Shooting Ranges in Korea
Today on the show we’re covering every red-blooded american’s favorite activity, shooting things! *gun sounds, cowboy sounds*. Yes you can shoot guns in Korea, and there are more than 1 type you can handle as well. Let’s lock and load *gun sounds*
History
Guns and artillery have been in Korea since the mid-14th century according to Wikipedia. They obtained gunpowder and some cannons from the Chinese, then built their own firearms and made improvements during the reigns of Taejong and Sejong. Japanese arquebuster muskets came in during the Imjin war, and Korea had a prototype pistol called Se-Chongtong in the 1430s. As far as civilians go, they weren’t allowed to own firearms per se, though there were specialized tiger-hunting teams that had muskets. Of course with the number of rebellions in Korean history, you’d think that would be a reason, but the main issue was the importation of flint to make sparks. But there were rifle sales to civilians during the Korean Empire days but they were limited and often expensive. When the Japanese occupation started up, all the weapons got confiscated, leaving guns in the hands of Japanese landowners and collaborator groups according to an article by Lee Young-Seok. The righteous armies of Korean independence got guns through smuggling and manufacturing at home. After independence and the Korean war, there were a lot of military hardware floating out there and criminals gobbled them up. So during the Rhee and Park years, there were crackdowns to get guns out of the hands of criminals and cough cough activists cough cough. While many regulations have loosened up since the end of the dictatorship days, gun control remains one of the strictly maintained ones, but that doesn’t mean you can’t buy a gun here. There’s hunting in Korea as well as airsoft and target shooting. There are even shooting ranges where you can rent a gun and bullets for it. From what I remember, home ownership is illegal. So you buy the gun, but the trigger is kept at the police station and you check it out like a library book, take it to the gun shop, and they’ll reassemble it for you. Then you can take it to where you want to use it, like the hunting spots or the ranges. You can buy ammo at the hunting sites but you can’t buy it at the store anymore. *ohhh disappointed sound* Bows are not regulated and you can buy all the bows & arrows off Coupang. Of course you have to string the bows itself which can be a difficult experience if you don’t know what you’re doing. And now everyone’s looking at me…
transition music: Famous shooters (Olympics, etc)
Shooting, at least target shooting, is a big Olympic activity here. Every Olympics Korea sends competitive shooters, especially in pistol. In shooting they’ve won 23 medals including 10 golds. Kim Ye-ji became famous for winning silver at the Paris Olympics and looking like a T-X-3000 *joke sting* Man I’m serious! You should have heard some of the thirsty dudes on TikTok & X saying “oh she can shoot me anytime”. No wonder she took a break from social media and shooting contests. Y’all done scared her off. Anyway Oh Ye-jin from Jeju is also a famous olympian with a gold in women’s 10 meter pistol. Jin Jong-Oh was also famous for Olympics shooting, so there’s a lot of top shots in this country. You can say it’s a side effect of the mandatory military training for men as well as the love for shooting games, but when I go to the arcades, most of these guys couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn *joke sting*. How do some of these boys win at Counterstrike??! It can’t be all aimbot!
Places to go
So where can you go shooting in Korea? It’s surprisingly not that hard! In Seoul alone, there are shooting ranges at Mokdong stadium which have 9mm like the Glock and 1911, the 38 specials and Desert Eagle 357. They even have a Kriss Vector AR-7 with stock. So it’s one of the more well-known ones and you’ll want to make an appointment. In Busan there’s one very famous with Japanese tourists called Yeongdo island Live Ammunition Shooting Range which has a lot of different arms from 22 cal to magnum which is a LOT more expensive. In Seomyeon there’s one called busan_shooting 실탄사격 that has the Skorpion and the Desert Eagle. These places are popular with the Japanese tourists because there is no pre-registration required like in Japan so they come here to shoot different guns. Their loss is our gain I suppose. Now you should know this isn’t like American ranges; the guns are mounted on a special cable and platform so you can’t run off with them or shoot yourself. Freedom comes with rules here. But naturally the clay shooting doesn’t have those restrictions. You can go clay pigeon shooting in Hwaseong, Naju, Daegu, Changwon, Mungyeong and Jeju just to name a few. And that’s what I went to do in Hwaseong last weekend.
My experience at Gyeonggido shooting range
Getting to the Gyeoggido shooting range theme park is a bit of an adventure without a car. With my music guy Dumiafava, we got to the Hwaeseong terminal area and a kind taxi driver took us the rest of the way. Expect to pay over 10k to get there, or you can try to wait for Bus 79 which goes all the way to the shooting range. Don’t forget to bring your ID, but if you do, I think they’ll accept the mobile ID. Passport also works so if you’re a tourist, you can use that to shoot with. Bring a credit card since they don’t take cash anymore. Here, they have 3 buildings but the one you can use is the tourist or 관광 section. In that section there’s a pistol section with 3 or more choices. When we went there, we had a choice of Glock 17, Beretta and Taurus 38 special revolver. Man… I can’t believe I missed the paper once! I got 64 and Mr. D got 70. First the clerk will point you to the pistol section, where you’ll put on a bulletproof vest, protective glasses, and earmuffs. Trust me, the instructor will get mad at you if you try to wear your sunnies or take off the goggles while inside. You won’t want to take off the earmuffs, even when waiting because the clay pigeon section is loud, even after the glass! Next, when it’s your turn, you’ll see your number on the ticket and head inside. The instructor will load your magazine or revolver for you but show you the cocking action and the jam clearing. You get to shoot at a paper while he stands to the side and catches your cartridges with a net. Once you finish, the paper is wired to you and you can count up your points on a nearby table or at home. It’s a pretty smooth process that takes about as long as you want to shoot. So most people either do 2 rounds or go onto the next shooting experience. Expect to pay 20k for this experience.
The next option is clay disc shooting with a double-barrel shotgun. You get 25 shots and a small box of rounds next to you. The instructor shows you how to hold the weapon and track the disc as it shoots in front of you. My instructor kept telling me when to shoot but I wasn’t on target so I missed a bit, but I did hit 11 discs. 50% hit ain’t bad. Mr. D had some trouble with the shotgun and only hit 3. *Duck hit die sound*. I don’t recommend this if you have shoulder problems or on the small side.
They also have air rifles if you’re scared of firearms, but if you are more military inclined you can also shoot the M4AI battle rifle in a special section off to the right, past the pro shooters range. I also suggest taking a look at the pro shooters section because you can see how smooth their movements are. Mr. D and I gave air rifle a try and he beat my score in the small target by 5. BY 5! I can’t believe this Whargememngengd *joke sting*
And finally if you get hungry, there is an automated cafe in the military shooters building on the ground floor with ramyeon and other cheap snacks. I recommend going there after shooting clay pigeons. That kickback on the Taurus and the shotgun will tire out your shoulder in a hurry. Do air rifle first to avoid whobble or last because while your hand might be shaky, the air rifle won’t tire out your shoulder.
You can even get a bit of amusement in between shooting sessions by looking at the screens above the pistol ranges and see how others are shooting, then boast that you can do better. Or feel spooked when the petite woman has a better grouping than you with the 38 special. Which totally didn’t happen to me *joke sting*.
*Record scratch* One thing to remember is that the city bus number 79 only goes there 6 times a day so you need to time your trip there carefully and getting taxis to pick you up on Onda or Kakao proved so fruitless we walked 2 clicks to town and managed to get someone there. So if you are close to one like Gyeonggido, I suggest driving or even cycling.
Worst person in the sports world
Nap: The infamous Mr. Kim for bugging Kim Hye-song during his return to Korea interview at Incheon airport. Hye-song played shortstop for the Dodgers in the World Series and made the game-ending double-play in the bottom of the 11th of game 7. Apparently in the Joongang Ilbo reports, this Mr. Kim has claimed for years that Hye-Song’s father owes him 100 million won and he’s been following Hye-Song around the KBO stadiums with a banner asking him to pay it back. This has been a point of amusement to Hye-song but on the 7th, Hye-song had enough and stopped the interview. He got the airport security to remove the odious man from the scene. While I certainly enjoy watching Dodgers players get accused of malfeasance, this Mr. Kim has certainly had enough chances to make his point. It’s time to take it to court, which according to the actual courts, he has lost multiple times and had to pay fines for defamation. Are you sure you lent money to the right person, Mr. Kim?
A second Nap award goes to…Paju city for naming their new footie team Paju Frontier FC according to an Instagram post found by fan of the show Mr. Otto. Frontier?? What is Paju the frontier of? The wastelands of the border? I'm not sure this is the image the city wants to project. They couldn't go with Warriors 전사 or hell, what's their crop? Ginkos? Why not Ginkos 은행나무속? How about the city bird Pigeons 비둘기? OK that...that doesn't go that hard. Maybe they need a more common name? How about Paju Twins since they have a lot of twin cities around the world? That...that don’t sound that bad.
We have a potential Nap award from the Japanese Football Association, for copying the Korean flag in one of their promotion posters released this week. The Korean media’s been reporting about a poster the JFA made with boy bands JO1 and INI that more than passingly resembles the Korean flag. It’s so obvious that even Japanese fans pointed it out and the JFA released a statement to the Sankei Shimbun that the similarity was not intentional and the theme was based off of a previous poster released in March this year. Well I went on X and found the poster, which…yeah it also kinda the rectangle bits called the trigrams. They are not the same exact shape or arrangement but they are arranged similarly. I’m not giving the award for this one but watch out JFA! Y’all are dancing real close to the line!
Radon: For the Radon, we’ve got a whole lotta jerks this time. After FC Anyang lost to Gwangju, Motta missed a penalty kick and his social media accounts got peppered with racist abuse from football quote fans unquote. It got so bad he cried in the locker room and the players association got his back. He went on to score a goal in next week’s game and got the usual fan support, but don’t be surprised if he gives up on the K-league. Good luck getting new players here, even with a removal of the quota. Motta Overcomes Racism, FC Anyang Defeats Ulsan HD 3-1
And speaking of more racism, we have a potential Radon award, depending on the KFA’s ruling, regarding Jeonbuk assistant coach Mauricio Taricco pointing at both of his eyes during a match against Daejeon last Sunday. According to reports in the Joongang Daily, Taricco pointed at his eyes during an argument with referee Kim after a hard contact foul, then was sent off after continuing to complain after a VAR check. The KFPA is accusing him of making the racist gesture. You can see for yourself in the joongang daily picture whether or not he was doing the gesture. It looks more like pointing rather than slanting so I’m holding my flag until the league decides otherwise.
Plutonium: And finally we have the Plutonium award. There’s a deaf baseball tournament going on, and you’d figure there would be many fields available because there ain’t any pro games going on, right? Right? Well… the national baseball tournament happened in Chungju last weekend. The OSEN reporter brought up an interesting point. Several local Chungju companies and even Hyundai have partially funded tournaments for years now and a national foundation has guided the tournaments, but even after 20 years since the first all deaf team got started, no help has come from the Paralympic committee and the KBO. There are international deaf tournaments that Korea has participated in but the players had to sponsor themselves. Y’know, ever since Glove came out in 2011, I’ve felt the baseball world has been deliberately ignoring the deaf players. Y’all build the new Daejeon stadium, y’all can spare a few won for a dedicated deaf-focused field. C’mon now. That’s why the KBO and Paralympic committee and the players are today's WORST PERSON in the Korean Sports world! Chungju Hosts National Deaf Baseball Tournament Amid Stadium Shortage
* Breaking glass sound* We have another Plutonium award, this one for Tottenham Hotspur! Apparently when Son Heung Min left to go to LA, AIA Insurance will no longer be the front of shirt sponsor starting in 2026 according to reports in Football insider. Without a famous Asian athlete like Son, Tottenham doesn’t have the global revenue and AIA doesn’t get enough from the partnership so they’ll sponsor the training kit until 2032. Also their play has been weak and ticket sales are plummeting with matches getting downgraded even though they are technically in 5th place on the Premier League table. Looks like Son was the glue holding the team together after all and they should have prepared better for his departure. Now LAFC is rockin’ and Tottenham's rocked. And that’s why Tottenham is today’s Plutonium AWARD!!! Should’ve kept Sonny! He was your money!
Game of the WEEK!
Not this week but at the end of the month will be the KBO Generations Match which will be on the 30th in Gocheok stadium.Team Veterans features players symbolizing the KBO, including Kim Hyun-soo, Yang Eui-ji, Kang Min-ho, Im Chan-kyu, and Park Gun-woo. Team Rising will see next-generation stars such as Won Tae-in, Ahn Hyun-min, Lee Ui-ri, Kim Young-woong, and Kim Taek-yeon, promising a transcendent clash of generations according to reports in the Chosun Ilbo. Tickets go on sale on the 20th if you’re interested which is why I brought it up on this week’s episode. If you can’t wait that long, you can watch Korea vs Japan this Saturday at 6:30pm in Tokyo. The soccer leagues are on pause because there’s a few international games going on, with one on Friday against Bolivia at Daejeon World Cup then U17 Korea vs England Saturday at 930pm in Qatar, and finally plain ole men’s against Ghana on Tuesday at 8pm in Seoul. The Taegukscout Notebook on substack says Bolivia is not too dangerous, but Ghana is a lot more dangerous and Korea’s running new players at midfield due to the injuries. But if you still want to watch local games, you can watch the K5 playoffs Saturday at 3:30PM on Naver Sports. If basketball’s more your thing, I suggest KCC vs Hyundai Mobis in Busan at 4:30pm or the WKBL season opener in Busan on Sunday since it’s the first all-female coached game. And in a surprise, we also get Men’s handball with Hanam vs Sangmu on Saturday at 5:20PM.
Ending
Thank you for tuning in today. We hope you learned something about Korean Sports because if you didn’t you set the sleep timer too soon *joke sting*. Pass this pod on to anyone interested in Korean sports and especially rookies because trust me they need every ounce of help we can pour on them. If you don’t believe me, spend 5 minutes on Living in Korea subreddit *Joke sting*. If you wish to read along or contact the show, visit our website at hwatingsportspodcast dot com or our Facebook page and everything you need is right there. Give our podcast 5 stars if you have time. Music notes like the opening song thanks to DumiAFava. Cover art thanks to our cycling expert James! A shoutout to our listeners in Bangkok! Mr. P used to live there back at the turn of the century. He still misses the real Pad Thai! Until next time, Korean Sports fans.
(AI voice) Guests of the Hwa-ting sports podcast get dental work done at back alley Joe’s, the best cheap dentist in sunny Sogwipo Jayju! Their dentists are the best graduates from toothless Joe’s dental school in Changxi China! They’ll replace any bad tooth for 40% less than the competition with tools last cleaned in the Tai-ping Rebellion! Discount of 30% off if you pay with a kidney! Not responsible for tooth decay or injuries from immigration officer chases!
notes
https://ggshooting.or.kr/1_1_4.php
https://www.instagram.com/busan_shooting/
Breaking: Korea's Elite Live-Fire Ranges – Top Rankings Unveiled! | 대한민국을 대표하는 실탄사격장 리스트 : TRIPPOSE
Taenung International Shooting Range - Wikipedia
https://en.trippose.com/tour/mokdong-shooting-range
http://www.koreashooting.com/eng/main.php
Jeonbuk assistant coach accused of making racist gesture in match against Daejeon
Depleted Taeguk Warriors to turn to new faces in midfield for friendlies
https://www.mk.co.kr/en/world/11467534
https://x.com/jfa_samuraiblue/status/1902711789856727513?lang=en