The 1975 Taekwondo poomse textbook describes Pyongwon
as follows:
"The living lot of humans is the plain. Fertile and vast
plain give us food. It also has been the place where human life had been
lived and carried on. On the other hand, a great open plain stretching
out endlessly gives us a feeling of majesty that is different from what
we feel on a mountain or the sea."
The new Kukkiwon Textbook describes Pyongwon as follows:
"Pyongwon means plain which is a vast stretched out land.
It is the source of life for all the creatures and the field where human
beings live their life. The poomse Pyongwon was based on the idea of peace
and struggle resulting from the principles of origin and use. . . . The
line of poomsae means the origin and transformation of the plain."
Pyongwon is supposed to be learned at the 4th Dan level, and it is no accident that this form is for 4th Dans, since the focus of the 4th Dan is or should be to come down from the lofty heights of the mountains scaled at the lower dans and to develop his or her teaching abilities, to transform the fertile plain of the dojang floor (if you look at the dojang mat when it is empty, it looks like a fertile plain) into a place where new crops of students are raised.
Pyongwon is the shortest poomse of all the Kukkiwon poomse, which tells the 4th Dan that for this dan, his focus is not on his own training, but the training of his students. The side to side movement pattern of Pyongwon mirrors the movements of an instructor going back and forth across the dojang floor, teaching his or her students. It is these teaching qualities that differentiate a 4th Dan from lower ranks, and once these qualities are achieved, then the 4th Dan is ready for promotion to 5th Dan.
The original name of Pyongwon was Paekjae Hyung, Baekjae (one of the three kingdoms that were unified) being the ancient name for the Cholla Do provinces, which are known for its vast fertile plains and its farmland.
The first three yudanja poomse focus on Koguryo, since which is where Mount Keumgang and Mount Taebaek are located. The middle three yudanja poomse focus on earthly qualities which are associated with Paekjae, and the last three focus on more spiritual concepts, which are associated with Shilla, the Kingdom that was the unifier of the Three Kingdoms. Ilyo was originally named Shilla Hyung.
Special thanks to Master Glenn of Hawaii for his research.