Korea - China Comparison

From 600 CE - 1450 CE, the civilizations mainly focused on are China during the Tang and Sung Dynasties and many others. China was the main contributor to the Silk Roads by providing silk to trade with other empires in exchange for goods. However, other, smaller, kingdoms existed that also interacted with the trade routes, like Silla. Silla is located in present day Korea, and surrounding it is Paekche, and Koguryo, which will also be explored. Korea contributed by trading Buddhist statues and other religious items to western empires. Korea also was involved in the Silk Roads because of their vast array of silks within the region.

Considering its location, Korea and China similar roles in trade. Since Korea traded with China, the people of Korea had Chinese silk, which was a key component in the Silk Trades for its high trading value towards other empires. Also, it mentions in one of the documents how in 37 BCE, the King and Queen went from village to village to train people how to make silk from silkworms by feeding them a certain kind of berry, which could involve them in the Silk Trade. Also, they could have sold the hand made silk at a lower price in Western Europe instead of the Chinese silk that was sold at approximately 1,000 silver coins per 10,000 bolts. Also like China, they traded with Western Europe. In slide 2, it explains how Korea obtained vases from Alexandria, just like in China, where certain groups practiced Christianity. Also in slide 2, it shows a Roman statue that was found near Kashmir, where if there were larger quantities, Korea could've obtained some because of the side road that led to Korea. Also, China values silver (found in Roman areas) and ivory (found in India).

In the cultural aspect of Korea's interaction with other empires through the silk roads, they didn't travel far. Korea was a follower of Buddhism, which was most likely adopted by the Chinese version, Mahayana Buddhism, because of their location. Also, Confucianism was also bought about in Korea by a Korean scholar who translated it into their language. The furthest that the Koreans probably went was towards the Middle East and The Philippines because those were key locations that practiced Buddhism before the rise of the Islamic world. Considering the political aspect, they most likely made it all the way to Egypt in Africa. The Queen Sondok was most likely influenced by Cleopatra in Northern Africa. After merchants saw evidence about the woman who ran Egypt in around 30 BCE, they realized that woman can rule which was a huge step in the small amounts of woman's rights during that era.

Korea influenced other nations because of the transfer of silk. Since they made their own silk, they themselves sold it to other places. Their female leader could have been a spark for feminist movements around the world if they had traveled further westward into European empires. Korea had the biggest