Korea Geography

1. Korea is a peninsula that sits between mainland China and the Japanese islands. Provides them with natural barriers for protection, but also acts a a “Cultural Bridge” between them.

2. Jagged Coastline – Good harbors for fishing and trade

3. Mountainous – natural barrier, isolation, limited farmland

Do Now: Describe three aspects of Korean

geography and how they impacted the people living

there.

Korguryo (37 BCE-668 CE)

Paekche (18 BCE-660 CE)

Silla (57 BCE-668 CE)

The Three Kingdoms Period

• Korguryo had the greatest military power but had to utilize most of its resources to repel the Chinese from

taking the peninsula.

• Paekche was known for its

construction of pagodas and

temples and had friendly ties to

Japan.

The Silla Dynasty (668-

935) Silla challenged the Japanese-Paekche

trade and allied with Tang China to defeat Koguryo. They would unite the Peninsula and create a golden

age.• Silla became a tributary of Tang China

and borrowed and adapted Chinese

systems (Buddhism and Confucianism) with their

native practices – Cultural Diffusion

Capital city of Gyeongju

Film Clip

Was Korea a Part of the Silk Road?

Products of the Silk RoadItems Found at Buddhist Temple site in

KoreaBronze Buddha

Glass Beads

Jade ornaments

Iron scissors

Terra Cotta figure

Bronze buckles and bells

Silver Bowl

Bronze Buddha image

Exhibit #1

Horse head-shaped pottery rhyton from

Pokchon-dong, Pusan, 4th century CE

Sheep-headed rhyton, Iran, 6th century BCE

Horse Head-Shaped Pottery (Rhyton)A rhyton is a Hellenistic horn-shaped drinking cup made from tusk, horn and silver or the like. Iranians of the Sassanian Dynasty made pottery rhytons in the shape of an animal’s head, such as that of sheep, cow or horse.

Products of the Silk RoadExhibit #2

Products of the Silk Road

Koguryo tomb mural of metalworking in

Ji’an, Jilin Province, 6th century

In the Mediterranean and Middle East, technicians smelted ore in a small furnace and formed the product through smithing methods on an anvil. This mode of ironworking diffused in the Central Asian steppe by 700 BCE.

The Chinese may have experimented with iron casting and forging techniques as early as 800 or 900 BCE, artisans of the Middle Kingdom became proficient at making iron blades and tools about 500 BCE. By 400 BCE.

Exhibit #3

• There was official contacts between Silla and China and between Silla and Japan. • From 675 to 907, Silla sent 103 official missions to the Tang court, but in that time frame, only seven diplomatic missions from Japan reached China.

Contact along the Silk Road

Emissary from

Koguryo, Paekche and Silla going to

China

Purchase order (752), indicating Japanese imports from Silla included perfume, medicine, cosmetics, fabric dying materials, metallic goods, musical instruments, carpets, and measuring tools. Some were made in Silla; Others were of foreign origin, probably from Southeast Asia, India or South Asia.

Exhibit #4

The Importance and Spread of Silk

TradeAyaha-gu Ikeda Shrine in Osaka, Japan enshrines Ayaha and Kureta, two

sisters who came from Korea in 306 CE, planted mulberry trees and raised

silkworms. They spread the cultivation of silkworms and weaving techniques

in Japan.By observing these two documents, What can we learn about Korea and

the Silk Road ?

Exhibit #5

Foreign InfluencesThese are guardian sculptures created to protect the tomb

of Silla King Wonsong (798 CE).

The 9 foot stucco stone guards have

Central Asian features with deep-set eyes, high nose

ridges and headbands like those worn by

Iranians. The civil officer seems to

resemble the Uighur with square jaws, protruding noses,

full beards and large eyes.

… and then there’s that ugly one from

Smithtown.

Exhibit #6

BuddhismChinese Buddhist monks traveled the silk road to Korea and began to spread Buddhism as early as

372 CE. Despite vehemently resisting Buddhism at first, the Silla eventually made it their

state religion. Sillan monks traveled to Tang China to study, and to India to see King Asoka’s monuments

and to follow Buddha’s footsteps. Korean monks also

traveled east to Japan as missionaries. Korea began to see a major

change in art and architecture due to the influence of Buddhism. Buddhist spirituality and its

concepts of idealized beauty and contemplation were reflected in pagodas, temples, and tombs.

Seokguram Grotto – Final stop on the

Silk Road

Film ClipExhibit #7

The Silla and the Silk Road

•The Silk road did not stop at Chang’an, but did extend eastward into Korea and Japan.

•There were large numbers of Korean merchants living in port cities of Southeast China such as Guangdong and Fuzhou.

•Korean merchants had access to the merchandise from the silk road and exported their own goods both as tribute and trade

goods.

What conclusions can we make about Korea and the Silk Road?

Why has Korea been called a “Cultural

Land Bridge”

The Koryu Dynasty (935-1392)

Led to a golden age! Achievements in:

• Organized legal system with a bureaucracy and a civil service – modeled after China but less social mobility

• Society divided between landed aristocracy and the rest of the population including military, commoners, and slaves.

• Led to rebellions in the 1100s but Koryeo remained in power

• Decline: Mongol invasions in 1231-1350s

• By the 10th century, Silla rule weakened

• 935 – A rebel officer named Wang Kon gained control of the peninsula and became King – Named Koryu Dynasty (Where Korea gets its name)

The Koryu Dynasty (935-1392)• World's first metal printing technology before Gutenberg.

• World’s oldest printed book, the Jikji

• World oldest surviving complete transcription of the Buddhist canons, the Tripitaka Koreana.

• The world famous Celadon pottery often associated with Korea was developed within the 12th and 13th centuries• Development of Buddhism throughout the peninsula.

16

The First Metal Type Printing Press

The Jikji - 1377FILM CLIP