Buddhism was carried from Koguryo to the southwestern kingdom of Paekje in 384 CE and there, too, the royal family received it first. The teaching seems to have been similar to that in Koguryo. King Asin (r. 392-405), for example, proclaimed that his "people should believe in Buddhism and seek happiness." In the reign of King Song (r. 523-554), there is a record of a monk, Kyomik, returning from India with new texts and especially the Vinaya (monks' rules and the stories leading to their formulation). He is considered the founder of one of the main schools of Buddhism of that period.

From 530 on, monks traveled to Japan and there taught the people Buddhism. Architects, painters, potters and other craftsman and artists often accompanied the monks and it was these people who constructed the great temples of Japan.