Korean armour refers to various types of armour traditionally used in Korea before the modern era. The earliest examples of armour from the Korean peninsula date back to the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Korean armour also included horse armour and other kinds of early anti-ballistic armour before the 20th century.

Introduction

thumb|A cheonwang (Heavenly King) in lamellar armour, [[Silla, 8th c.]]

The earliest armour types 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.

Metal 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 conquest by Goryeo, warfare shifted toward the northern and central part of Korea and lighter armours became more common. This resulted in the decline of 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 () 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.

Battles were most often fought on difficult terrain, with ranged combat using composite bows and later gunpowder weapons. Cavalry was favored against the constant Jurchen raids during the Joseon period. Fighting against the larger 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 forearm 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.

Three Kingdoms period

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.

The exact form and structure of the armor are not clearly known. However, Xu Jing’s Illustrated Account of Goryeo (Goryeodogyeong) records that Goryeo’s elite Dragon-Tiger Central Fierce Army (Yongho Jungmaenggun, 용호중맹군, 龍虎中猛軍), numbering about 30,000 men, all wore armor. This armor was a robe-shaped suit with the upper and lower parts connected, without shoulder guards (bubak, 부박, 覆膊). Another general’s armor was described as iron lamellae (cheolchal, 철찰, 鐵札) covered with black leather, each plate stitched together with patterned silk so they were held in place. Furthermore, Japanese illustrations such as the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (몽고습래회사, 蒙古襲來繪詞, “Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasions”) show that during the Goryeo-Mongol allied invasions of Japan, Goryeo soldiers wore long vest-like lamellar armor (찰갑, 札甲) and robe-shaped textile armor (포형 갑옷).

Most Korean armor of this period utilized scales or lamellae composed of metal (usually iron) plates attached to the exterior of the armor coat. 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. While warmer, lighter, and more flexible than iron scales/lamellae, armor utilizing hardened leather scales provided less effective protection in combat. 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. 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.

<gallery>

File:Helmet MET 16.78 012mar2015.jpg|Helmet, Joseon, 17th-18th c.

File:부산 첨주형 투구.jpg|Iron Helmet from the Imjin War(첨주형 투구)

File:Officer's Helmet with Crest MET 36.25.70a b 001 Apr2017.jpg|Helmet, Joseon(두정투구)

File:Joseon armor sent to Austria.jpg|Brigandine, Dujeong-gap(두정갑)

File:Armor and helmet.Joseon period, 19th century. Musée Guimet.jpg|Brigandine armour, Joseon(두정갑)

File:Joseon Dynasty archer.jpg|Modern reenactors wearing a complete Dujeong-gap set. While conventionally shown as red, the fabric is made of various colors.

File:국조오례의 경번갑.jpg|Lamellar armour of Joseon(유엽갑)

File:두석린갑 (豆錫鱗甲).png|Scale armour set, Duseokrin-gap at Wereldmuseum Leiden

File:Duseokrinkapju.jpg|Duseokrin-gap

File:Korean armour 2505.jpg|Armour displayed at the Battle of Danghangpo memorial site.

File:Eomshimgap and Pigabju.jpg|Sets of armour worn by peasant conscripts

File:C0036507 4d479f50c69b4.jpg|14th century Mail and plate

File:Joseon plate mail in Gyeongbokgung Palace.jpg|Mail and plate and Iron helmet

</gallery>

See also

  • Korean sword
  • Korean knife
  • Korean martial arts
  • Plated mail - armours similar to Gyeongbeon-gap (경번갑/鏡幡甲)

References

  • Silk Road Designs Armoury --Brigandine
  • Silk Road Designs Armoury --Armours of Scales
  • Armour from Goryeo dynasty
  • Iron Armour
  • about Korean plated mail (lang. Korean)