Silla · 57 BC – 935 · Temples and invention
In the southeast of the peninsula, a kingdom grew around a city called Seorabeol, which we now know as Gyeongju.
Korean records date the founding of Silla to 57 BCE, and it lasted until 935 CE, nearly a thousand years. Its tombs have given us elaborate gold crowns and jewelry, and its capital had an astronomical observatory, Cheomseongdae, a stone tower built to watch the stars.
In 528 CE Silla adopted Buddhism as its state religion, and temples became part of the landscape. That is why this station is called temples and invention.
Silla also had the Hwarang, elite young men. They began as a social group for aristocratic youth, but constant wars turned many of them into soldiers and commanders, and they helped in the campaigns that brought down Goguryeo.
Silla won its wars with its neighbors and with its former ally Tang China, and unified most of the peninsula. The Silla-Tang War ran from 670 to 676. In 935 the last king, Gyeongsun, submitted to Goryeo, and Silla came to an end.
Previous station: Before Korea. Next station: The Joseon Era.