On our way back from a side trip to Gyeongju in South Korea, we took a couple trains and buses to the Baekje Historic Areas.
It is located in the mountainous mid-western region of the Republic of Korea, this property comprises eight archaeological sites dating from 475 to 660 CE, including the Gongsanseong fortress and royal tombs at Songsan-ri related to the capital, Ungjin (present day Gongju), the Busosanseong Fortress and Gwanbuk-ri administrative buildings, the Jeongnimsa Temple, the royal tombs in Neungsan-ri and the Naseong city wall related to the capital, Sabi (now Buyeo), the royal palace at Wanggung-ri and the Mireuksa Temple in Iksan related to the secondary Sabi capital. Together, these sites represent the later period of the Baekje Kingdom, one of the three earliest kingdoms on the Korean peninsula (18 BCE to 660 CE), during which time they were at the crossroads of considerable technological, religious (Buddhist), cultural and artistic exchanges between the ancient East Asian kingdoms in Korea, China and Japan.
This area is spread out across 20 miles or so and we spent several hours in the are, but mostly walked around the Gongsanseong fortress, which was a huge fortress with a stone and earthen wall that is a couple miles long. Inside the fort there are a few remaining buildings, but this was our least favorite site in South Korea.
