Wooden Document

[Narration]
Now let’s take a closer look at the elements of Buyeo culture on display in the Exhibition Room 2. The artifacts that you are looking at now are an ink-stone and a wooden note pad from the Baekje Dynasty. Thin, small pieces of wood were used to record messages.

[Tourist]
They did not use paper?

[Narration]
Although paper was invented in China around the 1st century A.D., it was a still a luxury at the time, so people used wood instead.

[Tourist]
Oh, I see. There is something else I would like to know. I understand that there is a Korean Alphabet, but all the characters here are Chinese.

[Narration]
The Korean Alphabet was only created in 1443. Before that, Chinese characters were used, similar to how Latin characters were used in much of Europe. Either way, the records on this wooden document provide interesting information about the society of Baekje. One of the documents is especially interesting – it records the rate of interest that was to be paid on a loan of rice.

[Tourist]
Ah! So they used to have loan sharks in Baekje.

[Narration]
Ha-ha! I wouldn’t call it loan sharking. This is an administrative record of the kingdom, an official public document. The kingdom would 'lend' rice to the people if there was a difficult year and the harvests were insufficient, a bit like a relief policy. This wooden document lists the address of the borrower, according to the administrative region where the person resided. It is also evidence of the existence of an administrative system in Baekje.

[Tourist]
That small, wooden document says a lot!