Silla Kingdom Gallery at the National Museum of Korea

The Shilla Kingdom, 57 BCE to 676 CE, originated from the state of Saro in the Gyeongju region, and comprised 12 Jinhan chiefdoms from the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. Shilla culture is represented by its Buddhist relics, as well as distinctive wooden chamber tombs covered by stone mounds. Gold crowns and earrings excavated from such wooden tombs are among the most splendid and impressive gold handcrafts in the world, earning Shilla the title of the country of gold. Shilla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Shilla was founded by Baek Hyuk-go-sae in 57 BC. The Kingdom of Shilla stood until 935 AD. It lasted around 990 years and had 56 monarchs, making it one of the longest-lasting dynasties in human history. The Shilla people could rightly boast of their metallurgy techniques. A representative case is the Banggangsaesong, a mysterious smile hinting at sadness. Elegant curves, picturesque knots, the rhythmical formative arts of Korean Buddhism are widely praised for their virtuosity, even compared with those of Japan and China.