Did you know that before there ever was a South and North Korea, there were three large kingdoms in what is now present day Korea?  It’s true.  Long before the Korean nation, Korea was nothing more than a conglomerate of three strong powers.  This period is called the shikgukshide (삼국시대) or the Three Kingdoms Period.

The largest of the three “states” was Goguryo (고구려).  The territory of Goguryo (고구려) extended into Russia, China, all of North Korea and bits of South Korea.  Goguryo (고구려) had amassed its territories through constant warfare.  Although this strategy allowed Goguryo (고구려) to be feared among the other kingdoms, this came at the price of a lack of artistic development and culture.  There are some cave wall paintings still left to this day, but nothing as culturally refined as the other kingdoms.  Eventually Goguryo’s (고구려) downfall was acclerated by a depletion of supplies and constant warring.

The next kingdom is Bekje (백제).  Although Bekje (백제) is tiny when compared to Goguryo (고구려), at its height it controlled parts of North Korea and the south western part of present day South Korea.  Unlike Goguryo (고구려), the Bekje (백제) were more culturally advanced.  They had knowledge of processing iron into weapons and created beautiful works of art and architecture.  In fact the crowns of Bekje (백제) kings and queens are made of the finest craftsmanship for that period of time.  The Bekje (백제) had trade relations with Japan.  Japan’s Buddhist origins can be traced to its relations with the Bekje (백제).

Last but not least is Silla (신라).  Silla (신라) occupied the southeastern part of present day South Korea.  Silla (신라) had extensive relations with China’s Tang (탕) dynasty.  Together with China, it was able to push into Goguryo (고구려) and Bekje (백제) territory.  Silla was also a advanced society.  There are burial remains of fine silk, porcelain, and gold jewelry.  The picture on the left is a Silla (신라) crown.  The upper crust of Silla society was divided into two lineages.  The king and the royal family belonged to the sacred bone lineage (성골), while the nobles were designated into the true bone (진골) lineage.  Like all great societies, the Silla (신라) civilization declined because of a conflict within these two lineages, but it left behind some great works of art that we can still see and enjoy today.

So that’s a wrap up of the Three Kingdoms Period.  It’s not here anymore, but it still continues to be a rich part of Korean history.