Dae Gaya, a Nation of Iron

The ability to produce ironware is used as a standard to assume a nation’s power during ancient times. Using iron farming tools further developed agriculture, and iron weapons strengthened the military power of a nation.

In the past Dae Gaya occupied the neighboring region of Hapcheon. And since Hapcheon was a famous iron producer, Dae Gaya was able to obtain ample iron resources. Based on this, Dae Gaya produced a large amount of iron and was called a nation of iron.

According to Chinese records, neighboring nations came to Dae Gaya to purchase iron. Also, all transactions in the market used iron, which made iron a type of currency.

The museum has a model of how they used to produce iron. Take a look at its production process.

Based on this process, Dae Gaya’s ironware culture flourished while producing farming tools, weapons, and armor. This culture was widely spread to many areas of the Korean Peninsula and Japanese Archipelago, and Dae Gaya was able to further grow internationally.