Introduction
Silla first entered the region that is present-day South Chŏlla Province in the late 7th century, during the war for the unification of the Three Kingdoms. The area officially became a territory of Silla during the Silla–Tang War, and a province called Mujin-ju was established around present-day Kwang-ju in 686 under the reign of King Shinmun, and it was later renamed Mu-ju during the reign of King Kyŏngdŏk.1 In Silla history, Southern Chŏlla was normally considered a border area, far removed from the center of Silla.
However, when it comes to the exchanges that occurred through sea routes, South Chŏlla Province deserves to be acknowledged as an important region that played a pivotal role in Silla’s foreign exchanges. The T’amna Coastal Route (Taet’amna yŏllyuk hangno), created for the sake of exchanges between T’amna and the Kangjin region, was opened from the beginning of the Middle Period (中代) and continued to operate until the Late Period (下代). In addition, amidst the changes of the paradigms of trade in East Asia, Chang Pogo’s forces in the Ch’ŏnghae garrison in Wando opened and operated a route that connected Tang and Japan, controlling the human and material exchanges among Tang, Silla, and Japan. Also, the South Chŏlla Province was the starting point of the Yellow Sea Sailing Route, which directly connected the Korean peninsula to the Jiangnan region in China and played a leading role in creating, using, and developing this route.
This paper conducts a general review of the external routes established and operated by the Silla Dynasty in the South Chŏlla Province. Through this analysis, it re-evaluates the role and status of South Chŏlla Province in the history of seaborne cultural exchanges during the Silla Dynasty.
The Coastal Route to T’amna and Kangjin
T’amnaguk, or Kingdom of T’amna, was an insular country located on present-day Cheju Island. Silla began negotiations with T’amna in the late 7th century when it entered South Chŏlla Province. The following historical record A is a passage from the Samguk Sagi, which records the first official negotiations between Silla and T’amna.
A. (Second Month, 662) Chwap’yŏng Todongŭmnyul, the ruler of T’amna (耽羅國主), came and surrendered. Chwap’yŏng had been the title for T’amna’s government officers since T’amna became Paekche’s subordinate during the Era of Wude (618–621). On this year, T’amna became a vassal country.2
According to this record, Todongŭmnyul, the ruler of the T’amna Kingdom, visited Silla during the second month of 662 and surrendered. Then, T’amna became a vassal state of Silla. On that occasion, the record explained that he was using chwap’yŏng, the first of the sixteen ranks in Paekche’s official ranks system, as his official title because T’amna had been subordinated to Paekche since the first year of Wude of Tang Dynasty (618–621).
However, the relationship between Paekche and T’amna is older than what historical record A seems to suggest. According to the “Annals of Paekche (百濟本紀)” of the Samguk Sagi, T’amna dispatched an envoy to Paekche in 476 to present tribute, and King Munju of Paekche conferred T’amna’s envoy the third official rank, Ŭnsol.3 Also, King Tongsŏng of Paekche said that T’amna Kingdom did not offer tribute in 498, so he personally led an army to subjugate Mujinju and only stopped when T’amna sent an envoy to plead guilty.4 Reflecting this relationship between the two countries, the Biography of Paekche in the History of the Northern Dynasties (北史; Beishi) mentioned the kingdom of T’amna and recorded that it was subordinated to Paekche.5
Meanwhile, in 660, Paekche was destroyed by the Tang-Silla allied forces, and Tang reorganized Paekche’s territory into five todokbu (area commands), 37 ju (provinces) and 250 hyŏn (prefectures),6 and implemented a system of subordinated prefectures (kimi system). Paekche survivors staged revival movements in various places to resist but it became difficult to achieve their goal due to the strong suppression of the Silla-Tang allied forces. Amid the rapidly changing situation in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula, T’amna also attempted to change its diplomatic alliance.
First, in the eighth month of 661, an envoy was dispatched to Tang to offer tribute.7 As historical record A shows, during the second month of the following year in 662, the ruler of T’amna personally visited Silla, surrendered, and asked for T’amna to become a vassal country of the Silla Kingdom. After the collapse of Paekche, which had been closely related to T’amna for nearly 200 years, T’amna’s move can be seen as a diplomatic response to ensure the safety of the kingdom from Tang and Silla and to secure the trade routes necessary for its survival.8
However, not long after T’amna had sworn loyalty to Silla, their diplomatic conciliatory line was abruptly abandoned in favor of supporting the army behind the Paekche Revival Movement. The fact that the command of the Paekche Revival Movement Army and the envoy of T’amna were together during the Battle of Paek River in 6639 proves that T’amna supported the Paekche Revival Movement at that time.10 Afterwards, Silla, which had completely ousted Tang troops from the Korean Peninsula after the Silla-Tang War, dispatched envoys to T’amna in 679 to invade the country and restore their former suzerain-subordinate relationship.11 The suzerain-subordinate relationship between Silla and T’amna lasted until the late Silla Dynasty but naturally disappeared when the Later Three Kingdoms were established in the early 10th century12 and Silla’s control beyond the capital and its surroundings weakened.
Meanwhile, since T’amna was an insular country, Silla had to cross the sea using ships to trade with T’amna. It is believed that in order to do so, the two countries used the Coastal Route (yŏllyuk hangno 連 陸航路), which was the safe and efficient sea routes people of T’amna had used to interact with the mainland since prehistoric times. Regarding the Coastal Route used by Silla and T’amna, it is necessary to examine the following record B.
B-1. Usually, when traveling to T’amna, the boat would depart from Naju and arrive at Ch’ujado Island in seven days and nights after passing through Taegulp’o in Muan, Hwamuji and Wado in Yŏngam, and Ŏran’yang in Haenam.
When departing from Samjaep’o in Haenam, T’amna can be reached traveling through Kŏyoryang and Samnae Islands; and when departing from Kunyŏngp’o Port in T’amjin, the route goes through the Samnae Islands, Koja Island, Hwangi Island, and Nosŭl Island, arriving at Ch’uja Island in three days and nights. All three routes to Cheju pass through these islands, Sasŏ Island, Taehwat’al Island, and Sohwat’al Island, and reach Cheju’s Aewolp’o Port or Choch’ŏn’gwan. However, since the area between Taehwat’al Island and Sohwat’al Island where two water streams intersect and flow is a rough place with strong waves, it is a very dangerous point for those using this sea route.13
B-2. Originally, T’amjin-hyŏn(district) was Tongŭm-hyŏn of Paekche, but King Kyŏngdŏk changed its name. It is still used today (during the Koryŏ Dynasty).14
B-1 contains records related to the routes to Cheju during the 15th century, which are listed as footnotes in the T’amna section of the Geography books in the Koryŏsa (History of Koryŏ). According to these records, the departure points for the route to Cheju in the early Chosŏn Dynasty were Naju, Haenam, and T’amjin, all of which are in present-day South Chŏlla Province. It is said that all ships departing from there passed through Ch’uja Island and reached Aewŏlp’o or Choch’ŏn’gwan, which were located on the northern coast of Cheju Island. In other words, they are an explanation of the Coastal Route that connects the South Chŏlla Province, Ch’uja Island, and northern Cheju Island.15
Historical record B-2 comes from the “Geography book” of the Samguk Sagi, and it contains the information that King Kyŏngdŏk of Silla renamed the Paekche district called Tongŭm to T’amjin. “T’amjin” refers to the port (Chin/Jin) through which people traveled to and from T’amna (T’am) and its location corresponds to present-day Kangjin in South Chŏlla Province.16 T’amjin also appears as one of the three regions of South Chŏlla Province mentioned in record B-1 from which people used to depart to travel to Cheju Island. Therefore, the Kangjin area was a port of entry and departure for the coastal route of T’amna and it was used to travel to and from Cheju Island not only during the Chosŏn Dynasty but also during the Silla Dynasty.17
The Tang-Japan Linked Route and Wando
After An Lushan’s Rebellion (755–763), the military governors gathered their own forces and began to challenge the central government in Tang. By taking control of all the fiscal, military, and administrative powers in the frontier defense commands they administered they were able to establish virtually independent kingdoms.18 It became difficult for Tang to maintain its status as the empire that unified China. On the other hand, the Jiangnan (江南; the southern part of Yangtze) area, especially Yangzhou at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and Mingzhou and Hangzhou at the mouth of the Zhejiang River, grew into the main international trade ports of Tang. As a result, the imperial family started to take interest in the Jiangnan area in search of a new economic route, and merchants from all the countries active in the Yellow Sea gathered in Jiangnan. It was at this point that private trade between countries, which was previously strictly controlled in East Asia, gradually started to flourish.
In this atmosphere, a new type of trading route was formed in South Chŏlla Province during the first half of the 9th century. An international route connecting Tang and Japan based on the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison, which was located in the present-day Wando area, was established. The person who opened and operated this route was Chang Pogo, the commissioner-in-chief of the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison.19
C-1. The last name of the Ch’ŏnghae commissioner-in-chief Kungbok is Chang (also known as Pogo). He crossed over to Xuzhou in Tang where he risen to the rank of junior officer (xiaojang). After coming back, he met the king and later he established a garrison in Ch’ŏnghae with 10,000 soldiers. [Today (Koryŏ Dynasty) Ch’ŏnghae is called Wando]20
C-2. Later, when Chang Pogo returned to his homeland, he met King Hŭngdŏk and told him, “When I was in China, I looked everywhere and I saw that they were using our Silla people as slaves. I ask your permission to set up a camp in Ch’ŏnghae to stop pirates from catching and dragging our people to Tang.” Ch’ŏnghae was an important point on the Silla Sea Road, and it is now (under Koryŏ) called Wando. The king gave Chang Pogo 10,000 soldiers, and since then no more Silla people were sold through the sea.21
The historical records C-1 and C-2 are passages from the Samguk Sagi narrates the events after Chang Pogo’s return from Tang in 828 when he created the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison under the order of King Hŭngdŏk. In these records, he was called either Kungbok or Chang Pogo,22 but he was also called Kungp’a in certain records.23 Originally, he was called Kungbok without any surname. But when he went to China and needed a surname, it is believed that he used Chang (張), similar to the word “kung (弓)” as his surname, and the sound of his first name “bok (福)” was divided into two characters to form the name “Pogo (保皐)” or “Pogo (寶高).”24 There is no remaining record of Chang Pogo’s family or hometown so they are not known in detail.25
In the early 9th century, Chang Pogo moved to Tang and rose to the rank of Junior Officer (xiaojang) of the Wuning Army in Xuzhou where he achieved military fame through the suppression of Li Shidao, who was the military governor of Ping Lu and led a strong anti-Tang rebellion in Shandong. After he retired from military service, he organized a community of Silla people living in Tang based in Shandong, and he started to promote international maritime trade to connect Tang, Silla, and Japan. However, at that time, the maritime trade on the Yellow Sea that surrounded the Shandong Peninsula faced great difficulties due to piracy. Taking advantage of the absence of a strong force that could control the area, several pirate groups had appeared in the Yellow Sea. They did not only attack ships and looted goods, but also kidnapped Silla people and sold them in Tang as slaves. For this reason, Chang Pogo returned to Silla and, according to record C-1, he was granted permission to install the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison by King Hŭngdŏk in April 828. His justification, as shown in record C-2, was to protect the Silla people by wiping out the pirates from the Yellow Sea. As a result, Chang Pogo’s Ch’ŏnghae Garrison was established in Wando and the pirates who had appeared in the Yellow Sea disappeared, while the looting and the trading of Silla people as slaves were eradicated.
As a result of these events, Chang Pogo built a central base for international maritime trade that connected Tang, Silla, and Japan. It was called Ch’ŏnghae Garrison, in present-day Wando, and exclusively operated a sea route that connected Tang and Japan. Tang’s port of entry and departure for Chang Pogo’s fleet was Chishanpu in Wendeng District, located in Rongcheng city in today’s Shandong, China.26 Chang Pogo built Lotus Sutra Buddhist Monastery (法華院) in this area and used it to unite the Silla people living in Tang. The temple also served as a bridgehead for the trade between Silla and Tang. On the other hand, the Japanese port of entry and departure for Chang Pogo’s fleet was the city of Hakata in the ancient state of Chikuzen, located in present-day Fukuoka in Kyushu.27
Chang Pogo was involved in a political dispute in Silla and was killed in the ninth month of 841.28 In addition, the Silla Dynasty completely eradicated Chang Pogo’s influence by abolishing the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison in 851 and reorganizing the people there under the Pyŏkkol commandery. As a result, the route linking Tang and Japan in South Chŏlla Province, which was opened with the establishment of Ch’ŏnghae Garrison in 828, gradually disappeared after being used for 20 years.
D. At noon on the second day of the ninth month, we sailed from Jŏksanp’o. We left Makyagu and went east, traveling day and night. At dawn on the third day, looking towards east we saw the western mountains of Silla in the distance. The wind changed and started blowing north, and we traveled southeast for a day and for a night.
At the dawn of the fourth day of the voyage, when we headed east, we saw mountainous islands, all connected like an unbroken line. When I asked the boatmans, they said, “That is the western boundary of Ungju, the western border of the Silla kingdom.” (...) We headed southeast all day. Mountainous islands continued to appear to the east and to the west. At around the tenth hour of the evening, we arrived at Koi Island and set anchor. This island belongs to the southwestern border of Muju. About 100 ri to its northwest there is Hŭksan Island. (...) Around the sixth hour on the morning of the sixth day, we reached the southern border of Muju province and set anchor. This island is also called Kuch’o Island. (...) This is the place where the third Minister of Silla pastured horses. Mountainous islands connect Koi Island to Kuch’o Island, and T’amna Island can also be seen in the distance if you look southeast. Kuch’o Island can be reached from Silla within a day if the wind is good. (...) On the eight days (...) we arrived at An Island around the tenth hour of the morning and rested for a while. Here there was a mountain where the families of the southern border of Silla raised their horses, and towards the East there was an estate of the Hwangnyongsa, with two or three private houses. To the southwest, T’amna Island could be seen in the distance. (...) From the Southeast of the Silla Kingdom, we headed towards the open sea. (...) At dawn on the tenth day, we could see Tsushima Island in the distance toward the east. Around noon, we saw the mountains of our home country ahead. (...) In the evening, we had arrived at the northern border of Matsūra-gun in Hizen and set anchor in Kashima Island.29
Record D contains a part of the Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law (Nittō guhō junrei kōki), the diary of a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Tiantai sect. Ennin returned to his home country in 847 after completing his Buddhist studies in Tang. According to record D, Ennin and his travel companions departed from Chŏksanp’o at noon on September 2nd, sailed a day and a half to the east and reached the point where they could see the western coast of Silla. As they moved southeast again, they were able to see the western coast and islands of Silla. From there, they traveled southwest for another day and anchored in Koi Island, which is believed to be today’s Haŭi Island in South Chŏlla. On September 6th, they reached Hwangmo Island or Kuch’o Island, which are believed to be present-day Kŏch’a Islands, located outside current Chindo County, and then passed through An Island, which is located around present-day Wando. They then entered Japanese waters via Tsushima Island on the tenth day of the ninth month.30 Through this route, Ennin departed from the Shandong Peninsula and arrived at Koi Island near Muju, Silla, three days later, and then reached Japanese waters four days after departing from Kuch’o Island (Picture 2). It is believed that Ennin’s return route was not much different from the route established by the Chang Pogo fleet and centered on the Ch’ŏnghae Garrison, which connected Tang to Japan.31
The Yellow Sea Slant Route to Tang and Naju
As mentioned in Chapter 3, private trade between countries, which had previously been strictly controlled, flourished in East Asia from the late 8th century. The most active leaders of maritime trade between Tang, Silla, and Japan in East Asia were Silla merchants. These merchants, led by Chang Pogo’s example, sought to maximize profits by quickly trading goods they had acquired from the trading cities in the Jiangnan area, such as Yangzhou, Mingzhou, and Hangzhou, to Silla and Japan.
During the first half of the 7th century, Silla and Tang opened the Yellow Sea Transversal Route (Hwanghae hoengdan hangno),32 which ran directly across the Yellow Sea starting from the southwestern tip of current Hwanghae Province to China’s Shandong Peninsula. Since then, the route was continuously used for official visits by envoys from the two countries. In the first half of the 9th century, Silla merchants also used this route, which guaranteed safe navigation. However, in order to travel to and from the Tang’s Jiangnan area, which had emerged as a new center as a consequence of the Yellow Sea Transversal Route, they had to endure the inconvenience of going back and forth between the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and the east coast of China. To overcome this obstacle, Silla merchants opened a new route, the Yellow Sea Slant Route (Hwanghae sadan hangno), which was a new route that obliquely connected the South Chŏlla Province to Tang’s Yangtze River or the estuary of Zhejiang River.33
According to the Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law (入唐求法巡禮行記, Nittō guhō junrei kōki), in 839 the Japanese envoys, while discussing the best way to return to Japan, considered departing from Mingzhou and the Yangtze River and heading to Silla.34 They were referring to the Yellow Sea Slant Route opened by Silla in the first half of the 9th century. Also, in 896, when Buddhist Great Master Iŏm traveled to Tang on the boat of the envoy Ch’oe Yehŭi, after only a few days of navigation with good wind35 he arrived in Yinjiang, which is present-day Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.36 It is said the Great Master Kŭngyang also sailed south on a large boat headed to China and reached the boundary of the Jianghuai region in two to three days.37 The two monks were able to arrive in the Jiangnan region in a few days after departing from Silla because their ship had followed the Yellow Sea Slant Route.38
Table 1 above shows the destination of the Buddhist monks who returned to Silla after completing their studies in China at the end of the Silla dynasty period. According to the data, Great Master Sŏn’gak (Hyŏngmi, 864–917) returned to Hoejin in Muju in 905, Great Master Pŏpkyŏng (Kyŏngyu, 871–921) returned to Hoejin in Muju in 908, Great Master Taegyŏng (Yŏŏm, 862–930) returned to Sŭngp’yŏng in Muju in 909, and Great Master Chinch’ŏl (Iŏm, 870–936) returned to Hoejin in Naju in 911. On the other side, the Great Master Tongjin (Kyŏngbo, 868–947) arrived to Chŏnju in Imp’i commandery in 921, Great Master Wŏnjong (Ch’anyu, 869–958) arrived in Kangju through Tŏganp’o in the same year, and Great Master Chŏngjin (Kŭngyang, 878–956) arrived in Chŏnju through Hŭian district in 924. Their mainland destinations such as Muju, Naju, Chŏnju, and Kangju were all concentrated in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. This was because they returned to Silla using the Yellow Sea Slant Route after their travels in Jiangnan, China.39
Great Master Sŏn’gak, Pŏpkyŏng, Taegyŏng, and Chinch’ŏl all returned to present-day South Chŏlla, and three of them concluded their journey in Hoejin. This suggests that Hoejin played an important role as a port of entry and departure for the Yellow Sea Slant Route which had been opened after the 9th century.40 Hoejin District was originally Tuhil District under Paekche rule, but it was renamed by King Kyŏngdŏk after it was annexed into the territory of Silla41 and is located in present-day Pog’am-li and Hoejil-li, Tashi-myŏn, in the city of Naju, South Chŏlla Province.42
The details of the section of the Yellow Sea Slant Route that led to Tang during the Late Silla Period are unknown because no specific records remain. However, it is worth noting that the Yellow Sea Slant Route was recorded in very specific detail in the record of the early 12th century Xuānhwafengshi Gaolitujing by Xu Jing.43 The specific stops of the Yellow Sea Slant Route used by the Song envoys in 1123 are summarized in order of date and listed as follows.44
In 1123:
Departed from Mingzhou (Ningbo), Dinghai-xian on Fifth month, 24th day. (Volume 34, Haidao1)
Anchored in Meicen (Mount Putuo), waiting for the wind on Fifth month, 26th day. (Volume 34, Haidao1)
Departed from Meicen (Mount Putuo), on Fifth month, 28th day. (Volume 34, Haidao1)
Passing by Hŭksando Island on Sixth month, 3rd day. (Volume 35, Haidao2)
Anchored in Chuk (Wi Island) on Sixth month, 4th day. (Volume 36, Haidao 3)
Anchored in Bian Island on Sixth month, 5th day. (Volume 36, Haidao 3)
Anchored in Kunsan (Sŏnyu Island) on Sixth month, 6th day. (Volume 36, Haidao 3)
Anchored in Hoengsŏ (Munyŏ Island) on Sixth month, 7th day. (Volume 36, Haidao 3)
Anchored at Ma (Shinjin Island) on Sixth month, 8th day. (Volume 37, Haidao 4)
Anchored at Chayŏn (Yŏngjong Island) on Sixth month, 9th day. (Volume 39, Haidao 6)
Anchored at Hapkul (Kanghwa Island Wŏlgot), on Sixth month, 10th day. (Volume 39, Haidao 6)
Anchored at Yonggol (Kaep’unggun Poryŏnggot) on Sixth month 11th day. (Volume 39, Haidao 6)
Entered into Ryesŏnggang Port on Sixth month, 12th day. (Volume 39, Haidao 6)
According to this, Xu Jing’s envoy, who had left Song’s capital Kaifeng on Fifth month 14, 1123, arrived in Mingzhou, which is present-day Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, China, on Fifth month, 4th day. After completing their final preparations for the voyage, they departed from Mingzhou’s Dinghai-xian on Fifth month, 24th. day. After waiting for two days for a fair wind in Meicen, today’s Mount Putuo in Zhōushān Islands in Zhejiang, China, on Fifth month, 28th day, they followed the Yellow Sea Slant Route towards Koryŏ. After sailing across the Yellow Sea for five days, Xu Jing’s ship reached Hŭksan Island in Koryŏ on Sixth month 3rd day, headed north along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula for nine days, and finally entered Pyŏngnan port, an outer port of the Koryŏ capital Kaegyŏng, on Sixth month, 12th day. Picture 2 below shows the route they followed on the map.
Among these routes, the route that started from Ningbo, the base at the estuary of Zhejiang River, and reached Hŭksan Island was probably not much different from the Yellow Sea Slant Route used in the Late Silla period. In particular, Hŭksan Island is commonly mentioned in historical records as a port of the Yellow Sea Slant Route during ancient and medieval history, and it can be seen that Hŭksan Island’s status on this route was very high.45 However, since in the Late Silla period the entry and exit port of the Yellow Sea Slant Route on Silla’s side was Naju in present-day Southern Chŏlla Province, we believe that instead of heading north along the west coast from Hŭksan Island like the group of envoys from Song had done to reach Kaegyŏng, travelers more likely headed east until they reached the mouth of the Yŏngsan’gang River, and then navigated up the river towards Hoejin.
Conclusion
During the mid to late Silla period, the South Chŏlla Province had three types of external routes: the T’amna Coastal Route, the Tang-Japan Sea Route, and the Tang Yellow Sea Slant Route. First, the T’amna Coastal Route, which connects Kangjin and northern Cheju Island, was opened during the early days of the Silla Dynasty. Using this route, T’amna’s rulers and envoys could enter the Kangjin area in South Chŏlla Province and reach the royal palace of Silla through land routes.46 On the other hand, Silla’s envoys would have traveled by land to Kangjin in South Chŏlla Province, and then boarded a ship and crossed to T’amna using this route. Meanwhile, a new Tang-Japan Sea Route with Ch’ŏnghae garrison as its center was opened and used in the first half of the 9th century. Although this route was only temporarily used and disappeared after a short period of 20 years, it was operated more frequently than any other foreign route during the Silla Dynasty, vastly contributing to human and material exchanges in Northeast Asia during the first half of the 9th century. In addition, in the late 9th century and early 10th century, which marked the end of the Silla Dynasty, a new route that crossed the Yellow Sea to connect it to the Jiangnan area in China, the Yellow Sea Slant Route, was opened.
In terms of the number of foreign routes, Muju, which corresponds to present-day’s South Chŏlla Province, had more foreign routes than any other province in Silla. For example, Hanju only had one official route that starting from Tangŭnp’o crossed the Yellow Sea to reach Dengzhou, connecting Silla to Tang. Kangju also operated one route to Japan that crossed the Straits of Korea to reach Hakata, Japan, and Myŏngju also operated one route across the East Sea to Usan Kingdom. Of course, Muju was also given the task of operating and managing the route to the T’amna Coastal Route that connected T’amna to the center of Silla. However, the South Chŏlla Province had not stopped there, and using its geopolitical position in the ancient Northeast Asia as the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula, it had also expanded its own international routes by opening the Tang-Japan Route and the Yellow Sea Slant Route.
Silla merchants, with Chang Pogo as their representative leader, opened the safest and most efficient route that could connect Tang, Silla, and Japan, with Ch’ŏnghae Garrison in South Chŏlla Province as their base. And through this route, goods from not only Tang, but also the West, Southeast Asia, and the Islamic countries were distributed to Silla and Japan, meaning that the Tang-Japan-Route in South Chŏlla Province played a historical role as an extension of the then main world route, the Southern Sea Route. In addition, by overcoming the old restrictions of the marine environment and ancient navigation technique, a new route, the Yellow Sea Slant Route, was opened in South Chŏlla Province and it was expanded to the the Chŏnbuk and Kyŏngnam areas. Considering all these facts, South Chŏlla Province can be regarded as a region that led maritime cultural exchanges during the mid-to late Silla period.
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