Life is slow in this side of the world as compared to other cities in South Korea but in the month of October Gongju bursts with festive mood as its streets brim with people for the Baekje Cultural Festival. Commemorating the old Baekje Kingdom, the festival features fan dancers, monks and children in their traditional costumes and masks participating in the harvest dance amidst loud drumming. People carrying torches light up the city of Gongju. Gongju is defined by the Geum River, which seems to wash the east and west sides of the city with its several tributaries such as Yugu-cheon, Jeongan-cheon, Jemin-cheon, Daekyockheon, and Hyoljeo. Resting in the heart of South Korea, Gongju, the ancient capital of the old Baekje, formerly known as the Ungjin, is a rich repository of history and culture. The temples and pagodas bear witness to the rise and fall of a distant kingdom, leaving its vestiges and ruins for modern tourists to explore.
The relics are found mostly in the Gongju National Museum and include the tomb of the King Muryeoung discovered in 1971 together with over 1,500-year old artifacts from the Chungnam Period. The detailed craftsmanship of the royal jewelry displayed in the museum is remarkable and the life-sized model of the royal tomb is visible to the public in one of the exhibition rooms.
Today, the cultural sophistication of the old kingdom can be seen in the many works of art found in South Korea's major museums. And with recent efforts to move the capital from Seoul to Gongju, who knows what future awaits the former kingdom.
