The roots of what is now known as HWA RANG DO ® {The Way of the Flowering Manhood}
began over 2000 years ago and continued through the Silla Dynastic Period
and Koryo Dynasty. Initially, the young people, of what later became
Korea, would gather in groups to test themselves and each other. These
unified groups of young people were the predecessors of the HWA RANG.
In the year 540 A.D. a new monarch by the name of King Chinhung came
to power in Silla. Then followed a long period of wars of expansion
with the larger kingdoms to the north. But before the northern kingdoms
were engaged, King Chinhung took on the task of driving out the Japanese
colonies to the south and annexed the portion of the Kaya league which
was in alliance with the Yamato clan of Japan. Ten years later, King
Chinhung turned his armies onto the fertile valleys in central Korea,
between the Han and Imjin Rivers. The conquest of Han-Imjin river area
brought great wealth to Silla through the acquisition of the richest
agricultural lands in the peninsula, military service and labor of the
peasantry; this conquest also opened an easier route to China through
the capture of the ports on the Yellow Sea. The acquisition of iron
mining regions meant new technological gains that would fortell greater
expansion by the Kingdom of Silla.
One of the most significant acts by King Chinhung was the incorporation
of the society called Hwa Rang into his military service. Organized
groups of youths went to the mountains, rivers and other places of natural
beauty to learn to develop patience, mental and emotional control, artistic
pursuits coupled with martial art training. Through the development
of strong mental, physical and spiritual training they were taught to
act as models of cultures and chivalrous warriors. They were Silla's
elite warriors. They were called Hwa Rang {Flowering Knights}, and were
young men who exemplified the warrior-intellectual that influenced Korean
history for many centuries. A 13th century monk recorded that King Chinhung
had "issued a decree and chose boys from good families who were of good
morals and renamed them Hwa Rang. Sor Won was the first to be admitted
as KUK SON {or, General}. This was the beginning of the Hwa Rang."
Besides religious instruction, the Hwa Rang were taught dance, literature,
the arts and sciences. They were also taught the art of warfare, archery,
self defense skills etc. Based upon the concept of the unity of opposites
embodied in the um-yang, the empty-handed fighting techniques were known
for their blending of the hard and soft, linear and circular attacks.
A linear thrust punch could break through the wooden armor of an opponent
and kill him instantly. They could spin kick at such speeds that their
enemies frequently thought that the feet of Hwa Rang warriors were swords.
The eighth century Silla historian, Kim Taemun, noted in his Hwa Rang
chronicle. "Sagacious counselors and loyal ministers follow the Hwa
Rang and flower; they produce great generals and brave soldiers." The
rank of Hwa Rang signified the position of a teacher of the martial
arts and he commanded 500 to 5,000 students, who were called Rang Do.
A Kuk Son possessed the rank of general in the army. The ferocious fighting
spirit of the Hwa Rang warrior became legendary, and their exploits
were recorded for posterity in Hwa Rang poetry and literature. The Hwa
Rang narratives of the Silla dynasty became the basis of the classical
novel that formed the backbone of Korean literature for a thousand years.
