The Hwarang

The term "Hwarang-do" can be translated as "the Way of the Flowering of Manhood." "Hwarang" are sometimes referred to as "flower knights." This organization of highly-trained young men was an important part of the Shillan aristocracy during the Samguk Period. Whether or not they were "knights" and a military elite in the same vein as the Japanese samurai or European knight orders is not entirely known and some may consider the valorization of the Hwarang among Koreans to stem more from modern nationalism than actual history. However, what is gathered from available historical records, particularly the Samguk Sagi, were that they were trained in a variety of disciplines ranging from the court arts to martial arts and followed a code of ideals that included Confucian and Buddhist notions.

Prior to the formation of the Hwarang, King Jinheung (reigned 540-576 CE) instituted the Wonhwa, "original flowers," organization, which consisted of several hundred women followers. These women were divided under the leadership of two beautiful women - Nammo and Junjeong. It is not known, however, what were the exact duties of these women. It is possible that the Wonhwa were formed in order to serve as a means for the Shillan court to select talented women for government service; the status of women in Shilla prior to the dissemination and absorption of patriarchal Confucianism was significantly higher, as the kingdom had three queens as heads of state.

The Wonhwa did not last as they were driven to conspire against one another due to the bitter rivalry between Nammo and Junjeong. Junjeong murdered Nammo. Because of the ruckus caused by these antagonisms, King Jinheung had the Wonhwa disbanded.

With the demise of the Wonhwa organization, King Junjeong rethought his approach and years later thus decided that training youths in court and martial arts from an early age would better serve the kingdom. Boys of desirable personality traits aged from 14 to 18 were selected from aristocratic families (and in some cases, families of lower-class backgrounds) to study and practice both the refined arts and the military arts together while closely following a set code of Confucian and Buddhist inspired ethics. Thus the "Hwarang," "the flowering youths," were formed.