Gaya, the league on the south coast

Gaya was never one kingdom: in 2023 UNESCO listed seven separate burial grounds, each belonging to a different Gaya polity.

The phrase "Three Kingdoms" leaves out a fourth player. From the first to the sixth century, a group of small states along the lower Nakdong River and the south coast, known together as Gaya, traded across the sea, fought their neighbours and buried their rulers in hilltop mound tombs. They never merged into a single kingdom, which is one reason they are easy to forget. Korean historians sometimes call Gaya the forgotten kingdom, and the UNESCO listing in 2023 brought it back into view.

Six golden eggs

Read as history, the story points to a newcomer group joining local chiefs in Gimhae, and to the idea that several Gaya states saw themselves as related. The National Institute of Korean History notes that little is known about Suro as an actual ruler.

Early and late Gaya

Historians divide Gaya history into two phases. In the early phase the leading state was Garak, also called Geumgwan Gaya, on the coast at Gimhae. It sat on a sea route between the Chinese commanderies in the north, the Korean peninsula and the Japanese islands, and grew rich from that trade. In the early third century eight coastal states, the Posang-palguk, joined forces to attack another Gaya state; Silla came to its rescue and the eight were defeated. Historians see this war as a turning point that weakened the coastal leader and let inland states rise.

In the late phase the leading states were inland: Daegaya at Goryeong and Ara Gaya, also called Anra, at Haman. The musician Ureuk, who served Daegaya, is remembered for twelve tunes for the gayageum, the long zither that still carries Gaya’s name. Grave goods show how each state stood: swords, armour and horse gear mark armed elites of similar strength, and iron goods and pottery traded between them show that the states dealt with each other as equals.

The end of Gaya

Caught between Baekje and Silla, the Gaya states fell one by one. In 532 King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya surrendered to Silla’s King Beopheung, who granted him his old land as an estate. Ten or so years later Takssun, which most scholars place at today’s Changwon (Daegu and Uiryeong have also been proposed), also fell. Ara Gaya asked Baekje for help to rebuild the league, but two meetings at Sabi produced nothing. After the defeat at Gwansanseong in 554, which also cost Gaya dearly, Silla took Ara Gaya, most likely around 560, and in 562 the Silla general Isabu destroyed Daegaya. With that the Gaya states came to an end.

Seven tumuli, one World Heritage Site

On 17 September 2023, at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, "Gaya Tumuli" became Korea’s 16th World Heritage Site. It is a serial property of seven burial grounds: Daeseong-dong in Gimhae, Marisan in Haman, Okjeon in Hapcheon, Jisan-dong in Goryeong, Songhak-dong in Goseong, Yugok-ri and Durak-ri in Namwon, and Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong in Changnyeong. Differences in tomb shapes and pottery between the sites show the range and the individuality of the polities that made up the league.