The southwestern Korean kingdom of Baekje was founded around modern-day Seoul by

a Goguryeo prince, a son of the founder of Goguryeo.[44][45][46] Baekje absorbed all of the Mahan states
and subjugated most of the western Korean peninsula (including the modern provinces
of Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeolla, as well as parts of Hwanghae and Gangwon) to a
centralised government; during the expansion of its territory, Baekje acquired Chinese culture and
technology through maritime contacts with the Southern Dynasties. Baekje was a great maritime
power;[47] its nautical skill, which made it the Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the
dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.[48][49] Historic
evidence suggests that Japanese culture, art, and language were influenced by the kingdom of
Baekje and Korea itself;[22][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]Baekje also played an important role in transmitting
advanced Chinese culture to the Japanese archipelago. Baekje was once a great military power on
the Korean Peninsula, most notably in the 4th century during the rule of Geunchogo when its
influence extended across the sea to Liaoxi and Shandong in China, taking advantage of the
weakened state of Former Qin, and Kyushu in the Japanese archipelago;[61] however, Baekje was
critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined.[62]