Gyeongju - the "Museum without Walls"

Gyeongju is, without doubt, one of the most spectacular places I have been to. I had little trouble seeing why it had been nicknamed the "Museum without walls". One can literally walk, in open air, through all the cultural and historical wonders at leisure. If one lives closeby, like I do, it is the perfect day trip in good weather. And most of the sites-to-see are within walking distance of each other.

On this particular Sunday, I was not in the best condition health-wise and I did not get to Gyeongju early enough in the morning. But I saw as much as possible in the time I was there, guided by some friends who live in the area. It was a delightful, cultural day in the sun...

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla Kingdom, the longest surviving kingdom in the country, for nearly a thousand years (BC 57-935) and has a vast amount of historical and cultural heritage. UNESCO has designated Gyeongju as a World Heritage site (http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/). After visiting this fascinating place, this is hardly surprising and one can see why it is one of South Korea's biggest tourist attractions, even a millenium after the demise of the Silla dynasty.

According to the Korea's official tourism site, Gyeongju is the nation's most popular fieldtrip destination. (In fact, one of my schools' fieldtrip is to Gyeongju next week.) Ponds, tombs, mountains, temples, grottos, observatories and museums abound in this amazing place. It is also home to many of the greatest Buddhist treasures in Korea.

Cheonmachong Tomb (Tumuli Park) is home to ancient tombs of kings and noblemen of the Silla Dynasty. There are 23 tombs in total, the most famous being Cheonmachong and Hwangnamdaechong. Inside the tombs, relics can be seen from a time long past; remains, crowns and other gold accessories.

Gyeongju also boasts Cheomseongdae, the oldest existing atronomical observatory in Asia (http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/). According to the visitkorea site, it was originally designed to look to the stars as a means to forecast the weather. As one of Korea's national treasures, it is quite an impressive site up close.

What Gyeongju is most famous for amongst us foreigners, is the cherry blossoms in springtime. There is a definite window period to see the blossoms, however, as they last in Gyeonju for only two weeks. My trip to Gyeongju was at the end of the two weeks. Sadly, there was only one tree still cherry-blossoming in Tumuli Park. We certainly made the most of it by taking hundreds of pictures. The cherry blossoms at this time of year are absolutely beautiful.

So are the flowers in springtime, something Gyeongju certainly does not lack.

These particular flowers did not smell pleasant, hence the hilarity of the situation...

There are several places in Gyeongju to see some of the traditional Korean buildings and temples. The woodwork and designs of these buildings is something to behold.

Gyeongju "Museum" is certainly a place I will be visiting again, for its temples, a paddle around Bomun Lake and trip back a thousand years. Truly remarkable, I tell you.