Korean Korea sword / sabre

[Gavin Nugent]

The hole relevance, as far as I understand it is in relation to the tang size and if it is or not retaining a fitting in place, and what size the knife or sword is.

The link you shared from the forum is a great example of the tang shapes and the hole position for a knife sized item.

Many are also peened tang and the hole is used for the lanyard, others I have seen are peened tangs and someone has filled the hole with a peg too, others are secured by the lanyard fittings alone, not an inserted pin...

A few of the Korean swords I've sold are seen below. they show some of the variances I note.

The sword you present looks Japanese to me with the images there are to work from, in appearances, style and aspects like the pin and the leather coverings.