Geum River
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Template:Koreanname The Geum River is located in South Korea. It is a major river that rises in North Chungcheong Province, flows through South Chungcheong, and finally forms part of the border between South Chungcheong and North Jeolla Provinces before emptying into the Yellow Sea near Gunsan city. The river is approximately 400 km long, making it the third longest in South Korea.
In the area of Buyeo County, it bears the name Baengmagang, which means White Horse River. Numerous legends associate the ancient kingdom of Baekje with the Baengmagang. A very famous song of the sin minyo tradition, Kkumkkuneun Baengmagang (꿈꾸는 백마강, "Dreaming Baengmagang"), is about this stretch of the river.
The Geum River and its tributaries were important means of cultural contact from prehistoric times (see Mumun pottery period) and into the Three Kingdoms Period through their ancient function as a transportation route that begins on the west coast and penetrates deep in the interior of the Peninsula. Bronze Culture flourished in this area from c. 850 B.C.-A.D. 100 (see Liaoning bronze dagger culture). Following that, the Geum River Basin contained the chiefdoms of Mahan, and a former capital of the early kingdom of Baekje is located along the Baengmagang portion of the river.
The river's Korean name ("Gold River") is a homonym of the word for "diamond" (금강; 金剛) and should not be confused with Kŭmgang Mountain (금강산; 金剛山; "Diamond Mountain") in North Korea.