page_title: Korean armour
section_title: Introduction
hierarchical_section_title: Korean armour / Introduction
caption_attribution_description: Korea-Gaya Warrior.
context_page_description: Korean armor is armor that was traditionally used in ancient times by Koreans, those fighting in and on behalf of Korea, or Koreans fighting overseas. Examples of armor from the Korean Peninsula date back to at least the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Depending on the tactical situation, Korean armor also included horse-armor and other kinds of early anti-ballistic armor before the 20th century.
context_section_description: Korean armor was largely focused on protecting against missile warfare, since the mountainous terrain made field battle relatively rare in comparison to other countries; taking fortifications was the typical way of warfare. Metallic armor was relatively widespread during the Three Kingdoms period due to constant warfare, but its usage declined when Korea was united. By the Joseon Dynasty, common provincial troops were equipped with padded armor while central units could afford metallic armor. 
  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 the Joseon dynasty. Fighting against much larger forces as China and Japan, Koreans favored mobility and ranged tactics which limited the reliance upon vastly armored units despite a strong inclusion of melee training.
  Korean armor during the Korean Three Kingdoms Period consisted of two major styles: a lamellar armor sharing the style of Chinese armor at the time and the armor of the steppe hordes, and plate armor, found in the Gaya Confederation and its vicinity. The lamellae were often of hard materials such as bronze, iron, bone, or stiffened leather; plates were always of iron, steel or bronze.
  During later periods, Korean armor also included forms of brigandine, chain mail, and scale armor. 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 armor pieces, from top to bottom, typically consisted of a helmet or a cap, a heavy main armor 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. 
  It is suggested 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, some of which endured through the Joseon era that followed the end of the Goryeo Dynasty in 1392. Japanese paintings of Korean/Mongol warriors during the two Mongol invasions of Japan (1274 and 1281 AD) show Mongol forces made largely of Korean and Chinese conscripts with shields and Mongol-style armor elements. The shields do not appear to have lasted as an influence, but examples of Joseon-era Korean armor often show adoptive influences from the Mongol period.
  After the rise of the Joseon Dynasty, Korean combat armor saw change once from mainly using chainmail, plated mail and lamellar to mostly brigandine.
caption: Gaya armour
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