By Yongjin Kong

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN GYEONGBUK PROVINCE : GYEONGJU

The ancient capital city of the Shilla Kingdom (57 BC∼736 AD) preserves a history of 2,000 years. In recognition of the great historical value of this time honored city, UNESCO has designated Gyeongju City as one of the ten largest world historic sites. Historians and archaeologists refer to Gyeongju City as a museum without walls. Scattered across the vast area of Gyeongju City, many Korean national treasures await tourists from all over the world. The three representative sites are:

Bulguksa Temple. A representative Buddhist temple from the ancient Shilla Kingdom. A symbolic Buddhist structure of old people’s faith and spirit.

◆Bulguksa Buddhist Temple

Bulguk Temple is one of the few that represents the old architectural scale and style. The original temple was constructed in 751 during the reign of the 35th King Gyeong Deok, when the kingdom was at the peak of its prosperity. During the dismantlement and reconstruction in the 1980’s, Dabo Tower revealed a historically meaningful piece of evidence, a printed (not hand written) Buddhist scripture of Dharani (a mystic Buddhist formula or incantation).

◆Sukgul-am Grotto

Sukgul-am Grotto at the summit of Mt. Toham represents another aspect of the Shilla people’s Buddhist faith. During the reign of King Gyeong Deok (742∼765), excellent Buddhist construction was undertaken. The man-made stone cave at Mt. Toham was part of the religious dedicatory constructions. The cave was modelled after natural caves in India and China. It enshrines the splendid stone image of Buddha sitting on a pedestal in the center of the cave surrounded by 40 guardian warriors, symmetrically arranged, engraved on the stone walls.

Yangdong Village appointed as World Cultural Heritage preserves 500 years of history with the tile- and thatch-roofed houses standing head to head.

◆Yangdong Village

Yangdongmaeul is the name of the village designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site. The village was established 500 years ago by the Yeogang Lee Clan who, shortly after, was joined by the Gyeongju Sohn Clan. The two clans have been living together in the village. The tile-roofed and thatch-roofed houses are scattered around in the small valleys, fanned out from the main hill called Sulchang san.

From these places, try to imagine the brilliance of the City so long ago. This is a beautiful gift only the time-honoured city can give.

English translated by Beomki Park
Reviewed by Heedal Kim, Thomas Raudenbush(LIKE)

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