Pyeonjeon

Pyeonjeon, (aka "(편전)", "Junjun") or aegisal ("애기살" or "baby arrow" or sometimes "mini-arrow") is a short arrow or bolt, shot using a longer bamboo arrow guide called the tongah in Korean archery. The tongah (aka "Tong-ah") allows one to draw a short arrow at a full draw length with a full sized bow, it is an overdraw device. A tongah used with a bow looks somewhat similar to a crossbow. The Japanese had a similar arrow called a "Kudaya" ("管矢"), that was loosed through a pipe.

Advantages
There are several advantages in shooting a shorter arrow, the shorter arrow is lighter (which means they're faster) and more aerodynamic. They shoot with a higher velocity which results in greater range and hits the target more quickly. Their speed and small size also made it harder for enemies to see them coming. Their higher speed and aerodynamic efficiency means they penetrate armour better at range. Broken arrows could also be recycled into short arrows.

In military archery, infantry troops with bows and arrows on the ground routinely used boys behind the front line to run and collect the arrows fired by the enemy that missed. This quickly re-supplied the front line troops with the missiles used against them that went too high or to the sides of the unit. A number of efforts over time were invented to prevent the enemy from responding with the arrows fired against them. The Pyeonjeon is one method, as opposing forces who lacked an overdraw device/tong-ah would be unable to use the short arrows on the field (though experienced opposition archers who figured out how the Pyeonjeon was fired or who were already equipped with an overdraw device similar to the tong-ah may have been able to re-use such arrows).

Historical use
Used by the Koreans, this weapon was considered a national secret during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598). Its traditional range is 350 meters, five times the effective range of Arquebus or Tanegashima. Further more, the short bolts had longer range and flatter trajectory with a faster velocity and penetrating power.

Tongah and pyeonjeon were part of the standard kit of Joseon era archers. Their quivers held 20 arrows and 10 pyeonjeon arrows.

Other similar devices
The Chinese bian jian(邊箭), Byzantine solenarion and Turkish majra were all similar devices

In media

 * The 2011 Korean film War of the Arrows depicted the protagonist fashioning a tongah while on the run in order to shoot some broken arrows.
 * In the 2013 Korean drama Empress Ki, the protagonist Seung Nyang is an expert with the Pyeonjeon.
 * In the 2014 Korean period action film The Fatal Encounter, the protagonist King Jeongjo uses the Pyeonjeon several times against long-range archers during an assassination attempt on him.