The three kingdoms
In the 4th century the Korean peninsula was divided among three kingdoms. Korean historical records say that in 372 CE a Chinese ruler sent the monk Sundo with images and scriptures to Goguryeo in the north, and that in 384 the monk Marananta brought Buddhism to Baekje in the south-west.
Silla, in the south-east, was the last to accept it. Tradition holds that official recognition came in the 520s after the martyrdom of a court official, Ichadon, who gave his life so that the king could establish Buddhism.
A Korean Buddhism
After Silla unified most of the peninsula in the 660s, Buddhism flourished. Two monks stand out. Wonhyo (617 to 686) wrote commentaries on dozens of sūtras, tried to reconcile the disputes between schools, and took the teaching to ordinary people in the villages. His friend Uisang (625 to 702) studied in China and founded Korea's Hwaeom (Huayan) school.
Korean monks travelled to China and even India, and Korea in turn passed Buddhism on to Japan.
Why it matters
Korea becomes a bridge carrying Buddhism onward to Japan.
History and tradition
What historians can say
The dates of 372 and 384 come from the Samguk sagi, a Korean history compiled in 1145, and are generally accepted. Silla's later acceptance is well supported, though the details of Ichadon's story are legendary.
What Buddhist tradition remembers
Tradition says that when Ichadon was beheaded, milk-white blood sprang from his neck, and the court was so shaken that it accepted Buddhism. Wonhyo is remembered as having awakened one night after drinking rainwater from what he thought was a cup, only to find in the morning that it was a skull, and realising that everything depends on the mind.