Ancient tombs in Naju
By Kim Jin-hyeon
Last month I traveled to the Bannam ancient tombs in Naju, South Jeolla Province, where dozens of huge burials, including for royal families, exist at Mount Jami.
Under the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule, two of them were excavated by Japanese archaeologists for 10 days each in 1917 and 1918. Remains such as crowns and accessories were uncovered. Such valuable relics encouraged grave robbers to plunder them until the 1970s. Still worse, many were destroyed by ignorant farmers.
Nevertheless, the huge monuments and their unique styles have given visitors a strong curiosity. Scholars guess that they were dug in the 6th and 7th centuries by an ancient kingdom called Mahan.
When Mahan was strong, it had 54 counties spanning from Hwanghae Province to South Jeolla Province, but after being invaded by the Baekje Kingdom in the 5th century, it moved its capital to Naju, where they dug the tombs. I wondered what made it possible for them to dig these tombs.
The Kuroshio Current flows from Shanghai in China through the southern coast of Korea to Japan. The current has led the three countries to trade for a long time, which helped the coastal areas including Naju to prosper.
Through this route, rice seeds and advanced cultures came from China. For example, there are 6,000-year-old New Stone Age relics in Yeondo in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. They are similar to those in China and Japan. Moreover, over 20,000 dolmens and remains of the Bronze Age are mainly concentrated in South Jeolla Province, most of which are located in coastal areas and the Yeongsan River basin.
Naju has vast fields and Yeongsan River, which played a pivotal role as the center of rice farming as well as a trade outpost. Those natural advantages must have contributed to building the relics.
Moreover, many other huge mounds are found in South Jeolla Province, all of which are located beside rivers and sea ports. They were suitable places as hubs of maritime traffic as well as trade with foreign merchants. Therefore, the regions accumulate wealth, which resulted in such culture.
Traces like Bannam are a combination between continental and marine cultures. It was not strange that people there have made excellent achievements.
For instance, Jang Bo-go, “King of the Sea,” operating in the area around Mokpo at the entrance of Yeongsan River in the 9th century, defended the country from pirates from China, Japan and other countries, and he had merchant ships. And during Japan's invasion from 1592 to 1598, most of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's naval forces consisted of recruits from there. Yi defended the Joseon Kingdom from the Japanese invasion.
History is evaluated by relics and records. Numerous remains before written history are scattered around South Jeolla Province. Visit the province and enjoy its natural and historic relics.
The author (shinykim60@hanmail.net) works at Yeosu Chungmu High School in South Jeolla Province.