Kyongju Things to Do

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Gyeongju was once the capital of the Silla kingdom ; a great number of tombs of the Silla-emperors can still be found in its centre. The tombs are buried beyond gigantic artificial hills, covered with grass. The tombs consist of a stone chamber which was surrounded by a soil mound. A great number of remains from the Silla period can be found all over Gyeongju. The historic area around Gyeongju was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000. Much of it is also protected as part of Gyeongju National Park.
It is a unique experience, to stroll along the well tendered pathways between dozens of hills, each containing a tomb.

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Chilbogyo & Yonhwagyo Bridges

The west units of ladder-like bridges in the temple are Chilbogyo (Seven Treasures Bridge) and Yonghwagyo (Lotus Flower Bridge). Yonhwagyo, the lower bridge, has 10 stairs decorated with lotus flower designs. The upper Chilbogyo has eight stairs, leading to Kungnakjon (The Hall of Paradise) through Anhyang Gate.

Chongungyo & Paegungyo Bridges

Chongungyo (Blue Cloud Bridge) and Paegungyo (White Cloud Bridge) are located east of the huge stone platform of Bulguk-Sa temple. Chongungyo which is beneath Paegungyo has 18 stairs with an inclination of 45 degrees. Made of granite, the bridge is divided into two lanes. It shows the same technique of turning the corner angles backward as used in the two pagodas of the temple. Paegungyo has 16 stairs, leading to the courtyard of the temple's main hall, Taeungjon through Chaha Gate.

Kungnak refers to the west land of perfect bliss, which is Buddha's country. The image of seated Amitabha Buddha is enshrined in the hall. The original building of Kungnak-jon was burned up during the 16th century Japanese invasion. The hall was rebuilt in the next century and was renovated in 1925.

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Kwan Um Jon Hall - The Hall of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva of Compassion)

The hall was restored 1973. The ancient original building is said to have enshrined the image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Buddhist Goddess of Compassion) which was made in 922 during the reign of King Kyongmyong. The Avalokitesvara statue was lost in the Choson Period. Currently a gilt-bronze Buddha statue is enshrined in the hall.

Located on the grounds of The Kyong-Ju National Museum - National Treasure No. 29

"A Legend About Emille Bell"
King Kyongdok, the 35th ruler of Shilla, had a giant bell cast with 120.000 kun of copper. He wanted to hang a great bell in the belfry of Pongdok-sa temple to honor the spirit of his deceased father, King Songdok. But he died without realizing his dream of dedicating an excellent bell to his father. The next King Hyegong continued the project to cast a good bronze bell, following in the footsteps of the previous King. After all, the artisans finished casting the bell. But the bell had cracks and its sound was very poor. One day, an astrologer said that an innocent child should be offered as a sacrifice to complete a heavenly bell. Then, a monk remembered the day when a poor woman had suggested donating her baby girl when he asked her for an offering to his temple. He told other monks about it and they immediately went to the woman's house to get the baby for the offering. They finally persuaded her to contribute her baby girl and put the child into melted copper to be cast into a bell. As the bell was completed, it had a good shape with no cracks and its sound was exceptionally resounding. The bell was hung in the belfry of Pongdok-sa Temple in 771. The legend says that when the bell was first rung, it sounded like "emeeleh....", meaning mother. The bell derives its popular name Emille Bell from the legend.
The Divine Bell of the Great King Songdok is also called Pongdok-sa Bell. The bell was moved from the temple to Yongmyo in 1460, then to Ponghwagdae and finally to the museum in Kyong-Ju in 1915.

A short walk from Anapji Pond lies the Kyong-ju National Museum with over 80.000 relics from the SHilla period (57 B.C.E- 935 C.E.). At any time, 2500 are on display. In front of the main building stands the bronze Divine Bell of King Seongdeok. Also called the Emile Bell, it stands over 3 meters high and weighs over 25 tons, making it Asia's largest. It makes a clear, resonating sound when rung, reputedly able to travel over 3km.
Spaced around the museum grounds are various relics recovered from excavations around the country. Pieces of statues, temples ornaments, bridges, stupas and other monuments line the walkways.
The museum has a 2-storey main exhibition hall and 2 annex halls. The main exhibition hall is divided into 8 sections, displaying objects from the prehistoric age to the Unified Shilla period.
- 1. Section: earthenware, stoneware and bronze ware from the prehistoric age to Iron age
- 2. Section: objects of the Early Three Kingdoms Period, and Shilla earthenware
- 3.&4. Sections: collection donated by Kugun
- 5. Section: architectural ornaments of temples and palaces
- 6. Section: rooftiles, bricks and vessels of the Unified Shilla period
- 7. Section: Buddhist artifacts including sarira containers and a stupa
- 8. Section: Buddhist sculptures such as bronze and stone Buddha statues
The two annex halls exhibit relics found in royal tombs and objects recovered from Anapchi, a pond in a royal garden.

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There's another temple there, and inside of it is a giant stone Buddha, we're not allowed to take a photo inside. But I managed to take this funny statue's photo hmm...
Take at the other picture, there's this wide sandy road from the entrance of Seokgulam that leads to the temple.
I was wondering why in the world would they want to build such a wide road in a mountainuous area that leads to a temple... when suddenly 2 monks drove a SUV down from the temple...

In Gyeongju you can find the most old royal tombs of whole Korea. You wouldn't these are tombs as they look like very gentile hills. Just like the ones the Teletubbies live in.

But here old kings lie burried for thousands of years already. The tombs may look like an easy grassy hill but are highly ingenious. While Egyptians used mazes and secret corridors in their Pyramids, the Koreans found a way which prevented robberies from graves even better. The structure of the Tombs has been constructed in such a way that it's really hard to get to the center of it. You can only open the tomb from the top where the stones won't fall on you whilst digging, meaning you would be fully exposed.

A museum with several tombs is located on the southern edge of the town (0.5km walking from the station) where they also reconstructed one of the tombs. Free English Guides are available as are busloads of schoolchildren practising their English on you.