 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2008) |
The Korean war fan (mubuchae; Hangul: 무부채) was a Korean martial arts weapon that originated in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Swords and similar weapons were banned from most people during this time which created a desire for weapons that could be held in plain sight without arousing suspicion. They became most popular among the chungin (middle class) and yangban (upper class).
Craftsmen discovered a way of taking the "pak dahl" wood, an extremely resilient birch tree that thrived in the ice storms and harsh seasons of Korea's mountainous peninsula, and tempering it to a hardness that could resist the edged weapons typical of the era.