The Hwarangdo Commandments (花郞徒 世俗五戒)

一. 事君以忠 (Loyalty to the King)
二. 事親以孝 (Love and Respect for Parents)
三. 交友以信 (Trustworthiness among Friends)
四. 臨戰無退 (Never Retreat in Battle)
五. 殺生有擇 (Never take a Life without a Just Cause)

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The Hwarang (花郞, meaning Flower Knights or Flower Youths) were an elite group of male youth in Silla (新羅), an ancient Korean kingdom (57 BC - 935 AD). Leaders of the Hwarang were called Gukseon (國仙, meaning State Immortals).

The Hwarang were established in the 6th century AD in the context of tightening central state control, a complement to the Golpum System (骨品制度, aka Bone Rank System, Silla's system of aristocratic rank) and a symbol of harmony and compromise between the king and the aristocracy.

They were the most prestigious educational institutions as well as social clubs where members gathered for all aspects of study, originally for arts and culture. Only sons from noble families were selected and the people all revered and served them.

These elites were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, including philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports such as polo. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving horsemanship, swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using many ancient Korean martial arts such as Subak (手搏) and Taekkyeon (택견).

Each band of the Hwarang consisted of hundreds or sometimes thousands of members, and was led by a youth of extremely accomplished and aristocratic standing Gukseon, and the state appointed high ranking officials to oversee the organization. By the 7th century the organization had grown greatly in prestige and numbered several hundred bands.

These groups developed into a more military organization as the Silla court centralized political power and battled to unite the Three Kingdoms: Baekje (百濟 18 BC - 660 AD), Goguryeo (高句麗 37 BC - 668 AD), and Silla.

General Kim Yushin (金庾信 595 - 673 AD), the most honorable of all Hwarangs, led the first unification of the Korean peninsula (completed in 668 AD) by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol (太宗 武烈王) and King Munmu (文武王). He became a Hwarang warrior at just 15 and was an accomplished swordsman and a Gukseon by the time he was 18 years old. By the age of 34 he had been given total command of the Silla armed forces.

The sword techniques of the Hwarang elite such as Silla Kum (新羅劍法) or Bonguk Kum (本國劍法 www.bonkukkumdo.co.kr) greatly influenced later generations of both Korean and Japanese warriors, and, along with other martial arts such as Subak (www.soobahkdo.or.kr) and Taekkyeon (www.taekkyon.or.kr), are still preserved and practiced widely in Korea. The unarmed ancient martial arts of the Hwarang were the inspiration of Taekwondo (跆拳道 www.kukkiwon.or.kr), the world's most popular martial art (www.wtf.org).

Since the 7th century Japan underwent widespread reforms, following disastrous military engagements with Silla (Japan, with close family ties, had assisted Baekje, which was eventually conquered by Silla in 660 AD), and attempted to form an organized army modeled after Korean and Chinese systems such as the Hwarang of Silla, the Mujeol (무절 武節) of Baekje, and the Chinese military system called gundan-sei (軍団制) of Tang through the Taihō Code (大宝律令 in 701 AD), which later in the 9th century became the Samurai. (However, the Samurai were not aristocratic although the Taihō Code was heavily influenced by Koreans. In fact, the imperial court officials initially considered the Samurai warriors to be little more than barbarians.)

The Code of the Hwarang endured throughout the Silla and Goryeo (高麗 918 - 1392) dynasties. These Korean dynasties thrived under the influence of the Hwarang, and remained internally peaceful and prosperous for over 1,500 years while defending themselves against a multitude of foreign invasions.

The Hwarang were the first non-heritable form of organized elite warriors in the world history. No such idea of elite warrior class existed in Asia before, and European knighthood also started to develop around the 9th century in a different context.

† εν τούτω νίκα †
† In hoc signo vinces †
† 이 징표로 승리하리라 †
† In this you will conquer †
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★ The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

★ Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
(Matthew 7:5)

★ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.
(1 John 3:15)