Week 34: Gyeongju (UNESCO World Heritage City) March 26-30, 2024
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond at night on March 27, 2024
On Tuesday, March 26, Ally (my science teacher colleague) and her two daughters accompanied me on a long car ride across Korea to the southeastern coast. We arrived midafternoon in Gyeongju, where we stayed for two nights and explored the city.
I had been eyeing Gyeongju on the map of Korea for about 6 months. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, primarily because of the 103 tombs of the kings, queens, and nobles of the Silla Dynasty (that word is pronounced Shilla). The Silla became rich and powerful in the early part of the 600s CE, and unified pretty much the entire Korean peninsula (through battles and alliances). The Dynasty began around 57 BCE in Gyeongju. The thing is, the tombs of the Silla had been undisturbed until the Japanese occupation. The Japanese started digging up the treasures in the 1920s when they occupied Korea, so it was only around the 1970s when the Koreans had a strong grip on their young Republic that they could turn their attention to preserving their own history. And they really are doing a great job in Gyeongju.
The 103 identified tombs are slowly being excavated, but the one that has had the most work done on it was the one the Japanese dug up first. Inside, they found an elaborate construction around a coffin which contained a king wearing a fantastic gold crown. Several more crowns and gold artifacts were found soon afterwards. All of these treasures are on display in museums in Gyeongju and also in the National Museum in Seoul.
Map of the tombs (left) and reconstructed tomb (right). Not only is there ample information about the tombs, it is also available in many languages, including English. It is very clear that care and thought have been put into the preservation and display of this history. The first thing we did upon arrival in Gyeongju was tour this tomb from which the gold crown was extracted (the Geumgwanchong Tomb, which literally means the Golden Crown Tomb).
The gold crowns (because there are several) have interesting shapes. The spikes that rise from the headband look like branches, or antlers. They are decorated with gold and jade, and the jade is carved into the shapes of crescents. Many gold earrings and other artifacts have also been found. And these adornments were worn by kings and queens alike. Many of the "kings" of the Silla dynasty were in fact women.
In addition to the personal jewels and wardrobe of the royal families, the tombs also contain many elaborately carved objects, and pottery items. I had been on the lookout for a long list of these items that are identified as National Treasures. There are over 300 National Treasures in Korea, many of them in the National Museum, but the second most densely populated site (for National Treasures) outside of Seoul, is Gyeongju. Gyeongju is also the place where Buddhism was adopted by the Silla leaders. I was able to visit the Seokguram grotto, which is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Asia. We also saw the Bulguksa temple which was built by the Silla kings and queens.
Pavilions at Bulguksa (left) and Seokguram (right) in the Gyeongju forest outside of Gyeongju.
During our stay in Gyeongju, Ally and her kids and I visited the tombs, an observatory that is 1400 years old, the Gyeongju Museum, a fantastic old bridge, the palace that is shown in the photo above, and Bulguksa temple. We also saw many of these things over again at night because they are lit up so beautifully in the night. It was also a few days before the Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival (which fell on Easter weekend this year). We saw many beautiful blossoms, but not as many cherry trees were in bloom as we would have liked. I will definitely have to come back here in mid-April next year.
The magnolia trees were lovely. It was hard to resist taking many photos of these graceful blossoms.
There were some cherries in bloom around the museum. And this lovely Cornus officinalis (or Japanese Cornelian Dogwood). I was running from tree to tree and artifact to artifact inside and outside of the museum. Fortunately, there was a kids' museum on site so Ally's kids did not get too tired of my history quest.
These roof tiles held my attention. Usually the roof tiles are circular and contain flowers or birds. The only one I have seen anywhere with a face on it is this one in the Gyeongju museum. It is referred to as the Silla smile and the reason it is highly-regarded is because it was clearly made by hand rather than made with a mold. It was also taken to Japan during the colonial period and then repatriated in 1972, so it is actually displayed by itself in a glass cabinet in the Gyeongju museum. I purchased a tile that is similar to the one shown at the right (several months ago, I bought it at a pottery shop in Itaewon). The Silla smile tile is probably from a temple that was built in Gyeongju and rather recently it was declared a Treasure by the Cultural Heritage Committee.
The bell on the left is the Bell of King Seongdeok the Great (definitely on the list of National Treasures). It is a Buddhist bell that was cast in the 700s to honor the 4th king who reigned in the unified Silla period. The Cheomseongdae Observatory (on the right) was built by a Silla Queen in the early 600s. It is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia. Apparently that square hole on the side was an entrance and people used to climb a ladder, go inside, and climb another ladder to the top to watch the stars.
During a period of economic prosperity, the Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond were built, along with the Woljeonggyo Bridge across the river that runs through town. We saw both of these re-built places in daytime and at night.
The Koreans love a lighted night-feature. The trees below are in the area of Gyeongju where there are many tombs in a bucolic grass field. I think they represent the forest, Gyelim, where the Silla dynasty is said to have been born, quite literally, from a rooster egg. I know what you are thinking. Roosters don't lay eggs. It wasn't an actual egg, but more like a golden chest being protected by a white rooster. And inside was a baby who became the first male in the Kim family. How many Kims are there in Korea now? Nearly 11 million. Over 20% of Korea's population.
I am not sure if Moses in a basket of reeds in Egypt got mixed up with a baby boy in a golden chest in a forest in Korea. But the story of the birth of Alji Kim is cultural legend.
After two-and-a-half days of running around between Silla sites, Ally and her kids left for Seoul on an express train, and I was on my own for the remaining two nights of my trip. I had booked the trip to see these sites with Nimmi, but she fell ill (she is well now, don't worry) and stayed at home to recover from her cold. So by the evening of the 28th I was on my own, and I also moved from my Hanok Guesthouse in Gyeongju to an ocean-facing apartment in Gampo.
The hanok guest house (called Adam Guest House) was cozy and clean, but I realized that sleeping on the floor was not really that appealing. Since Nimmi and I had booked the place for two, I ended up with two futons and I just piled them up to make it a bit more comfortable.
My apartment in Gampo had a bed (thank goodness) and a great view. And a stray cat that cried in the hallway all night.
I used the Gampo apartment as a base for investigating Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram grotto on the 29th. Then I got up early on Saturday, the 30th of March and headed to Pohang for the sunrise at Sunrise Plaza. I really enjoyed these solo adventures and I benefitted from excellent weather.
Bulguksa temple is quite old. It has two pagodas on site that are National Treasures. And one of them (top right)) contained a reliquary (top left) with sacred objects inside (center photo). These are all listed as National Treasures and there is a museum on site of the temple that tells the story. It was a nice thing to visit with Ally and her kids (in the rain) right before they left on Thursday. But I went back in the sunlight the next day to see more.
Dancheong and beautiful flowers arching gateways on the temple grounds
I think my favorite thing to see was the amazing 3.45m tall Buddha statue in Seokguram grotto. Photos of that statue were not allowed, but linked here is the Wikipedia gallery. And below here are the pictures I took from the hike up to the grotto. This has been a sacred pilgrimage site for 1300 years.
The grotto is reached after a short (12 minute) hike from a parking area. You can see the entrance to the sacred grotto on the hillside in the photo on the left. Outside of that structure is where I took the photo on the right. But the beautiful Buddha sculpture is inside of that building. It is a lovely example of Buddhist sculpture art from the Silla Dynasty.
I enjoyed some delicious food in Gyeongju. I tried out these red bean buns that are famous. They are called Gyeongju bread. They are small and sweet and tasty. I also had a fantastic pork cutlet in the market outside of Bulguksa. After my last adventure at the temple market I went looking for a Shinhan bank ATM in Gyeongju and came across a grove of cherry trees in bloom near a country club. That is the best photo (below left) of the cherry blossoms that I was able to take from that area. The wind was blowing the long willowy strands around and my photos kept getting blurred.
Finally, my morning in Pohang taking photos of the sunrise:
Pohang has many other features besides the sunrise plaza. One of them is a huge field of rapeseed flowers and since I was there for the sunrise, once the sun got above the buildings along the coast, the field was alight.
I wandered the field for a good 30 minutes before setting off for Seoul. It was a really nice way to end my spring break.
I learned how to use a Hi-Pass card (and have one for myself now) while driving in Korea on this trip. I still have trouble at gas stations. I need someone to teach me how to read all of the touch screen options. But having spent about 50 hours driving in Korea now (on all 3 of my driving trips combined) I am feeling pretty confident on the roads here.
I would like to believe that I will put together a video for this trip someday. I haven't done it yet. But it was everything I had hoped it would be. I highly recommend Gyeongju to travellers in Korea.
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