Beop of Baekje (r. 599–600) was the 29th king of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Three Kingdoms of Korea

The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...

. He was the eldest son of King Hye

Hye of Baekje

King Hye of Baekje was the 28th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.The second son of the 26th king Seong, he assumed the throne after the death of his older brother and 27th king Wideok, but reigned only briefly before his own death. The Samguk Yusa describes him as the son of...

. He reigned as Baekje power declined, having lost the Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 region to the rival Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

 kingdom.

He may have chosen his name, which translates as "law king" or "dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

 king", to emphasize his identification with the Buddhist faith. http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MISC/102921.htm

Beop's brief reign is mostly remembered for his ban on all killing, including hunting and butchering. He ordered the release of falcons

Falconry

Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...

 and the burning of fishing and hunting tools. According to the Samguk Yusa

Samguk Yusa

Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea , as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period.The text was written in Classical Chinese, which was...

, this ban was established in the twelfth lunar month of 599.

He began construction on the Wangheungsa temple, which was completed late in his successor's reign.

See also

• Rulers of Korea
• History of Korea
  History of Korea
  The Korean Peninsula was inhabited from the Lower Paleolithic about 400,000-500,000 years ago. Archeological evidence indicates that the presence of modern humans in northeast Asia dates to 39,000 years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began...
  
  
• Three Kingdoms of Korea
  Three Kingdoms of Korea
  The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...