Buyeo National Museum

Buyeo was Sabi, the last Baekje capital, and this is where the finds from it are kept. One object dominates: the gilt-bronze incense burner, recovered in 1993 from a waterlogged pit at the Neungsan-ri temple site, which had preserved it almost intact. It stands about sixty centimetres - a dragon rearing to hold a lotus bowl, a lid of stacked mountain peaks with musicians, animals and figures worked among them, and a phoenix at the summit. It is a National Treasure and is generally taken as the single finest surviving object of Baekje craftsmanship, evidence of a court working at a level the sparse written record does not convey. The rest of the museum covers the region from prehistory through Baekje: roof tiles with landscape designs, Buddhist sculpture, stone reliefs and the material from the Sabi palace excavations. Entry is free, and it is the sensible first stop in Buyeo before the fortress hill.

What to look for

• The gilt-bronze incense burner - the dragon, the mountain lid, the phoenix.
• The patterned roof tiles - Baekje landscape designs in clay.
• The Buddhist sculpture - stone and bronze from the region.
• The Sabi palace material - finds from the capital excavations.

When to go

Any season. Closed Mondays. Go before walking Busosanseong - the fortress means much more afterwards.

Things to know

Free, and compact - two hours covers it. One object carries the visit, and the rest is quieter than the national museum in Seoul. English labelling is decent but not exhaustive.

Nearby

Busosanseong, Nakhwaam and Gungnamji pond are all in the town.

Key facts