Baekje Cultural Land

The problem with Baekje is that almost nothing of it stands. The kingdom's architecture is known from foundations, roof tiles and later Japanese buildings its craftsmen influenced, but there is no surviving hall to visit. This site, begun in 1994 and opened in 2010, is the province's answer: a full-scale reconstruction on a large plot near Buyeo of Sabigung, a royal palace with its throne hall and gates; Neungsa, a five-storey wooden pagoda and temple modelled on the excavated Neungsan-ri site; a tomb park; and a village of thatched and tiled houses showing the range of classes. A Baekje history museum stands alongside. Everything is new, which the site does not conceal - the interest is in seeing at full size what the foundations elsewhere imply. It has been used heavily as a drama set. Whether it moves you depends on how much reconstruction you can accept.

What's there

• Sabigung - the reconstructed palace and throne hall.
• The five-storey wooden pagoda - Neungsa, built to the excavated plan.
• The class village - thatched and tiled houses of different ranks.
• The history museum - the evidence the reconstruction rests on.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Closed some Mondays. It is open ground with little shade - avoid summer midday.

What to expect

Everything is a modern reconstruction, built in the 2000s. Purists dislike it on principle. Ticketed, and the site is large enough that it needs real walking.

Nearby

Busosanseong, Gungnamji and the Buyeo National Museum are in the town; Gongju is north.

Key facts