Buyeo Era

Lastly, we will learn about the Buyeo Era.

In the 6th century, the king of Baekje risked relocating the capital city once more, this time to Buyeo, to enable the kingdom to develop further. Although the second capital, Gongju, was in a great defensive location for protecting the kingdom, it restricted the expansion of Baekje. Thus, the king of Baekje decided to relocate the capital to Buyeo, a region with wide plains and a wide river.

After the relocation, Baekje flourished and cultivated all areas of its society including politics, military, and culture, whilst maintaining the authority of the monarchy and increasing exchange with China and Japan. Based on its new-found strength, Baekje actively sought to amass territory and captured 30 castles belonging to the neighboring kingdom, Silla.

Silla, in desperate crisis, responded by requesting for assistance from China and began to mount countermeasures against Baekje with Chinese military support. Although Baekje had been strong enough to threaten the collapse of Silla five years before, it was helpless against the Silla-China alliance. The allied forces finally captured the capital of Baekje and it fell in the 7th century A.D.

The Buyeo Era was the last of the Baekje kingdoms and the 700 years of the Baekje Dynasty disappeared into history.