 China was also Korea's maritime partner, having a long history dating back thousands of years when ancient Korea commenced trade with ancient China through the Shandong Province through the Yellow Sea route.Its archipelago neighbor Japan was another ancient East Asian trading partner that was also involved in Korean economic and cultural exchange.Korea did not begin to use money until the Goryeo period when coins began to flow in during China's Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) were imported and began to circulate.