HD Time Traveler: The White Tiger that Killed 400... Focusing on the Chakho Gapsa

KBS 1TV 'HD Time Traveler' will broadcast its 35th episode, 'Catch the Tiger! Joseon Special Forces Chakho Gapsa,' on Sunday, the 30th at 9:30 PM. This episode looks back at the causes and scale of the tiger attacks that swept through Joseon, and the response strategies used to prevent them, reflecting how the Joseon governing ideology of 'Wimin Jehae' (serving the people and removing harm) was implemented.

The Korean Peninsula has been a major habitat for tigers since the Neolithic Age. Tigers are even engraved on the Bangudae Petroglyphs in Ulsan, and the reason why Siberian tigers are called Baekdu Mountain tigers is due to this background. However, during the Joseon Dynasty, state-led farmland reclamation projects led to ecological collapse, causing tigers that had lost their habitats and prey to head toward human lands.

Tiger Attacks Escalating into National Disasters

Tiger attacks caused numerous casualties every year across the country, excluding Jeju Island and Ulleungdo, with tigers even infiltrating residential areas, the capital city, and royal palaces. In Yu Mong-in's 『Eoujib』, the "Hojungmun" section records: "People were harmed while plowing fields, while weeding, and while drawing water; it is impossible to know how many lose their lives in the deep mountain forests and thick bushes, leaving behind bloodied kin and becoming ghosts who wail all night." Shim Seung-gu, a former professor of the Department of Liberal Arts at Korea National Sport University, explains, "The Joseon Dynasty perceived these tiger attacks, along with famines and epidemics, as some of the greatest disasters of the era."

The Emergence of Chakho Gapsa and Baek-aekho}

To respond to tiger attacks, Joseon organized a special unit called 'Chakho Gapsa' to hunt tigers. Chakho Gapsa members were selected through top-level tests in archery, spearmanship, and physical strength. As tiger attacks surged, the number of members increased from 80 during the reign of King Sejong to 440 during the reign of King Seongjong. They roamed the mountains using special weapons such as 'Hojeon' (tiger arrows) and 'Hamgi' (traps). The 『Gyeongguk Daejeon』, "Byeongjeon" section, states: "When selecting Chakho Gapsa, they test archery and spearmanship, appointing those who are strong and brave. Those with experience catching two or more tigers with spears or arrows are exempt from the test and appointed as Chakho Gapsa." In 1571, a white-faced tiger known as 'Baek-aekho' appeared, killing about 400 heads of livestock and humans. The record from October 27, the 4th year of King Seonjo's reign (1571) in the 『Seonjo Sillok』 states: "Baek-aekho appeared in the forests of Gongsunreung, Goyang, and other areas, killing about 400 humans and livestock, so the court ordered a large-scale capture," and King Seonjo ordered a massive subjugation operation for one month.

From National Symbol to Victim of Exploitation

Tigers were also regarded in Joseon society as symbols of bravery and protectors against misfortune, appearing on military officials' rank patches, official hat decorations, and as tiger skins placed atop bridal palanquins. However, during the Imjin War, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered tiger meat, Japanese generals engaged in tiger hunting on the Korean Peninsula, and during the Japanese colonial period, the Government-General of Korea led the tigers of the Korean Peninsula to extinction under the pretext of a 'wildlife control' project. This broadcast will also shed light on these historical circumstances.

Source: KBS Press Release

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