Artifacts of the Kingdom of Baekje ongoing at the Buyeo National Museum in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea

Artifacts of the Kingdom of Baekje ongoing at the Buyeo National Museum in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea.

Since Buyeo was once the capital of the Baekje kingdom during the Sabi period (538-660 CE), the Museum is fully devoted to the Baekje culture.  Baekje was a kingdom located in southwest Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE.   It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla.  Baekje alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula. At its peak in the 4th century, Baekje controlled most of the western Korean peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang, and may have even held territories in China, such as in Liaoxi, though this view is controversial. It became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan.  Its nautical skill, which made it the Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.


Image: Great Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje, National Treasure of Republic of Korea No. 287 courtesy of the National Museum of Korea and Wikimedia Commons.

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