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7th century flute, wood tablets surface at Buyeo excavation site

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 19:23

This transverse bamboo wind instrument was recently unearthed at the site of the royal palace of the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. to A.D. 660) in the area now known as Buyeo County, South Chungcheong, the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Korea Heritage Service said on Feb. 5. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

BUYEO COUNTY, South Chungcheong — A bamboo flute that offers a rare clue to the soundscape of the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. to A.D. 660) some 1,400 years ago was unearthed at the site of the royal palace in Sabi, the third and final capital of Baekje, now known as Buyeo County in South Chungcheong.

The instrument, discovered partially damaged, flattened inside a deep pit believed to have served as a toilet during the period, was found alongside a large number of wooden tablets used for writing. Together, the artifacts provide valuable insight into the administrative system and culture of the early Sabi-period, after Baekje relocated its capital from Ungjin in 538, which lasted until the kingdom’s fall.

The Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Korea Heritage Service said at a press briefing on Thursday that its 16th excavation of the Gwanbuk-ri site in Buyeo had dug up 329 wooden tablets and one transverse bamboo wind instrument. Radiocarbon dating of associated artifacts suggests the instrument was made between 568 and 642.

It marks the first time a wind instrument from the Three Kingdoms period of ancient Korea has been discovered in physical form, as such existence was previously known only through Chinese historical texts. The Three Kingdoms period refers to Goguryeo (37 B.C. to A.D. 668), Baekje and Silla (57 B.C. to A.D. 935).

The rectangular pit where a transverse bamboo wind instrument was recently unearthed, at the site of the royal palace of the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. to A.D. 660) in the area now known as Buyeo County, South Chungcheong, the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Korea Heritage Service said on Feb. 5. [BUYEO NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE]

While the find is unprecedented in Korea, similar bamboo wind instruments have been unearthed in Japan, including 9th-century examples from sites in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Those discoveries, however, date later than the Gwanbuk-ri flute, which is firmly placed in the 7th century.

As such, the artifact lends material support to historical records that Baekje musicians introduced court music to Japan. Japanese chronicles from the 9th century record the presence of Baekje musicians specializing in instruments such as the transverse flute, indicating that Baekje music remained influential in the Japanese court well into the 9th century.

Although crushed, the Gwanbuk-ri flute revealed clear outlines of a single embouchure hole and three finger holes. One end is broken, leaving it at 22.4 centimeters (9 inches) long. Based on descriptions in the “Samguk Sagi” (1145), which chronicles the Three Kingdoms, researchers believe the original instrument measured 31 to 32 centimeters and had six finger holes. The institute unveiled a life-size 3-D reconstructed replica created using the estimated measurements during the briefing.

A life-size 3-D reconstructed replica, created using estimated measurements, of a transverse bamboo wind instrument that was recently unearthed in a damaged state at the site of the royal palace of the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. to A.D. 660) in the area now known as Buyeo County, South Chungcheong, the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Korea Heritage Service said on Feb. 5. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

The instrument resembles the sogeum, a traditional Korean transverse flute, in that they are both held horizontally and are played by blowing directly across an embouchure hole, but differs in the placement of the embouchure and finger holes. Kim Yun-hee, a performer with the Buyeo-gun Chungnam Korean Classical Music Orchestra who demonstrated using the replica, said it produces a range about an octave and a half lower than the sogeum, with a narrower tonal range.

Whether the instrument was broken intentionally by its owner from Baekje or damaged by a rival remains unknown. It was found in a rectangular pit — about 2 meters (6.6 feet) wide, 1 meter long and 2 meters deep — near what is believed to have been a jodang, or state council hall, constructed around the 7th century. Organic analysis of the pit uncovered large quantities of human parasite eggs.

“In addition to the flute, we found wooden sticks believed to have been used for post-toilet hygiene identical to those previously excavated from a toilet site at a royal palace ruins in Iksan [in North Jeolla],” said Hwang In-ho, director of the institute. “This strongly suggests the pit was a restroom attached to the jodang. Why a broken flute ended up there remains a question that calls for both imagination and further research.”

The excavation is also drawing attention for uncovering the largest number of wooden tablets ever found at a single site in Korea. Of the 329 pieces, 82 contain relatively legible writing, while 247 have wood shavings that were produced when inscriptions were erased or revised.

The tablets were discovered en masse inside a 20-meter-long waterway believed to date to the early years following Baekje’s move of its capital to Sabi. Some inscriptions specifically mention the years 540 and 543, further confirming the site’s early Sabi-period origins. Researchers believe a government office responsible for producing, managing and discarding documents once stood nearby.

The Gwanbuk-ri site in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong, where researchers found a bamboo flute and 329 wooden tablets from the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. to A.D. 660) [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Given the scarcity of surviving written records from Baekje, the tablets are expected to provide crucial clues for historical research. Among the finds is Korea’s first example of a bound wooden tablet, which bears an inscription that suggests it was a personnel document.

Other tablets appear to record state finances, official ranks and government posts, offering a glimpse into Baekje’s administrative structure.

Located on a broad, flat plain south of Mount Buso in Buyeo, the Gwanbuk-ri site has long been regarded as the Sabi-period royal palace complex and has been under excavation since the 1980s.

Previous excavations uncovered large palace buildings, waterways and roads, as well as traces from Baekje’s final years. The latest findings bring researchers closer to understanding how the capital and royal palace took shape in their earliest phase.

Korea Heritage Service administrator Huh Min said the government would step up efforts to clarify Baekje’s Sabi-period history, citing a special bill introduced last October to preserve and manage core Baekje capital sites, located in the southwestern regions of the Korean peninsula.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]