The Wonhwa (original flowers) were a class of female

warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

cadets in 6th-century

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

. It is not clear to what extent they ever engaged in battle. Created in the reign of King Jinheung, the first group of Wonhwa consisted of about 300 young girls chosen for their beauty and skill. Their leaders were two women. However, after one of them committed murder, the wonhwa class was abolished, and replaced by the all-male

Hwarang Hwarang () were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula that originated from the mid 6th century and lasted until the early 10th century. There were educational institutions as well as social clu ...

. Subsequently, the Wonhwa title was granted to female spiritual leaders of the Hwarang. "The term Won Hwa is often incorrectly used to represent a single individual; in fact, Won Hwa was a group of highly revered Buddhist nuns who spiritually guided these Buddhist monastic warriors." Some have suggested that ''wonhwa'' might be the origin of the later

kisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

class, but little evidence exists to support this theory. The first two women to be nominated for Wonhwa were the leaders of the two bands of Wonhwa, Nammo (南毛) and Junjeong (俊貞), who grew jealous of one another. When Junjeong murdered her rival, the Wonhwa were disbanded. The tale goes that Junjeong asked Nammo to her house and forced her to drink, killing Nammo at the north stream. The people of Nammo searched for the missing Nammo and made a song so that the children could sing it in the streets. A group of these people found Nammo's body and Junjeong was executed. This origin story is most likely based on myth and legend, as the term ''wonhwa'' is composed of won 源, "source", and undoubtedly refers to the founders of the sect, while hwa 花, "flower", is a euphemism for someone who has spent a great deal of time or money in the pursuit of something, i.e. a devotee. In the case of the Wonhwa, devotion to

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

the arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

. Furthermore, while the names ''nammo'' and ''junjeong'' could have been appellations adopted by these two women for use in

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

, one cannot overlook the obvious descriptions they portray. ''Nammo'' hints at one who is careless yet lucky, or perhaps someone who is innately insightful and therefore unenthusiastic about further erudition. ''Junjeung'' clearly indicates a person who is talented and virtuous, despite the fact that she was the one who succumbed to homicidal tendencies. It would be logical to assume if someone had to work hard, maybe even struggle with attaining certain goals, that envy might consume them if their counterpart, especially if viewed more as a rival, seemed to reach the same objectives with substantially less effort.

References

Korean warriors Military of Silla Hwarang History of women in Korea {{Korea-hist-stub

See also

References