Case file · Haunting
'Baekje will fall': the omens of 660
The Samguk sagi says that before Baekje fell a ghost entered the palace crying 'Baekje will fall!' and sank into the earth, where a turtle inscribed with a prophecy was dug up.
660 CE · 36.28, 126.91 · status: legend
The account
The turtle's back read 'Baekje is like the full moon, Silla like the new moon'. A shaman who said it meant Baekje would wane was killed. Other omens that year included red water in the river and foxes in the palace.
The sceptical view
Clusters of omens before a dynasty falls are a convention of the chronicles, written by the victors' side.