Korean Kite Flying: A History

Kite flying, known as Yeonnalligi (연날리기) in Korean, is a folk game that most people play in the wintertime. Craftsmen originally made kites from thin bamboo pieces with a mulberry paper coating. Most of the ones you can buy now are made from nylon or a lightweight fabric and their long string is wound around a four-pegged wheel.
Most kites are decorated with bright colors – usually red, blue, yellow, white and black – as well as simple shapes like stars and moons. Some may be more elegant with symbols of fortune and love like bats or butterflies. Others may have Chinese characters on them that wish the flier good luck.

Korean kites often have a large hole in the middle, about half the diameter of the entire kite. This was an ancient way of monitoring wind control and helped the kite fly more smoothly. Shield in Korean is bangpae (방패), and one type of kite is called bangpaeyeon (방패연) because of its similar shape. They don’t have a tail and are people use them mostly for sky duels. This is where opposing flyers try to force another kite down from the sky by cutting the string using friction from their own kite string. Some people claim that it’s even more exhausting than shooting a bow and arrow! Do you think you would win?

The oldest surviving record of Korean kite flying is from the Samguk Sagi (삼국사기) – the records of the Three Kingdoms Period. It can be traced all the way back to the reign of Queen Chindok of Silla in 637 A.D. when the military set off a burning kite at night to trick the superstitious population into believing that a falling star was bringing good luck from the heavens. Would you have believed it? Historically, we know that the military used kites to send messages to other troops at a faraway distance. Who could have imagined that it would someday become something light and playful that we do with our families?

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