Gukgung aka Hwalssogi refers to Korean traditional archery. It is recognized as an intangible cultural asset (no 142) by the Korean government. This ancient competition sport has several key differences with Olympic archery: namely the more frontal body position, the way to pull the string with the thumb and the shooting distance of 145 meters (about 158 yards) instead of 70 for the Olympic range. The Korean bow is also smaller and doesn’t include weight or aiming devices.
ℹ️ For security reasons it is not possible to shoot from 145 meters for beginners and tryouts. Instead, the range from the target is set at about 10 meters and a less powerful bow is used.