I visited this WHS in April 2017. Out of the 8 locations spread out in Iksan, Gongju and Buyeo, I chose to visit the 4 different locations in Buyeo, namely the Royal Tombs of Neungsan-ri, the Naseong City Wall, the Archaeological Site of Gwanbuk-ri and Busosanseong Fortress as well as the Jeongnimsa Temple Site.

From what I had read about the Baekje inscription what struck me to be of OUV were the different stone pagodas and peculiar Buddha Statues. Gongju lacks these elements and at the moment the most interesting stone pagoda in Iksan is being restored so I opted for Buyeo, which also has an interesting fortress, an overgrown city wall and older Baekje painted royal tombs (photo).

To get to Buyeo I took the subway to Seoul's Nambu Bus Terminal and bought an intercity bus ticket to Buyeo Bus Terminal. This same bus went to Gongju which is only a few kilometres away but I had quite a lot of ground to cover in Buyeo so I never made it to Gongju. The public transport system in South Korea is really convenient and efficient and although I'm certainly not a fan of public transport usually, I was really impressed by the service given overall.

Once I arrived at the Buyeo Bus Terminal, I decided to catch a taxi (around 4 euros) instead of waiting for another bus (number 701 or 709 to Wangneung Parking Lot Bus Stop) to get to the Royal Tombs of Neunsan-ri and the Naseong City Wall. Here you will immediately see the UNESCO WHS plaque near the bus stop. For some reason related to Spring celebrations, entrance was free of charge. There are 7 royal tombs of different kings from the Baekje period. The Donghachong tomb or tomb number 1 has a painted ceiling with lotus flowers and a cloud pattern on the ceiling (photo) with murals of four deities. Over time, the paintings started getting discoloured so the original tomb was closed and the interior of a replica tomb can be seen just a few metres away from the Naseong City Wall. The painted tombs of Tarquinia came to mind although the Etruscan tombs are older and much more intricate and colourful. There's also a poor museum with a few information boards just before you get to the Naseong City Wall. What is considered to be one of the earliest examples in East Asia of a structure built far outside a city to serve not only as a defense structure but also as a symbolic boundary between its interior and exterior, is now an overgrown mound or rubble wall which is being restored and cleaned up.

After catching a bus back to the city centre, I walked to the Archaeological site of Gwanbuk-ri and the Busosanseong Fortress located on a small hill. Apart from the Nakhwaan rock pavilion which is believed to be the site where 3000 Baekje ladies committed suicide by jumping off the cliff and a few remains, there isn't much left to see. However, important clay figurines, Sarira ports and jewellery were found here and are usually on display at the nearby Buyeo National Museum (closed on Mondays). Luckily I got to see these Baekje remains together with important finds from Gongju and Iksan a few days later at a temporary special exhibition on Baekje heritage at the Gyeongju National Museum (7th March till 7th May 2017).

It was great to be able to compare the few Baekje remains with the wealth of Silla remains in the same museum. The definite Baekje treasure highlight was the Gilt Bronze Incense Burner which was only discovered in 1993. The pedestal is crafted in the shape of a dragon, the main body of the incense burner is intricately adorned with different musicians and the top cover is decorated with a legendary bonghwang bird. It is an excellent example of Baekje art and shows how they mastered advanced metal casting techniques. Another important treasure found in Buyeo, Iksan and Gonju were the gilt sarira reliquary pots often made of gold, silver, bronze or glass with gold caskets, jewellery and gold plates with inscriptions on the sarira enshrinements. The best examples were those from Busosanseong Fortress in Buyeo and that at Wanggungri which is normally displayed at the Mireuksa National Museum in Iksan.

Last but not least I visited the Jeongnimsa Temple Site which is the closest site to the Buyeo Bus Terminal. What is left of what was once a huge temple is an 8.3 metre five-tier stone pagoda (Jarek's photo), one of two remaining from the Baekje period (the other being that of Mireuksa), and a peculiar seated Buddha statue with a 'cap' from the Goryeo period. There is another peculiar 10 metre high standing Buddha statue with honarary "headgear" at Daejosa Temple which is worth visiting together with Gungnamji Pond if you have more time in Buyeo (there's yet another one in Nomsan at Gwanchoksa Temple, all showing great influence from China). The Jeongnimsa Temple Museum is worth visiting if only for the permanent Baekje special exhibition on the first floor with the UNESCO WHS inscription certificate on display.

Overall with a lot of research and luck with the special exhibition in Gyeongju National Museum, I managed to appreciate the quite niche OUV of this recently inscribed WHS. Less Baekje treasures have been found when compared to those from the Silla Kingdom however I felt that there are much more tangible heritage Baekje sites when compared to those from the Silla period which are mainly tombs/mounds (except the astronomical tower and the incredible Namsan rock carvings).