Hi,
I'm going to attempt to cover most of this thread at once here, so let's see how we go....
SahBumNimRush, the first reply you got here was spot on, what are you using it for? You have mentioned that you train in a Korean art (also shown in your handle), so I'm assuming either Tae Kwon Do or Hapkido (as those are the most prominent, I haven't checked your profile yet), and are interested in swordsmanship. From there, we have gone immediately into Japanese and Korean blades rather than Chinese, Western, or any other. But as that seems to be what you are after, all good. But what you get will be determined by your needs and uses. We'll get to that.
As mentioned, there is very little difference between Korean and Japanese blades. While the Japanese blade is often considered "unique", this may seem a little odd. I personally believe that the origins of Korean swordsmanship (as it exists today) comes from remnants of a number of ill-fated conquests of Korea by the Japanese, including ones from Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen (these gave us famous weapons such as the Kata Kama Yari, said to have been used by Kito Kiyomasa when he would go hunting for tigers in Korea. I mention this to show that the sword is not really the weapon of the battlefield samurai as many believe, it's prominence came later. But enough on that...). As the Japanese left, some would stay behind, and the conquests themselves left their mark quite deeply on the Korean psyche. It is a big reason that there is such animosity between the Koreans and Japanese. So a part of what was left was the Japanese sword, and it's use.
That said, I am not aware of the Koreans using the same (or similar) forging methods as the Japanese, although the design and shape is certainly highly evocative of the Japanese original. So if you are going to study Korean swordsmanship (Kumdo), use a Korean sword. If you are going to study a Japanese sword art (Kenjutsu/Iai/Batto/many many many other names...), I recommend a Japanese blade. Of course, that is very expensive to get a genuine traditionally forged one ($10,000 US and up, typically).
So that brings us back to what you are wanting to do with it. As said, I would stick with the weapon of the art you are learning. But follow the advice of your instructor. For example, in studying with us, you would use a safe training sword (fukuro shinai, a leather covered bamboo sword) for pretty much everything in class. I then recommend for home training that a student gets a bokken, and later a suburito (wooden sword, and a very large wooden sword respectively. Suburito I have heard translated as "air-shaking sword") for conditioning their grip and forearms. If they are interested in Iai, then we look at saya (scabbards) for their bokken, and later move up to an Iaito (which is, as said, a metal bladed training sword, with the blade made from an aluminium/zinc alloy, making the blade well balanced and weighted, but too soft to take a cutting edge, and if used for impact can be damaged fairly easily). A relatively safe alternative to a live blade is what is refered to as a Mogito. This is a real sword, with a real blade, but not sharpened. Some companies, such as Furuyama Forge, sell Mogito under the name Iaito to avoid confusion. These blades can take an edge, and stand up to impact a fair bit better. Lastly, is a Shinken, or live blade. This is for the experienced practitioner or a dedicated cutting practitioner.
You stated that you are interested in a Japanese sword as it is the "holy grail" of swords. Now, I love Japanese swords, but that is a very subjective topic. Some may say that the Damascus blades are the best ever seen, and they have the higher value as the technology to recreate them has been lost to the ages (what is called Damascus steel today is named for it's looks rather than it's metalurgical properties). So it is personal preference (for the record, I'm with you there!). You then state that it is for aesthetics. Well, while the best swords are certainly beautiful works of art in and of themselves, pretty does not a sword make. I have owned a number of bokken that are quite beautiful themselves, in fact there have been a number of bokken made that are considered display and collectors items themselves. So aesthetics are again rather subjective. But I will say that aesthetics will only be a primary concern if it is a display sword only. If it is going to be used for anything else, there are much bigger concerns. First off, talk to your instructor about what they recommend, and follow what they say. And if you don't have an instructor and aren't getting one, and wish to use the sword, don't. Just don't. But if it's for display, get what you think is pretty...
Oh, and Ken, learning Japanese is not such a big thing if you are learning from an instructor in the West, and are taking all your information from them and English language sources. But if you are going to travel to the country of origin, or research independantly in a variety of places, I would say the language is certainly handy to know! At the very least, I expect you are familiar with the Japanese terms and names for the different parts of a sword, the fittings, the kamae, the cuts and thrusts etc, yeah?
Plus, the forge is of GREAT quality.
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