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From Kuk-Son ranks were chosen government officials, military leaders, field generals, and even kings, who served Silla both in times of peace and war. Most of the great military leaders of Silla were products of Hwarang training, and many were Kuk-Son.

The education of a Hwarang was supported by the king and generally lasted ten years, after which the youth usually entered into some form of service to his country. King Chin Hung sent the Hwarang to places of scenic beauty for physical and mental culture as true knights of the nation. For hundreds of years the Hwarang were taught by Kuk-Son in social etiquette, music and songs, and patriotic behavior

A Hwarang candidate had to be a man of character, virtue, and countenance. The Hwarang trained to improve their moral principles and military skills. To harden their bodies, they climbed rugged mountains, swam turbulent rivers in the coldest months, and drove themselves unmercifully to

The youth were taught dance, literature, arts, and sciences, and the arts of warfare, chariot, archery, and hand-to-hand combat. The hand-to-hand combat was based upon the Um-Yang principles of Buddhist philosophy and included a blending of hard/soft and linear/circular techniques. The art of foot fighting was known as Subak and was practiced by common people throughout the three kingdoms. However, the Hwarang transformed and intensified this art and added hand techniques, renaming it Taekkyon. The Hwarang punches could penetrate the wooden chest armor of an enemy and kill him. Their foot techniques were said to be executed at such speed that opponents frequently thought that the feet of Hwarang warriors were swords. 

In later centuries, the king of Koryo made Taekkyon training mandatory for all soldiers, and annual Taekkyon contests were held among all members of the Silla population on May 5th of the Lunar Calendar.

The rank of Hwarang usually meant a man had achieved the position of a teacher of the martial arts and commanded 500-5,000 students called Hwarang-Do. A Kuk-Son was the master and held the rank of general in the army. Hwarang fighting spirit was ferocious and was recorded in many literary works including the Sam-Guk-Sagi, written by Kim Pu-Sik in 1145, and the Hwarang-Segi. The latter was said to have contained the records of lives and deeds of over 200 individual Hwarang (Sadly, it was lost during the Japanese occupation in the 20th century). The zeal of the Hwarang helped Silla become the world's first "Buddha Land" and led to the unification of the three kingdoms of Korea. Buddhist principles were so ingrained in the code of the Hwarang that a large number of monks participated in the Hwarang-Do. During times of war, they would take up arms to die for Silla.

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