Korean armour

Korean armour is armour that was traditionally used in ancient times by Koreans, those fighting in and on behalf of Korea, or Koreans fighting overseas. Examples of armour from the Korean Peninsula date back to at least the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Depending on the tactical situation, Korean armour also included horse armour and other kinds of early anti-ballistic armour before the 20th century.

Thumb — A cheonwang (Heavenly King) in lamellar armour, Silla, 8th c.

Korean armour was mainly dedicated to protect against missiles since mountainous terrain made field battles either rare or very hazardous. For historical Koreanic countries, the defense or assault of fortifications was typical warfare.

The earliest armour variants appeared during the Bronze Age and were likely made of animal skins, bone or wood. The earliest findings of iron armour were from the Gaya confederacy and Goguryeo, while bone armour could be found in Baekje.^[1]

Metallic armour was relatively widespread during the Three Kingdoms period due to constant warfare, but its usage declined once Korea was unified and Japanese pirates or steppe nomads became the main concerns. Following the collapse of Unified Silla in the tenth century and its takeover by Goryeo, the warfare style more common type to the Central and Northern parts of Korea along with the use of lighter armours took over. This resulted in the general abandonment of the heavy armour typically used by the southern states.

The first known use of iron plate mail in Korea was used by the Gaya confederacy between 42 and 562 AD. A large number of iron and steel artifacts, including iron armour, iron horse armour such as helmets and bits, and smaller iron ingots (often used as money), have been found in the Daeseong-dong Ancient Tombs, a World Heritage Site, in Gimhae. Gimhae (Korean: 金海 김해) means "Sea of Iron" as if the city's name symbolizes the abundance of iron in the area. Surviving examples are currently on display at the Gimhae National Museum in South Korea.^[2]

Korean warfare was often based on harsh terrain and the firepower imposed on the enemy from high ground usually in the form of composite bows and later gunpowder weapons, while cavalry superiority was favored against the constant Jurchen raids during Joseon. Fighting against the much more numerous forces of China and Japan, Koreans favored mobility and ranged tactics which limited the reliance upon vastly armoured units despite a strong inclusion of melee training.

During later periods, Korean armour also included forms of brigandine, chain mail, and scale armour. Due to the cost of iron and steel equipment that were often too high for peasant conscripts, helmets were not always full steel and stiffened leather caps were not uncommon.

Korean armour pieces, from top to bottom, typically consisted of a helmet or a cap, a heavy main armour coat with pauldrons or shoulder and underarm protection, leg coverings (supplemented by the skirting from the main coat), groin protection, and limb protection. In terms of armament, Korean militaries employed heavy infantry equipped with swords or spears along with shields, pikemen, archers, crossbowmen, and versatile heavy cavalry capable of horse archery. Korean naval warfare saw large deployments of heavy wooden shields as a means of protecting personnel on the top decks of Korean ships.

After the rise of the Joseon, Korean combat armour saw a change from mainly using chain mail, plated mail, and lamellar armor to mostly brigandine. By the time of the mid-Joseon, provincial troops were equipped with padded armour while the central units could afford metal-made armour.

Korean armour during the Korean Three Kingdoms period consisted of two major styles: the 'Chalgap' lamellar armour similar to the ones used by the equestrian steppe nomads and Sinitic empires to the west and plate armour, found in the Gaya Confederation and Silla. The lamellar often consisted of bronze, iron, bone, or stiffened leather; plates were always of iron, steel, or bronze.^[1] The best-preserved armours from the three kingdoms period originate almost exclusively from the Gaya confederacy. The armour from Gaya is the best example of plate armour from ancient times, rivaling those of the Mediterranean basin from the same period. These Gaya-style plate armours are categorized into three types- one is made by joining vertical steel bands to form a single plate, another by joining horizontal bars, and the other by putting small triangular steel pieces together. The first type is found in Gaya and Silla, while most examples for the other two are located in Gaya, and some have been found in northern Baekje. Similar styles have also been found in Kyushu and Honshu, Japan.

Goguryeo armour was primarily of lamellar armour, made of small steel plates woven together with a cord. Ancient tombs of the Jjoksaem District of Hwango-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, uncovered the first example in 2009. Goguryeo murals found in North Korea also shed light on what Goguryeo's armour looked like.

Goguryeo soldier
Korean armour from Goguryeo, worn by cavalry
Gaya horse armour
Shilla plate armour
Gaya armour
Gaya armour
Gaya armour and helmet (5th century)
Gaya confederacy armour
Gaya helmet

The durumagi was a unique type of brigandine that resembled a robe or overcoat with an open front scale armor glued, woven, or nailed, forming dots on the outside. According to the "Goryeodogyeong" (高麗圖經) written by the Song dynasty envoy Xu Jing (徐兢), the armor of Goryeo soldiers was described as "similar to a durumagi [逢掖] that is connected at the top and bottom." Thus, from the Goryeo period to the late Joseon period, the durumagi-style [袍形] armor continued as a unique armor style of Goryeo. Though light infantry wore regular durumagi, they commonly had scales or overlapping plates made from leather, paper, or iron. The materials of the scales (찰) that make up the armor, such as Su-eun-gap (수은갑, mercury armor), Yu-yeop-gap (유엽갑, willow leaf armor), Pi-gap (피갑, leather armor), and Ji-gap (지갑, paper armor) are different. Still, they all share the common feature of having holes punched in the scales, laced with deer leather. Therefore, the original text depicts them with the single character '갑' (armor). They preferred the durumagi-style armor with an open front because this type of armor is the most comfortable for shooting arrows. In traditional archery (국궁), archers fully open their chest, a technique called "splitting the chest," to shoot arrows effectively, which would be hindered if the front were closed. Consequently, most armors throughout the Joseon period were in the form of a durumagi. The square piece on the right side of the armor protects the armpit and is called Ho-aek (護腋), while the long strap at the top protects the neck and is called Ho-hang (護項). Examining the materials of the scales, Su-eun-gap involves plating iron scales with mercury to make them shiny, Yu-yeop-gap has iron scales lacquered in black, Pi-gap is made by crafting scales from raw pig leather, and Ji-gap is made by layering paper and then lacquering it in black.^[3]

It is suggested ^{[citation needed]} that during a period of rule under the Mongol Empire, Korea (then under the late Goryeo dynasty) began to see a number of changes to its military. Japanese paintings of Korean/Mongol warriors during the two Mongol invasions of Japan (1274 and 1281 AD) show the invasion forces made up largely of Mongols, Korean naval infantry, Tungusic allies and Chinese conscripts with shields and Mongol-style armour elements^{[citation needed]}. The shields do not appear to have lasted as an influence, but examples of Joseon-era Korean armour often show adoptive influences from the Mongol period, such as the helmet with the wide brim.

General Chonji wore the gyeongbeongap (경번갑/鏡幡甲).^{[citation needed]}

Helmet presumably from the Goryeo dynasty.
A Goryeo Soldier wearing a durumagi.
Chain Mail and helmet.
Mail shirt with metal plates attached, Goryeo, 14th c.
Mail and plate armour and helmet.

Armor from the Joseon dynasty can be classified into roughly two time periods, the early dynasty (c.15~16th centuries) and the late dynasty (c. 17th~19th centuries). The exact transition point from the early to late dynasty armor remains unresolved. Still, it appears to be around the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and the Manchu invasion of Korea, the two and only total wars that Korea faced during the Joseon dynasty. Throughout both periods, however, padded armor (eomshimgap, Korean: 엄심갑; Hanja: 掩心甲) was popular among the common soldiers, as Joseon required peasant conscripts to provide their equipment and the armor offered body protection at a low price. Sets of leather armor are called Pigabju. Metallic armor was largely seen within units stationed in the capital, which formed the main striking power of the Joseon land forces.^[4]

Most Korean armor of this period utilized scales or lamellae composed of metal (usually iron) scales attached to the exterior of the armor coat.^[5] Starting as early as 1457, due to issues of cost and transport, an initiative was begun to replace the metal components of a majority of armor issued to personnel with hardened leather.^[6] While warmer, lighter, and more flexible than iron scales/lamellae, armor utilizing hardened leather scales provided less effective protection in combat.^[5]

In the early dynasty, the Joseon Army and Navy wore chain mail and plate armor from the late Goryeo dynasty. In contrast, lamellar armor, the traditional form of Korean armor, also persisted with some influences from the Mongols received during the 13~14th centuries. A complete metallic armor set was composed of a helmet bearing much resemblance with regards to European kettle hats with attached neck defenses of mail or lamellar, a body armor reaching down to the thighs or knees, and a set of shoulder guards which protected the upper arm as well.

By the time of the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598, some Korean military armor components had been switched over from iron to hardened leather, but extant examples and contemporary documentation indicate that those Korean personnel wearing armor still utilized iron scales and such armor proved to be effective against most Japanese weaponry (not so much against firearms) in combat.

Over time, Korean scaled armor changed in style. Initially the scales were on the exterior of the armor and thus attached to a base leather and fabric backing, but by the later Joseon era the scales (by this time mostly hardened leather) were riveted inside the armor coat,^[7] forming a type of brigandine armor. Called dujeong-gap, this became the primary form of Korean armor and often reached below the knees when worn, and the helmet assumed a conical shape. Officers, senior/elite soldiers, and cavalry still had metal plates/scales in their armor (for mounted forces this was called gabsa while for non-mounted forces this was called pengbaesu), while peasant/low-ranking soldiers wore armor with hardened leather plates/scales.

In the mid-19th century there was an attempt to develop anti-ballistic armor called Myeonje baegab.^[8]^[9] It was made by sewing sheets of textiles and cotton and combining them into a thick vest to respond to the overwhelming firepower of rifles fielded by Western powers such as France and the United States. Although this attempt was partially in line with the current method of producing anti-ballistic vests, it does not appear to have proved effective.