The National Museum of Korea

▣ The land of Korea 우리 땅, 우리 역사의 터전 한반도
The Korean peninsula is located on the far east end of Asia. It is located between China and Japan. It is about 1,000kms (621 miles) long and 216kms (134 miles) wide. Mountains cover 70% of its land. Korea is divided into two separate countries, North and South Korea.

▣ The Ice Age 빙하 시대
The first human beings began to walk upright and communicate about 3 million years ago. During the time of the Ice age, people lived in caves.
The world’s sea level was much lower than it is now. And, Korea and Japan were one land.

Hand Axe 손도끼
The first tool of mankind was made of stone. Ancient people hunted animals using stone. The hand axe was commonly used for hunting.

▣ Neolithic Period 신석기 시대
After the ice Age people began building houses and living together. They also started to live near the sea or fresh water. During this time, they fished and farmed for their food.

★ Comb-Pattern Pottery 빗살무늬토기
During the Ice age, there was not enough food. Therefore, they did not need pottery to store food. However, as food became more available, people made pottery to store and cook their food. It was made using water, soil, and fire. Many comb pattern potteries from the Neolithic period were found around Amsadong.

▣ Bronze Age 청동기 시대
During the Bronze Age, people became more advanced. They made bronze daggers instead of stone knives. The blade and grip were made
separately and then combined. This is unique and quite different from
China.

Dolmens – How dolmens were made 거대한 고인돌은 어떻게 만들어졌을까요?Dolmens are the tombs of the leaders of tribes. First, the big stones were dug up. The stones were then moved into place using logs. After putting in the supporting stones, the gap between them could be filled with soil.
The capstone would be placed on top, and the soil was removed.

★ Why did they use such huge and heavy stones for tombs?Goindol is a tomb that can usually be found in the Bronze Age. But did everyone use Goindol? No, only the chiefs or leaders of a clan or tribe could use this style of tomb and the rest of the people used ordinary style
tomb.

★ Why they have to do it such hard way?Goindol was symbol of power of a man. The stones used for Goindol can only be moved by hundreds of people so that show how powerful the leader was. So, bigger stones mean bigger tribes.

▣ The Founding Myth of Korea 고조선 건국신화
A lo ng t ime ago, Hwanung, the son of heaven ruled the people. There lived a t iger and a bear. They wished to beco me human and prayed everyday to Hwanung. Hwanung called them and gave them garlic and mugwort. He told them “You can beco me human if yo u only eat
garlic and mugwort for 100 days in a cave.” The t iger gave up after a litt le while, but the bear stayed and became a beaut iful wo man, called Ungnyeo. Hwanung took Ungnyeo for his wife and she gave birth to
a son. The y named him Dangun and he later established Korea. Gojoseon was the first kingdo m of the Korean peninsula.

▣ The Three Kingdoms 삼국 시대Goguryeo 고구려
Jumo ng established Goguryeo in 37 B.C. According to a legend, Jumo ng was born from an egg. He was very good at archery. He was named ‘Jumo ng’ meaning “expert archer.” In the 5t h century, Goguryeo was the mo st powerful nat io n in Northeast Asia. King Gwanggaeto “The Great” was a brave co mmander. He defeated many nations. His son, King Jangsu, made a stone to mb for him. It is as high as a three-story building.
King Jangsu ruled the largest territory in Korean history.

Baekje 백제
In 18 B.C., Baekje was established in Wuiraeseong, by Onjo. He was the son of Jumong. Baekje moved its capital to GongJu due to the invasion
of Goguryeo. Later, they changed the capital to Buyeo. Baekje had a close relationship with Japan. Baekje sent scholars, monks and artists to Japan.
Bronze Incense Burner (백제금동대향로) National Treasures No 287 This incense burner was from a temple site in Buyeo. It is a good example of Baekje’s delicate art. This kind of burner has not been found anywhere else in the world. The phoenix on the lid represents the sky. Animals and plants on the body represent paradise. The dragon on the base epresents the sea. Gold crown ornament (금관장신구) A beautiful crown ornament was found in the tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju. King Muryeong was loved by his people because he tried to help the farmers. Including this item, 17 other items from the tomb are regarded as national treasures.

▣ Gaya - The Kingdom of Iron 철의 왕국 - 가야Gaya was a confederacy of small kingdoms in the Nakdong river valley.
Though Gaya existed for about 500 years there is little known about Gaya.
Gaya was famous for its iron making. Gaya exported iron armors and  ther weapons to Baekje and Japan.

Shilla 신라
Shilla was established by Park-hyeok-geo-se in 57 B.C. According to a  egend, he was also born out of an egg. The capital of Shilla was Gyeongju for a thousand years. Therefore, the whole city is like a museum. In 2000, UNESCO included the Gyeongju Historical Areas in its World Heritage list.
Golden Crown Of the ten golden crowns in the world, eight are from Korea. Out of these, six are from Shilla, and  two are from Gaya. They were decorated with shapes of deer antlers and tree branches. These shapes symbolize Shamanism. The Shilla crowns weigh more than one kilogram.

Vessels 기발한 조각상 모양 그릇
This is a pair of vessels in the shape of master and servant on horseback.
There are holes in the chest and rump of the horse. We guess that they were used as kettles. We can see Shilla people’s costume, weaponry and
horse equipment. The master is wearing a hat, armor and a sword. His horse has a saddle, footrests and a horn-shaped ornament on its forehead.

▣ Unified Shilla 통일신라
Shilla joined forces with Dang and defeated Baekje and Goguryeo. But later Dang also wanted to rule the Shilla kingdom. After 9 years of fighting, Shilla unified the three kingdoms and removed Dang. This Unified Shilla time period was the Buddhist cultural peak. Many monks went to China to learn about Buddhism. Many temples were also built.

▣ Balhae 한민족의 나라 - 발해
Balhae was established by Daejoyoung in 698 AD and recovered the former territory of Goguryeo. The capital of Balhae was Sanggyeong.
Balhae was the last Kingdom when Korea ruled part of the Manju area.

★ Balhae and Gaya
What do you think about the nation on the Korean peninsula throughout history? There were Gochosun, Goguryo, Shilla, Goryo, Chosun… but
there were also had Gaya and Balhae, they were also part of our
Korean history. It is important to remember the incredible bronze skills of Gaya and also the inheritance of Goguryo by Balhae. Especially Balhae is very important for bridging the gap between Goguryo and Goryo. The huge territories ruled by Goguryo are part of China today. Even now China is trying to manipulate history and take Goguryo and Balhae as their own history. The great spirit of Goguryo that ruled Manju and China is definitely our precious history that we should protect.  Bulguka Temple and Seokguram grotto was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.We guess that kings only wore them during special occasions.