SHILLA'S RISES

Faced with threats from its neighboring states, Baekje and Goguryeo, as well as from the Japanese across the sea, the Shilla kingdom's development was delayed more than its more established neighbors. From the time of Kim Naemul and the generations that followed, however, the Shilla kingdom gradually became better organized as a more solidified state society with a strong central authority. As a result of this, in the later half of the fifth century, post stations and markets were established in the kingdom. Upon the completion of a transition into a truly centralized state society, Shilla became a real contender for power on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia.

The Shilla-Baekje Alliance

In response to the threat of the powerful Goguryeo kingdom, the Shilla monarchs kept their ties with the Baekje kingdom strong. The more tensions there were between Goguryeo and Shilla, the closer Baekje and Shilla became. An alliance was formed between Baekje and Shilla in 433 CE and in the second half of the 5th century CE, the Shilla kingdom became independent from Goguryeo's political influence. Marriage ties were also established between the two allied kingdoms. This alliance lasted for over a century and prevented the powerful Goguryeo kingdom from successfully conquering the southern half of the Korean peninsula.

Economic and Administrative Advances

In the early sixth century CE, Shilla's agriculture and economic base became better developed. During the reign of King Jijeung 지증왕 (r. 500-514 CE), the ox plow was used among Shilla peasants and irrigation projects were carried out. The Chinese-style title of "wang" 왕, which meant "king," was adopted to refer to the rulers of Shilla as the monarchy adopted Chinese-style political institutions and bureaucratic systems. As in its neighboring kingdoms, consorts for the Shilla royal line came from a single major clan; the Bak 박 clan women became the queens of the kingdom. By the time of King Beopheung 법흥왕 (r.514-540 CE), a well-developed code of law was in place including the golpum 골품, or "bone rank," system that had its roots from the Saro chiefdom of Shilla's early days. Buddhism also became the state religion under Beopheung's reign and thus the kingdom technologically and culturally quickly caught up with its neighbors.