I wasn’t always interested in history. As I’ve grown older, however, I’ve developed a sincere interest in history. Now that I live in South Korea, the sorts of history lessons that attract me are those that teach about South Korea’s history. Furthermore, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that in order for me to really enjoy life in South Korea for an extended number of years, I must constantly be learning about this place.

Baekje tile

To that end, I visited Buyeo County, Chungcheongnam Province (부여군, 충청남도), which happens to be where the 3rd capital city of the Beakje Kingdom (18 BCE – 660 CE) was located. Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and its power and influence reached parts of China. Originally, Baekje’s 1st capital was located in present day Seoul for about 500 years but was moved south to its 2nd capital city in present day Gongju due to an invading kingdom from the north called Goguryeo. After just 63 years in Gongju, the capital was moved to present day Buyeo where the Baekje Kingdom lasted another 122 years before being conquered by Silla at the beginning of the Unified Silla Period.

Baekje pottery

So what’s there to do in Buyeo? The three places I visited for this venture into Korea’s past include the Buyeo National Museum, Baekje Royal Tombs Park, and Busosanseong Fortress. All three of these sites can easily be visited in a single day (except Mondays when the museum is closed). Also, using a taxi to get to each place will cost you very little.

A chamber burried beneath an ancient temple, used to store the 'relics' of a person

The Buyeo National Museum houses a collection of artifacts from the Baekje Kingdom. Entrance is free and it only takes about an hour to walk through it, even if you read all the information placards. I rented an automated headset tour guide for 3,000 KRW, but probably shouldn’t have because it was simply information overload. There’s plenty of information on the placards so that the headset isn’t needed.

Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (National Treasures 287)

The crown jewel, so to speak, of the museum is the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (National Treasures 287) which wasn’t discovered until 1993! It really is a nice piece of work. Much of the rest of the museum is full of pottery and Buddhist artifacts that are typical of the Baekje style. In fact, Baekje was the first to introduce Buddhism to the Korean peninsula.

Baekje Royal Tombs Park

Baekje Royal Tombs Park will cost you 1,000 KRW to visit. There’s really not much to see except a few mounds of dirt covered with grass. These tombs are nothing like the Seonjeongneung Royal Tombs (UNESCO) in Seoul. There is also a small museum-like place where some replicas of artifacts found nearby are on display along with some life-size displays of what the inside of the tombs look like. If you ever wanted to know how these tombs were built, this is a good place to visit.

Baekje Royal Tombs Park

Busosanseong Fortress or Buso Mountain Fortress (부소산성) was the main defense area of a fortress system that surrounded the ancient capital. Being located on a mountain with cliffs and a river on one side, it made an ideal spot for defense. The fortress today looks nothing like a fortress. Rather it looks like a modern public park spread around the mountain.

The most interesting thing inside the fortress is a shrine dedicated to three loyal subjects of the Baekje Kingdom who gave good advice to the king or gave their lives in battle to save the kingdom. It was the king, in the end, who didn’t listen to his advisers and ultimately cost his kingdom.

Busosanseong Fortress, Samchungsa Shrine (삼충사)

There is a myth about the cliffs at the edge of the river. In 660, when Baekje was being invaded, it is said that 3,000 court ladies jumped to their death to protect their chastity and confirm allegiance to Baekje. The cliff is called Nak-hwa-am (낙화암), literally translated as “Falling Flower Rock”. A sign I read on the mountain said that this is a myth that began to appear in stories about Baekje long after it had been conquered and that it couldn’t be true since Baekje never had that many court ladies. It continues saying that, rather than being a fact, the story represents people’s view that the Baekje Kingdom was great. Nevertheless, some Koreans believe it is a true story.

Sitting at my desk and looking back, there’s nothing spectacular about any one of the three places I visited in Buyeo and so I’m not putting the “recommended” tag on this post. That being said, there is something special about visiting a historical place in order to learn the history of that place rather than just reading about it in a book. Now that I’ve been to Buyeo and visited these sights, I feel excited about learning more about the Baekje Kingdom. In fact, when I left Buyeo, I headed straight to Gongju, Baekje Kingdom’s 2nd capital so that I could continue my study of Baekje.

Resources
In the Heart of Baekje Buyeo, the Last Capital of a Mighty Nation (Korea Tourism Organization)
Buyeo National Museum (Korea Tourism Organization)
Buyeo National Museum (Official)
Buyeo Tour (Official)

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