If you are a person who has spent the whole elementary school in Asia, you probably have a memory of making your own kites and doing a kite battle with friends or family. Kite flying is a traditional play done in many Asian countries. People win from a kite combat when they fly kites and sever the other player’s kite string or let the strings get tangled. Today, many people believe that the role of kites is to fly them and have fun. However, in the past, the uses of kites were more diverse and went beyond the role of a kite today – merely a toy that gives joy.

 

Although kite flying appears more often as a seasonal custom in Asian countries, the first kites were made in western countries in 400 B.C. It came into existence when Altus, a friend of a great Greek scholar called Platon, invented it. Unfortunately, no records are found why Altus had first made a kite. Later in 200 B.C., it is recorded that a Chinese general called Han-sin used kites for military purposes. Now, let’s look at some of the uses of kites.

 

Kites were used originally used to herald, or to inform, in the past. The first record of  how a kite was used in South Korea goes back to the past during the Koryo Dynasty. At the time, the country was going through turmoil due to a rebellion aroused by high government position officers who were ambitious to occupy the position of king. Moreover, citizens were greatly agitated after looking at a shooting star falling in the sky, which was regarded as an evil omen at the time. They believed that the falling star foretold the collapse of the dynasty. In the middle of such tumult, a general Kim Yoo-sin had a bright idea. He made a puppet and hung it on the kite. By kindling a fire on the puppet before flying the kite, he succeeded to make the flying kite look as if the star has risen again. He spread a rumor saying ‘the fallen star has risen again,’ and this plan contributed to settle the public sentiment and successfully repressed the rebellion. The kite informed the whole nation that the country would be safe and stable.

             Another record that a kite was used to herald goes back to the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. Admiral Lee Sun-sin used a kite in the battle to send messages to places that were far away. He had 31 different kites which all differed in color and shape. Each of his kites had its own message. For example, the picture of a kite on the right had a message of “attack the enemy from the South and North at the same time.” When he flew the kite, the soldiers in other places got his command by looking at the kite. Admiral Lee used each kite depending on the situation of the war. The use of a kite during wartime was not limited to sending messages, but also contributed to inform about the weather. Some kites had a message of “typhoon is coming, let the row of small warships be tightened well,” while some other kites foretold the coming of rainfall.

 

             In the 15^th century, Leonardo Da Vinci used a kite to measure the distance of rivers and valleys. This method contributed to the development of the biggest suspension bridge at Niagara Falls in 1850s. Also, in 1749, a Scottish scientist used a kite to measure differences of temperature at different altitudes by flying several kites on one string. Most importantly, kite flying helped Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, to prove that lightening is actually electricity. He discovered a flame on the key that was attached to a kite string when there was lightening.

 

The fact that kite flying has been popular in South Korea can be found in many records, such as “Ji Bong Yoo Seol” and “Kyeong Do Jab Ji.” As a part of folk religion practice, people fly kites with the word, ‘Aek (ill luck)’ written on it to let all misfortunes fly away on the day of the first full moon of the lunar year. It is amazing to find a long history and diverse uses of kites while most people believe it was only for fun.