Korean martial arts (Hangul: 무술, Hanja: 武術, musul or Hangul: 무예, Hanja: 武藝, muye) are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of Korean martial arts can be traced as far back as the prehistoric era. The ancestors of modern Korean people migrated and settled in the Korean Peninsula as early as the 28th century BC, a geopolitical region besieged by thousands of known documented instances of foreign invasions. Consequently, the Korean people developed unique martial arts and military strategies in order to defend themselves and their territory. Today, Korean martial arts are being practiced worldwide; more than one in a hundred of the world's population practices some form of taekwondo. Among the best recognized Korean practices using weapons are traditional Korean archery and Kumdo, the Korean adaptation of the Japanese Kendo. The best known unarmed Korean martial arts are Taekwondo and Hapkido , though such traditional practices such as ssireum - Korean Wrestling - and Taekkyon - Korean Foot Fighting - are rapidly gaining in popularity both inside and outside the country. In November 2011, Taekkyon was recognized by UNESCO and placed on its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List. There has also been a revival of traditional Korean swordsmanship arts as well as knife fighting and archery. History Early history Wrestling, called ssireum, is the oldest form of ground fighting in Korea, while Subak was the upright martial art of foot soldiers. Weapons were an extension of those unarmed skills. Besides being used to train soldiers, both of these traditional martial arts were also popular among villagers during festivals for dance, mask, acrobatic, and sport fighting. These martial arts were also considered basic physical education. However, Koreans (as with the neighboring Mongols) relied more heavily on bows and arrows in warfare than they did on close-range weapons. It appears that during the Goguryeo dynasty, (37 BC – 668) subak/taekkeyon or ssireum (empty-handed fighting), swordsmanship, spear-fighting and horse riding were practiced. In 1935, paintings that showed martial arts were found on the walls of royal tombs believed to have been built for Goguryeo kings sometime between the years 3 and 427 AD. Which techniques were practiced during that period is, however, something that cannot be determined from these paintings. References to