An exhibit in Seoul until March 1 guides you through 2,000-year-old artifacts, ranging from iron armors and swords to pottery and accessories like gold crowns.

The National Museum is holding an exhibition on Gaya, an ancient confederacy of small city-states in the central-southern region of the Korean Peninsula from AD 42-562.



Under the title of “Gaya Spirit -- Iron and Tune,” the exhibition displays some 2,600 artifacts from 31 institutions here and abroad, including the Tokyo National Museum and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.



The exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into the history of the less-discussed ancient confederacy. It starts with a “clay horse bell with tortoiseshell design,” which is tied to Suro, the mythical founder of Geumgwan Gaya, the most powerful state of the confederacy. 

Standing in the middle of a large open hall is “Pasa” stone pagoda, which Heo, Suro’s foreign-born wife, is believed to have brought from her native land.




The exhibition also includes archeological findings that hint at the lifestyle and state affairs of the kingdoms that have long gone.

Photographed by Park Hyun-koo
Written by Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)