고대 동아시아의 해양기술을 통해 바라본 백제 한성기 항해술과 조선술 = Navigation and Shipbuilding during the Hanseong Baekje Period As Seen from the Ancient Maritime Technologies in East Asia

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The maritime technology of ancient East Asia evolved from the stage of coastal navigation within visible distance of land to that of long-distance oceanic navigation based on astronomical observation, while shipbuilding progressed through the stages of dugout canoes, semi-structured vessels, and fully structured vessels. Semi-structured vessels began to be widely used by the inhabitants of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago in the fourth and fifth centuries, while fully structured vessels appeared around the seventh century according to archaeological evidence from Silla and Japan dating from the same period. In China, fully structured vessels came to be widely used during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties at the latest. It was also during that period that Chinese seafarers began to navigate the oceans using astronomical observation.
The temporal and spatial position of the maritime technology used by Baekje in the Hanseong period is located somewhere between China in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, where oceanic navigation by astronomical observation was common, together with the use of fully structured vessels, and Silla and Japan in the seventh century when fully structured vessels first began to be used. Early records of diplomatic relations between Baekje and China suggest that Baekje had already begun to use fully structured vessels in this period. It is conjectured that Baekje obtained advanced maritime knowledge, skills and experience in the early fourth century through migrants who came from Nangnang and Daebang and, by the second half of that century, through the frequent exchanges between Baekje traders and diplomats and Eastern Jin. Frequent exchanges with China via sea routes must have played a crucial role in the development of maritime technology in Baekje. Baekje also increased its knowledge of long-distance navigation through repeated visible-distance coastal voyages to the neighboring chiefdoms of Mahan and Gaya and its efforts to secure safe ports in those areas. Baekje maintained friendly relations with these chiefdoms, developing a coastal navigation network around the region.
It is highly possible that, in the Hanseong period, Baekje acquired from China the knowledge and skills it required to construct fully structured vessels and navigate the oceans based on astronomical observation, thus ensuring safe passage across the Yellow Sea to and from China. The major means used by Baekje to link the ports along the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese northwestern coastline must have been semi-structured vessels. Considering the possibility that Baekje used fully structured vessels in the Hanseong period, and that Chinese traders visited Baekje, and given the evidence of the use of fully structured ships in Baekje's exchanges with the Japanese state of Wa, one should not exclude the possibility that fully structured vessels followed the network of sea routes off the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula.
In conclusion, it is highly possible that Hanseong Baekje was first able to acquire the advanced navigation and shipbuilding skills and knowledge developed in China, such as oceanic navigation based on astronomical observation and fully structured ships, and then transmitted such skills and knowledge to Silla and Japan.