Silla emerges victorious in 668.

It is from this famous date that South Korean historians speak of a unified Korea.

The period of the Three Kingdoms thus ends, but not before all of them had come under the long-term sway of Chinese civilization by introducing Chinese statecraft, Buddhist and Confucian philosophy, Confucian practices of educating the young, and the Chinese written language (Koreans adapt the characters to their own language through a system known as idu).

The Three Kingdoms had also introduced Buddhism, the various rulers seeing, in a body of believers devoted to Buddha but serving one king, a valuable political device for unity.

Artists from Goguryeo and Baekje perfect a mural art found on the walls of tombs and take it to Japan where it deeply influences Japan's temple and burial art.

Indeed, many Korean historians will come to believe that the wall murals in royal tombs in Japan indicate that the imperial house lineage may have Korean origins.