Case · C-105

Gangwon 1609: the luminous objects described in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty

Gangneung (point on the map); phenomena also reported at Yangyang, Chuncheon, Wonju and Ganseong, Gangwon Province · South Korea · 1609

In flight Civilian witnesses

What happened

The Gwanghaegun Ilgi, part of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, records under the date of the 25th day of the 9th lunar month of 1609 a report by the governor of Gangwon Province, Yi Hyeong-uk, on phenomena seen on the 25th day of the 8th month in five districts. At Gangneung, in broad daylight, a red object shaped like a large flask descended from the center of the sky toward the north as if falling to the ground, lengthening and leaving a white trail; after it vanished, a loud boom was heard. At Ganseong, Wonju, and Chuncheon, smoke, a red streak, a light resembling a large jar, and sounds of thunder were described, while at Yangyang a round, luminous object likened to a basin reportedly rose from the ground in an official's courtyard and then split in two. For the same day the Annals record at Hanyang, the capital, around midday, a large daytime meteor (“yeongdu-seong”) as large as a basin, swift as a torch and accompanied by a loud boom. It is an official historical source, which modern editors classify among celestial and natural phenomena.

Proposed explanation

The Annals record on the same day, in the capital, a large daytime meteor accompanied by a loud boom, an element in favor of the meteor hypothesis. According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, alongside those who see a UFO in it, the meteor hypothesis is also convincing; the popularizer Lee Seong-gyu, quoted by the Seoul Shinmun, considers it possible but finds it hard to reduce the Yangyang description to a simple meteor.

Official investigation

Governor of Gangwon Province (report to the court); Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (Gwanghaegun Ilgi)

Words of the document

忽有物在天, 微有聲, 形如大壼

Official documents

1. 광해군일기[정초본] 20권, 광해 1년 9월 25일, 3번째 기사: «강원도에서 일어난 기이한 자연현상에 대해 강원 감사 이형욱이 치계하다» · Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (online database of the National Institute of Korean History; translation by the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics) · 1609
2. 광해군일기[정초본] 19권, 광해 1년 8월 25일, 2번째 기사: «사시에 태백성이 나타나고 오시에 영두성이 나타나다» · Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (online database of the National Institute of Korean History; translation by the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics) · 1609

Sources

1. Kyunghyang Shinmun, “조선왕조실록” and the accounts presented by the National Archives of Korea (July 18, 2016) (press)
2. Seoul Shinmun, “광해군 1년, 세숫대야 모양 비행체가 하늘로 솟아” (May 11, 2010) (press)

Open in the interactive archive The whole section: Map of UAP and USO cases

UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.