Hwarang

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Hwarang were groups of knights in Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom. They were educational institutions as well as social clubs where members gathered for all aspects of study. It is often translated as "flower knights" because in hanja, hwa means flower (noun or verb) and rang, meaning man, was then used as part of various Korean official rank titles.

Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa record stories about the origin of Hwarang. According to them the first two groups, called Wonhwa, were female. They made trouble and were abolished. Then another group of Hwarang was formed whose code of ethics were:

Loyalty to one's country - Il Sä Kun E Chung
Loyalty to one's parents and teachers - E Sä Chin E Hyo
Trust and brotherhood among friends - Säm Kyo Uoo E Shin
Courage to never retreat in the face of the enemy - Sä Im Jun Moo Teah
Justice never to take a life without cause - O Säl Säng U Teck

Samguk Yusa also says that they learned the Five Cardinal Confucian Virtues, the Six Arts, the Three Scholarly Occupations, and the Six Ways of Government Service (五常六藝三師六正). What is sure is that Hwarang were greatly influenced by Chinese cultures such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Tangsu military arts. According to the Hwarang Segi, cited by Samguk Sagi, wise ministers and loyal subjects were chosen from them, and good generals and brave soldiers sprang from them.

Today the Hwarang are generally believed to have been an elite youth corps that practiced Chinese Tangsu military training in addition to archery and studied scholarly works. Among about 30 recorded Hwarang members, few were definitely warriors. The Five Precepts for the Secular World (Sesok Ogye; 세속 오계; 世俗五戒)--the fourth of which is "Face battle without retreat"--were promoted by the 7th-century Korean Buddhist monk Wongwang and are usually said to be one of the disciplines of Hwarang. Silla was influenced by the Tang Dynasty of China after they formed an alliance in the 7th-century, especially in the military arts. Silla lasts until the 10th-century.

After the fall of Silla, the term hwarang survived but changed in meaning. During the Joseon Dynasty, hwarang meant a male shaman.

In late 1980s, an alleged manuscript of Hwarang Segi (Annals of Hwarang, 花郞世記) was found in Gimhae, South Korea.

The Taekwondo pattern Hwa-Rang was named in honor of the Hwarang youth corps.

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