Parent's Visit- Gyeongju

Following Busan, we headed north to a small town called Gyeongju. Gyeongju is referred to as the "Rome of Korea" and "Korea's best outdoor museum." The town is full of old artifacts, tombs, temples, and historical sites, some dating back to the 4th or 5th century. We didn't have as much time here as I would have liked, but we got a good feel of the city and the things to do. There's still many things I'd like to see, so I'll have to plan another trip back!

Our first stop was Bulguksa Temple, just outside of town but easily reachable by city bus. We went on a Saturday afternoon, which wasn't the best time (there were lots of people!), but we had nice weather. Bulguksa is classified as "Historical and Scenic Site #1," because of it's importance to Korean history. There are seven different national treasures there, and it's very beautiful. If you'd like to see more pictures or learn about the history, here's the link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulguksa

On Sunday, we enjoyed a continental breakfast... and then found out it wasn't actually continental! Good thing we enjoyed it a lot and ate a lot of food. Next, we headed into town with our luggage, and did a walking tour for the rest of the day until our train back to Gwangju. We started by seeing the Royal Tombs in the center of the city. There were over 20 of them in the main park, and more in the surrounding area. We were all surprised at the size of them!



One of the tombs of the King had been excavated, and you could walk inside. Sorry, no pictures allowed. The remains were in the center of the tomb, surrounded by gifts of gold and pottery, enclosed in a wooden casket, buried under many rocks, and then covered with dirt. Also inside were some relics that had been cleaned and placed in display cases. Once we went inside, we had a much better understanding of what it was, compared to just a mound of dirt and grass.

Some other sites we saw included the oldest structure in Korea, an astronomical clock, which wasn't worth the $.50 we spent on the entrance ticket. We also walked around the old "fortress," better known as a "forest" (those darn translations!), and the free National History Museum, both enjoyable and educational. There were so many interesting things to look at in the museum, but it wasn't overwhelming, like museums sometimes can be. But the dates of some of the relics made my head spin. Hard to believe things from Bronze Age (1000 BC) still exist!

Gyeongju was a great time- so much to see and do, but not nearly enough time. If anyone out there wants to go sometime, let me know and I'll gladly join you!