The Golden City of South Korea: Gyeongju
Gyeongju is a city located in the Southeast region of South Korea. Gyeongju is such a historically rich area, so get ready to learn a lot about the history of South Korea!
Gyeongju used to be the capital of the Silla kingdom (57-935 AD). There are many archeological sites and relics that have been found from excavations. This city is often called “a museum without walls”. Many sites in Gyeongju are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO and are one of the most famous tourist destinations in South Korea.
Being around 35 miles away from Daegu, we decided to go to this city for the weekend. You can take the bullet trainKTX, ITX, or the normal train to get to Shin Gyeong Ju Station (신경주 역) from Dong Daegu Station (동대구 역) or you are able to take the bus to Killinger bus terminal, the bus leaves every 20 to 30 minutes on a daily basis. Our bus fare was 7000 KRW and if you have a T Money card, you are able to use it when you get onto the bus! It is about a 40-minute bus ride from Daegu to Gyeongju.
We stayed at Blueboat Hostel, they have many room options from single to triple rooms, serve a nice breakfast, and also have several other locations around South Korea!
They kindly checked us in early so we were able to explore this city!
The city started a cultural heritage stamp tour. If you go to the tourist office or go to any of the main tourist attractions, you are able to pick a pamphlet up and get some stamps. Due to only being here for one day, we were not able to get all the stamps. This was such a fun way to explore the city!
*If you finish all locations and get 16 stamps, take a picture of the pamphlet and send the photo to Gyeong-ju’s tourist guide website and they will put your name in a drawing to win a prize!
Gyeongju Dareungwon (경주 대릉원) - A park where you are able to walk and see the numerous burial mounds. Inside you can see Cheonma-Chong (천마총) a burial exhibition to see how they build the mounds and what is inside the burial mounds. The chamber tomb with a stone mound for a king of the Silla Kingdom was excavated in 1973. It is named Cheonma-Chong since it literally means the tomb of the heavenly horse, and gold crowns and ornaments as well as the famous painting of the heavenly horse on a saddle flap were excavated from it.
Cheomseongdae (첨성대) - This stone structure is presumed to have been built during the reign of Queen Seondeok, the 27th ruler of the Silla kingdom (57 BCE-935 CE). Its name Cheomseongdae means "Platform of Gazing at the Stars," and it is widely acknowledged to be the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia.
Gyochon Village (교촌 마을) - Gyochon Village is where gukhak (present-day National University) was established in the year 682. There is also, "Choi’s Old House in Gyeongju" in this village. The Choi clan is a prestigious family that remained rich for 12 generations. They shared their wealth with others in need for over 400 years and actively provided support for the Korean independence movement during the Japanese occupation. After Korea's liberation, they donated their entire properties to education, reminding us of the true meaning of wealth. In Gyochon Village, there are several well-preserved historic houses from the Joseon period.
Anapji Pond (안압지) - Another historical site to visit. Parties were reportedly held here to celebrate the festive events of the kingdom or to welcome visitors.
Woljeonggyo Bridge (월정교) - right next to the Gyochon Village sits this stunning bridge. This is a reconstruction of the old bridge. The nighttime illuminations from the water below are gorgeous.
Gyeongju Five Royal tombs (경주 오릉) - These five tombs are known to be the tombs of the founding royal family of the Silla kingdom (57 BCE-935 CE), the Bak Clan.
Street food/ food stalls to try:
10-cent bread (십원빵) - the dough is made from buckwheat and barley and the inside of the bread is stuffed with mozzarella cheese and cream cheese! This is an incredibly famous bread in Gyeongju, people will be in LINES!
Gyeongju Bread (경주 빵) - also commonly called Hwangnam Bbang (황남빵), is a small pastry filled with red bean paste. First started in 1939 in the town of Hwangnam - hence the Hwangnam Bbang name!
Chal bori bbang (찰보리빵) - two thin pancake-looking barley bread that has red bean paste filling in the middle. Taste like a glutinous sponge cake! There are plenty of stores to choose from!
Coffee:
There are a lot of cafes in Gyeongju! So have at it exploring and finding a cafe atmosphere you are in love with, they all look AMAZING!
Uncommon Espresso Bar - laid-back roastery, in a modern hanok house. The perfect way to start your day of exploring.
Uhmamooshi (어마무시) - very chill cafe atmosphere with indoor water fountains, this cafe specializes in various tiramisu cakes!
Gyeongju Yuhrak (경주여락) - a traveler-friendly cafe! They have beer, wine, coffee, and snacks. The staff here speaks various languages and is very kind!
Seol Wol (설월) - a cafe known most for its burial mound-looking cake! They even give you a spoon that looks like a shovel/spade to eat it. The cafe is in a beautiful modern-looking hanok building.
Gyochon Garam - Located in Gyochon Village, try their rice cakes and the injeolmi ice cream, it is vanilla ice cream topped with injeolmi rice cakes and it definitely will go on your Instagram it is so good!
Restaurants:
Again… the number of restaurants is insane, and they keep opening new ones all the time! Walk around and see which one speaks to you. If you are going on the weekend or tourist season… it’s going to be packed.
Dong Ri (동리) - Traditional Korean food. Tucked away in a cute alley is this great lunch spot. They only serve lunch so get here quickly, we had 14 groups waiting before us. At night, the restaurant operates as a bar. This place was one of our favorite stops in Gyeongju.
We really enjoyed our time here and would definitely visit again!
