Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla · c. 300-600 AD

The Three Kingdoms of Korea

Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest and Silla in the southeast fought each other for centuries, while passing Buddhism, writing and iron on to Japan. Students map the three kingdoms, meet King Gwanggaeto and ask what made each kingdom strong.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 500 to AD 400
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest and Silla in the southeast fought each other for centuries, while passing Buddhism, writing and iron on to Japan. Students map the three kingdoms, meet King Gwanggaeto and ask what made each kingdom strong.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and Gaya on the map and name one capital of each kingdom.
  • Describe how the three kingdoms competed and what made each one strong.
  • Explain how Buddhism and Chinese writing reached Korea and passed on to Japan.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 500

Three kingdoms

Open the map in AD 500. Find Koguryo (Goguryeo), Paekche (Baekje) and Silla. Which kingdom is largest, and which one reaches far beyond the peninsula?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 500

A capital moves south

Goguryeo moved its capital from the Yalu River to Pyongyang in 427. Type "Where was Gungnae, capital of Goguryeo?" in Ask the atlas, then find Pyongyang. Why move south?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 400

A new faith

Set the year to 400, turn on Spreads and choose Buddhism. Find Pyongyang and Baekje. Which kingdom welcomed Buddhism first, and where did it come from?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Korean histories date the founding of the three kingdoms to the 1st century BC, but they were written in 1145. How should we treat such dates?
  2. Goguryeo bordered China and the steppe peoples, while Silla faced the sea. How did geography shape each kingdom?
  3. Baekje sent scholars, monks and craftsmen to Japan. Why would a kingdom share its knowledge with a neighbor?
  4. Silla ranked families by "bone rank" from birth. How would such a system affect talented people of low birth?
  5. The three kingdoms fought for centuries but shared a language and much of their culture. What makes people one nation?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Sejong the Great in Rule History. He ruled Korea about a thousand years later and created the Korean alphabet so that ordinary people could read. After the round, discuss: what did Sejong's Korea inherit from the Three Kingdoms?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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