It was a time of betrayals, wars, and shifting alliances when the three kingdoms ruled the
Korean Peninsula.
And Yamato, the state that would become the Japanese state, didn’t shy away from these
games.
What do you say we sprint through 300 years of Korean history in one video?
I know, I know.
They say it can’t be done, it’s too hard, you’re putting your life on the line.
Well, so be it.
I will do whatever it takes for you, the viewer.
All I ask is that you leave a comment of support, right now, in case I don’t make it.
Our journey begins in the 300s.
The peninsula had 3 kingdoms: Koguryo, Paekche, and Silla.
There was also Kaya, which was a confederacy of little city-states tucked right between
the two powerhouses of Paekche and Silla.
Poor Kaya was the Hawkeye of the bunch, standing next to Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Fortunately, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America were busy beating the crap out of each other.
Now, let’s take a second to remember the names of the three Korean kingdoms.
Seriously, the rest of the video will be easy to follow if you just remember these three
names.
Koguryo was the strongest.
It liked to call the other two its vassal states.
Koguryo went around flexing its muscles, fighting bitter wars with Paekche, and even poking
the bear called the Sui Dynasty by doing raids in Chinese territory.
Koguryo did become friendly with Silla though.
It even orchestrated the ascension of a Silla king.
Facing increasing Koguryo aggression, Paekche appealed to Yamato for military help.
The Paekche king did something that, apparently, Paekche kings loved to do.
To demonstrate trust and good faith, he sent his own heir to Japan as a hostage.
Yamato sent an army to defend Paekche and attack Silla.
In the 400s, Paekche and Silla formed an alliance against the bully Koguryo.
Another huge war erupted between Koguryo and Paekche.
And what do Paekche kings do in dire times?
“Oh my god, I’m in trouble.
I know, let’s ship a family member off to Japan.”
This time, the Paekche king sent his own mother to Japan as a hostage.
Now if he had sent his mother-in-law, I wouldn’t have been worried.
“I had to, it’s a necessary evil!
Honey.”
But sending his own mother was a sign that the war was going disastrously for Paekche.
Another sign that the war was going disastrously appeared in 475, when Koguryo attacked the
Paekche capital and killed its king.
This alarmed Yamato.
They had the strongest relations with Paekche and the Kaya Confederacy, and Koguryo’s
rude behavior was threatening their influence in the peninsula.
The geographical dice were unkind to the Japanese archipelago when it came to metal ore.
Japan lacked metal, especially iron.
Most of their iron came from Korea, so they had to maintain good relations with the peninsula.
The Yamato emperor, Yuryaku, backed a king to the empty Paekche throne.
Remember the queen mother who was sent over as hostage earlier?
The new king was either her son or grandson.
Yuryaku also wanted to attack Koguryo, but he died from sickness, and at that point,
the court was busy with other things.
And now we’re into the 500s.
Paekche and Silla have grown stronger.
Silla even started conquering territories in the Kaya Confederacy.
Yamato tried to protect its ally by sending troops against Silla, but failed.
After this loss, Japan appeared to have adopted a policy of non-intervention, militarily.
It lasted for decades.
Of course, there were small military expeditions here and there, and they kept sending supplies
to allies, but there were no major excursions.
It seemed their focus shifted towards taking care of things at home and away from losing
wars in foreign lands.
By mid-century, things weren’t going so well for Paekche, as usual.
When they looked north, they saw relentless Koguryo attacks.
When they looked east, they saw an aggressive Silla pushing further into Kaya territory.
Now, Paekche was still allied with Silla, remember.
But you can’t trust those shifty Silla bastards.
They feared an imminent Koguryo-Silla alliance.
And so they sought help from Yamato, and sweetened the deal by introducing Buddhism and writing
to Japan.
The introduction of Buddhism was a whole big thing, check out this video.
Curiously, Paekche did not send over a hostage this time.
Paekche’s paranoia was proven right.
Silla attacked in 553, shattering the alliance.
And Yamato sent troops to reinforce Paekche’s borders.
In 562, Silla absorbed the entire Kaya Confederacy, leaving Paekche as Yamato’s closest friend
in the peninsula.
Meanwhile, up north, remember how Koguryo was poking Sui the Bear?
Well, they poked too hard, and the bear poked back.
With claws.
In the next video!
Hey say thank you to our new patron, Sheldon Cooper, I mean, Sheldon Hall.
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