Predator in War, Protectors in Peace
Korea's Legendary SULSA
By Henry "Taejoon" Lee

(Fighting Stars Ninja - October, 1985 Issue)

"The Japanese have the Ninja; The Americans have the Special Forces; and The Koreans have the Sulsa."

Man has always been intrigued by secrecy, mystery, and espionage - the prime components of military intelligence. We often dream of being either James Bond or John Rambo, having excitement and uncertainty at every turn. Unlike these weekend warrior fantasies and those violent-yet-unreal characters of the big screen, the sulsa, Korea's killer elite, seek to unify man, nature and its ruling class. The sulsa fight for the glory of their kingdom and continually search for an inner beauty that they hope will bring them enlightenment and peace.

Korea, a small Southeast Asian peninsula remembered as a costly example of American intervention, holds the roots of Hwa Rang Do®, an 1800-year-old martial art founded as a martial art system by Dr. Joo Bang Lee, a 58th generation Hwarang Warrior. Within this esoteric art, which combines many facets of physical and mental development, reside the beginnings of today's warfare tactics and hand-to-hand combat techniques.

The risky and deadly game of spy/counterspy will continue to thrive as long as nations with opposing philosophies seek control of each other. Thus, the mysterious men in black will always remain an integral segment of our society because of the critical need for nations to protect their secrets and extract information from their enemies.

The sulsa were Hwarang Warrior's special forces organization, majoring in infiltration, exfiltration, intelligence gathering, assassination and survival. They also were charged with using whatever means necessary to carry out their plan. Even though time has altered the tools of warfare and espionage, the techniques of hand-to-hand combat and camouflage, and the utilization of unconventional weapons, has changed little in the past 18 centuries. However, unlike the Japanese ninja, the most important asset of Hwa Rang Do® sulsa is their ideal of hwalbop, which encourages the warrior to save lives, rather than take them. If one is able to kill, they believe, one should be able to heal as well. The Hwa Rang Do® (the way of the flowering manhood) seeks the beauty within nature. For this reason, a sulsa first must learn to appreciate and honor life. A flower possesses the essence of beauty without trying to be beautiful. This is the goal of the Hwa Rang Do® philosopher and the sulsa.

The legend of the sulsa is traced to the divine king of Silla, who had a dream of producing the greatest fighting machine in history. These men were called the Hwarang (the flowering knights or wandering knights). As warriors, the Hwarang were trained in all aspects of warfare, strategy and combat. Yoo Shin Kim, a famous Hwarang jang gun (comparable to the shogun of Japan or a U.S. four star general), selected the best Hwarang to be trained as sulsa. These selected few possessed the characteristics of patience, loyalty, trust, courage, intelligence and wittiness. These sulsa would infiltrate the ranks of Koguryo and Paekche (bordering enemy kingdoms) to gather information. Rather than return home, the sulsa became part of the culture and social life-style of their enemies until orders came to either assassinate a feudal leader or begin another assignment. Thanks to the sulsa's selfless devotion to the kingdom, Yoo Shin Kim determined his enemies' weaknesses and unified the peninsula by conquering both Koguryo and Paekche. Silla was now one province and Korea was one nation. The unification, which brought about the greatest cultural advancement in Korea's history, also marked the beginning of the decline of the sulsa. With the Silla's enemies in check, the sulsa were sent on fact-finding missions to China and Japan.

The sulsa were experts in un shin bop, a subdivision of the Hwa Rang Do® institution of learning. Hwa Rang Do® is divided into four categories: wae gong (external power); nae gong (internal power); shin gong (mentasl power); moo gi gong (weapon power). Ninety percent of sulsa's training involved the ideals found in shin gong. A sulsa must learn to control and understand the psychological makeup of an individual in order for manipulation to occur. Un shin bop, one of the subdivisions of shin gong, delves into the art of concealment or invisibility, and employs combination of distraction, stealth and camouflage techniques. The Force Recon of the United States Marine Corps uses similar concepts of stealth and camouflage in its reconnaissance missions.

The sulsa followed two principles of strategy: jungdo (the way of the true sword), and amja (the study of trickery, diversion, camouflage, deceit and stealth). The same principles hold true today, since there is both conventional and unconventional warfare. Conventional warfare, or jungdo, deals with offensive and defensive tactics used on the battlefield as well as the use of superior firepower on the front lines. Unconventional warfare, or amja, delves into the art of guerilla warfare and espionage.

Another favorite category of sulsa training involves the concepts of infiltration and exfiltration. The three divisions include: jham-ip-sul (the basic understanding of infiltration, information gathering and exfiltration); jham-bok-sul (the study in ambush, eavesdropping, decoding, patience and survival); and bo-bop (the training in sentry stalking, stealth, and fast travel). These training tactics and the application of over 4,000 hand-to-hand combat techniques made the sulsa an invincible fighting machine. Another aspect of the sulsa's greatness was moo gi gong (utilization of weapons). There are over 100 different weapons found in Hwa Rang Do®. The sulsa had no enemy of their own; they were feared by all.

The spirit of the Hwarang warriors links sulsa of every generation. One of the most famous warriors of the 20th century was Michael D. Echanis, who, through dr. Joo Bang Lee, brought the ancient ideals of combat into the American military system. Echanis, who was killed in war-torn Nicaragua in 1978, left his mark in the training programs he instituted for the special forces of the American military. Because of his efforts, the Special Forces, the rangers, Underwater Demolition Team, and the Navy SEALs were taught in the sulsa tradition. The first American trained in the art of Hwa Rang Do® sulsa, Echanis took the techniques practiced by Hwarang warriors over the past 1,800 years and applied them to modern-day unconventional warfare tactics. The advancement of battlefield technology has decreased the demand for well-trained, hand-to-hand and special weapons experts, but there are many situations where an all-out war would be costly - in terms of money and human lives. In these situations, a modern warrior trained in the arts of hand-to-hand combat, special weapons, and strategies of the sulsa would be most effective. The need for the Hwa Rang Do® style warriors is timeless. The sulsa's concepts and theories of hand-to-hand combat and special warfare tactics are considered by many today to be the best in the world. As long as there are nations with opposing views, there will be battles, conflicts and wars, which must be waged and resolved for the sake of world peace.

Today, top Hwa Rang Do® practitioners are instructing the special units of the U.S. Armed forces.

The method of warfare may have changed drastically over the past 1,800 years, but man's desire to live remains the same. The Hwarang, above all else, seek to live life to its fullest and shower humankind with kindness. Putting aside all the warfare tactics, weapons and military jargon, we are all human - even the invincible sulsa. Hwa Rang Do® has not endured 18 centuries only because its techniques are superior, but because the people who cherish the art are of great moral character and understand the value of human, nature and the universe.