Kyongju Things to Do

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This Buddhist image of Bhaisajyaguru is holding a medicine box in it's left hand. The inscriptions on the box indicate that the image was sculpted in 1774, the 50th year of Joseon King Yeongjo's reign.

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This stone pagoda (designated National Treasure No. 30) was built in 634 during the reign of Queen Seondok (r.632-647). Considering the total number of brick-shaped stones that have been recovered, scholars believe this pagoda must have originally been a seven- or nine-story pagoda.
The present three-story pagoda has been reconstructed after the original's destruction by the Japanese in 1915, with the remaining stones piled beside it. Each of the four sides of the first story have a niche with hinged doors.

The figures of Vajradhara (Kumgangyoksa), guardians of the temple, are carved in relief inside the niches. Four stone lions were placed at the cardinal points on the stone platform. A stone sarira case discovered inside the pagoda contained various beads, scissors, gold, silver needles, and a silver bowl with a lid.

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Ch'eomseongdae (designated National Treasure #31) means "Star Gazing Tower."

Built during the reign of Queen Seonduk in 634, it is the oldest existing observatory in the Far East. It has 27 levels of stones in a round shape (Queen Seonduk was the 27th ruler of the Shilla Dynasty) with four sets of parallel bars to make a square-shaped structure on its top. The ends of the parallel bars jut out several inches from the surface and might have been a support for a staircase used to reach the top.

The 12 rectangular base stones are positioned in a square, three on each side, representing the four seasons and twelve months of each year. The twelve tiers of stones to the window entrance and twelve tiers above the window opening also represent the 12 months of the year (or the 12 symbols of the zodiac). For over two thousand years, astronomers studied the movements of stars and planets and charted them. They predicted solar and lunar eclipses, as well as the courses of comets. Court astrologers reported and interpreted their findings to the King who would then act according to their predictions.

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Originally built in 528, Bulguk-sa provides an excellent example of architecture from the Shilla Dynasty.
Literally meaning "Buddha Land", it remained intact for more than 1,000 years, until the Japanese destroyed it in 1593.
Only a few of the buildings were rebuilt before the 1970's, when it was completely rebuilt.
It is designated Historic and Scenic Place #1.
UNESCO recognized it as an international cultural property in 1995.

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King Munmu (the king responsible for unifying the Shilla, Koguryo, and Baekjae kingdoms) built Anapji Pond in 674 as a pleasure garden.
He designed the pond so that one cannot view the entire area at once, so he could easily hide out with a servant girl or two...

Only a small portion of the original palace remains.
In 1975 when the pond was drained for repairs, workers found a wealth of treasures that had been dropped into the water. The relics have been restored and many are on display at the National Museum, a short walk away.

The complex is best viewed at night, as the lit up buildings are reflected quite nicely in the pool.

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Unmoonsa Nun Temple is located in Chungdo near Daegu. Unmoonsa ('Un' means cloud while 'moon' means gate) temple was founded in 560 during the Silla dynasty. But some of the buildings were burnt out during the Japanese invasion of Korea which lasted from 1592 to 1598. The temple was rebuilt and now it is a large temple with more than 30 buildings, including Daeungbojeon, the main building of the temple.
Unmoonsa is famous for Buddhist nuns. In 1958, a special school for biguni, Buddhist nuns, was established and it was made into a Buddhist college in 1987. It has been producing a lot of monks, taking an important role as a center of Buddhist education and research institution for the sacred books. Now, there are about 260 bigunis, studying the Chinese classics and devotedly practicing the Buddhist precept, "If one doesn't work in a day, one must not eat in a day".

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The museum houses thousands of artefacts of all ages of Koreas history. Its treasures are largely devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, of which Gyeongju was the capital. It was founded by private citizens in 1915, and was taken over by the then-Japanese government in 1926 ;infront of the museum a pavillion is located, housing the bell of king Seongdeok,called "Emille Bell".The bell weighs some 19 tons.
The number of historical artifacts in the collection of the National Museum is so large, that most of the objects cannot be displayed and are thus stored out of the view of the general public.

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Bulguksa - "A temple leading to the land of Happiness" is home to seven National treasures of South Korea, including Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo (Blue Cloud Bridge), and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha. The temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean government and was 1995 added to the UNESCO World Heritage List .
The temple is considered as a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom.

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Cheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae means star-gazing tower in Korean. Cheomseongdae is one of the oldest surviving observatories in East Asia, and one of the oldest scientific installations on Earth. It dates to the 7th century to the time of kingdom of Silla.The tower is built out of 362 pieces of cut granite. It has 27 circular layers of stones surmounted by a square structure. 12 of the layers are below the window level and 12 are above. There are 12 large base stones set in a square, with three stones on each side. These sets of 12 may symbolize the months of the year.

The tower is 5.7 meters wide at the base and 9.4 meters tall, and filled with earth up to the level of the window. Its construction style parallels that used at the Bunhwangsa Temple in Gyeongju.

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Mr Son Sung Mok was already fascinated by gramophones as a boy. Up until now he has dedicated his life to the collection of more than 5000 gramophones, music-boxes, old organs,radios, TV's and Hi Fi - gear as well as other inventions of T. Edison in 60 countries.
Charmsori gramphone- and Edison-Science Museum is said to be "the largest museum combining sound and science" (quote)
Started 1982 in the city of Gangneung it was later transferred to the Gyeongpo provincial park lake side in 2007.