Teaching East Asia: Korea Teaching East Asia: Korea | Page 34

MERCHANTS & MERCHANDISE
Since trade and travel along the Silk Road were handled like a long distance relay, and
merchants very rarely traveled the length of Eurasia with their goods, it’s not surprising that
Koreans didn’t generally travel very far west to conduct their trade. Korean merchants trav-
eled to China and Japan, primarily.
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By the late Tang dynasty, however, there were large numbers of Korean merchants living in
the port cities of southeast China, especially Guangdong and Fuzhou (cf. map on p. 34). 7
“As foreign trade was usually monopolized by the local government and only special envoys
dispatched by the royal house could travel and barter abroads, the majority of all business-
men active on the Guangdong market were those from overseas.” 8 Persians and Arab trad-
ers were the majority of traders there, followed by those from India, Ceylon, Malay, Rome
and Korea. 9 Korean merchants of the Silla era had access to the merchandise from all
these areas, which highlights Korean involvement in the maritime Eurasian trade routes. 10
Some Korean merchants also traveled significantly westward: a Silla envoy is depicted in a
wall painting in Samarkand. 11 Even though the Silla merchants may not have traveled past
the Chinese coast, they were well connected with the Eurasian trade routes.
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EXPORTS
From the early Silla kingdom through the Unified Silla Kingdom, Koreans exported their
own goods to China as either tributary payments or as trade goods. They probably traveled
in flat-bottom boats across the comparatively shallow Yellow Sea. 12 These items included
bronze, iron and metalware (including such things as scissors and candle snuffers), wool,
livestock (dogs, horses and exotic birds), medicines and perfumes, paper, candles, honey,
pine nuts, ginseng and slaves. 13 The Koreans had obtained sericulture from China during
Types of Merchandise Imported and Exported During the Silla Period
IMPORTED GOODS (from China) EXPORTED GOODS (to China and Japan)
silk (cloth and threads), buddhist relics, gold,
silver ornaments, books (paper), tea, peonies,
bells (silver, gold, bronze), mirrors, weapons,
ceramics, musical instruments from Central
Asia, gold daggers from Central Asia, transpar-
ent glassware and jewelry from the Mediterra-
nean, etc. wood, iron, bronze bells, perfume, medicines,
metals, tools, spices, scissors, copper needles,
candle-snuffers, fabric dye, paper, Buddhist
statuaries, silk, gold and glass, crystal jewelry,
weapons, armor, horse trappings, etc.
TRIBUTARY TRADE (with Tang China)
livestock (exotic birds, horses), books, paper, highly crafted silver and gold pieces, bells, knives and
hair pieces, silk (embroidered, finely decorated), ginseng, pinenuts, medicines, etc.
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Silla Korea and the Silk Road: Golden Age, Golden Threads