Paekche , one of three kingdoms to which the ancient Korea shared 660 years ago. Paekche on the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula is traditionally said to be 18 v. Founded in the Kwangju region by a legendary leader named Onjo. In the 3rd century n . Ch. During the reign of King Koi (234–286), Paekche grew into a fully developed kingdom. Under King Kŭnch'ogo (346–375), it had gained control of a region encompassing the entire Han Central Korea basin.
In the late 5th century, the North Korean kingdom became Koguryŏ stripped Paekche of his territory in the Han River Basin and moved his capital south to Ungjin (present-day Kongju). In the reign of King Sŏng (523–554), the kingdom was forced to move its capital even further south to Sabi (present-day Puyŏ), as more of its territory was occupied by Koguryŏ.
The kingdom was divided into five administrative districts. There were 16 official grades in the central government and the 6 officials of the first grade formed a kind of cabinet. The senior official named sang jwa pyong was elected every three years.
Buddhism flourished and many temples were built. Confucianism also thrived and produced a large body of eminent scholars. The fine arts by Paekche show technical maturity and warm human qualities that sometimes influence the South China art the Six Dynasties . These characteristics are evident, for example, in gently modeled Buddha statues in relaxed poses with their distinctive and expressive "Paekche smile".
In an attempt to stem Kogury's attacks and regain some of his lost territory in the Han Basin, Paekche allied with Silla However, , the other South Korean state, eventually lost that territory to Silla. 660 ended the defeat of the allied forces of Silla and the Chinese T'ang- Dynasty (618–907) rule. Eight years later, Silla's forces defeated the North Korean state of Koguryŏ and unified the Korean peninsula under the United Silla Dynasty (668–935).