Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto

Silla Kingdom(57 BC - 935)

Silla situated on the southeast corner of the Korean peninsula formed a kingdom around the 2nd century later than Koguryo and Paekje.
She was a feudal force belonging to Chinhan, one of the three areas of Chinguk. Kyongju was her capital. According to the legend, Hyoggose, founder of Silla, was born of an egg laid by a horse that had descended from heaven and he became the king at the age of 13 on the recommendation of heads of six villages where the surviving members of Kochoson were living. It was in 57 B.C that became the king. Solabal was the Silla's first name.
This legend tells that Silla was founded by the allied feudal forces in the six regions near Kyongju and that migrant aristocrats of Kochoson with advanced culture were the main force in founding the kingdom.
Silla reinforced her state structure in the course of conquering the neighbouring forced and expanding her territory. Inheriting the culture of Kochoson and the developed productive forces of Chinguk, she established a feudal system. As feudal lords, the aristocrats in six provinces had their own territory and army.
In the course of conquering the neighbouring feudal forces and expanding her territory, permission was accorded the surrendering elements to re-fain their former privileges and get estates. But for those who did not surrender arms were resorted to and their territory and people were put under state control. In both cases the inhabitants in those areas were reduced to slavery and they were the target of cruel exploitation. In the meantime there emerged new landlords from among homin (rich men of common birth)under the patronage of the state.
In order to protect the feudal lord's undivided authority by law, aristocracy was graded in a formal hierarchy. This hierarchy was classified into five categories known as songgol, chingol, and the like, Songgol was of the highest grade. Those belonging to this category were able to be the king. Such a classification based on the social standing of their families was known as kolpum system and this office became hereditary.
The hereditary of civil service was classified into 17 categories. Under the officials' post was decided by these ranks.
Kompum classifying the social status of aristocrats, pumgye classifying the rank of officials and the government posts were closely interlinked. Aristocrats of high social status were entitled to hold high official rank and government post. For example, the aristocrats with such social status as songgol and chingol were allowed to hold the official rank ranging from the first to fifth grade. With the enlargement of the feudal state machinery, the formal hierarchy also became more detailed.
the aristocratic democracy was also introduced in Silla. A meeting attended by the king and officials of noble origin in each pu or ministry was called hwabaek. Important of the state were decided at this meeting. In its early days the king was elected at this meeting. Up to the time of the 16th king of Silla Namul (358-401) the throne was succeeded by those of those of influential families in six min-istries with three surname-pak, Sok and Kim.
Until the 3rd century, Silla held only the eastern area of Kyongsang Province and part of Kangwon Province. As her national power was very weak, Silla did not venture to come into conflict with Koguryo and Paekje and sometimes she derived assistance from Koguryo. In the early 5th century she sent royal members to Koguryo as hostage and adopted a policy of allying herself with it.
Afterward, agricultural production increased and handicraft manutacturing and trade made marked progress. In 531 repairs were undertaken on all dikes. Technically-excellent industrial art objects were produced in those days. Among them was a gold crown unearthed at Kyongju. And two big markets existed at Kyongju, capital of Silla. All These facts are indicative of a highly developed economy of Silla.
The development of the economy was attended by harsh exploitation of the people.
Towards the end of the 5th century postal stations with relays of horses and men were installed in major points of the country for transport and aommunication services. The years of 505 saw the establishment of such administrative units as chu(province), kun(county) and hyon(sub-county).
With the growth of her national power, Silla em-barked upon extending her territory in the early 6th century, taking advantage of Koguryo and Paekje fighting with each other.
In 512, she seized Ullung-do Island on the East Sea by mobilizing her naval force, and in 523 annexed Kim-gwankaya, a kingdom in the basin of the Pakdong-gang River. In 551 and 553 Silla's boundaries were pushed to their father limit , to the area in the basin of the Han-gang River formerly controlled by Paekje and Koguryo and new provinces were set up there.
Silla began to take interest in the West Sea. She Strove to develop diplomatic and trade relations with many states of China. This was prompted by her desire to dominate Paekje and Koguryo with the help of feudal forces of China. In 556 she seized the south-ern territory of Koguryo (now Anbyon area of Kangwon Province). In 562 the Kaya Kingdom That remained in the lower reaches of the Pakdong-gang River was finally absorbed by Silla.
Thus her territory stretched from the southeast area of the Korean penisula to its northern area the basin of the Han-gang River and far to Riwon in Hamgyong Province.
Mounments built in commemoration of the local tour of King Chinhung(540-576), the 24th king of Silla. were found at Changnyong, South Kyongsang Province, on Pukhan-san Mountain in Seoul, and in the Hwangcho-ryong and Maun-ryong ridges of South Hamgong Province. This testifies to the extended territory of the Silla at that time.
From the period before and after the Christianera to the 7th century A.D, the ancestors of the Korean people lived under the rule of three feudal kingdom. In this period the three kingdoms sometimes waged war on each other. It was due to the feudal lord's ambition to get more territory.
Troubled as this period was, blood-kinship grew thicker and thicker among the people of the three kingdoms with the same culture and the same blood. This is evidenced by the legends that Paekje was founded by apolitical force branched off from Koguryo and that the six villages inhabited by the surviving members of Kochoson were the central force in creating Silla. The people of the three kingdoms had almost the same language and culture. And there were mutual visits and close interchanges. In this course the cultural and blood ties of the people of the three kingdoms daily became deeper and deeper.