Places to visit in Gyeongju, South Korea

I always wanted to visit Gyeongju before but I couldn’t because of some reasons. One of them is that I’m not living in Korea. I just travel from time to time for a short vacation and I only have limited time to visit places. But now, on my 5th trip to Korea, I finally made it to the city of Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province. Thanks to our Korean friend who drove us all the way to the city. Upon entering the toll gate, I’ve noticed the traditional-styled buildings including the toll gate itself, gas stations, restaurants and others.

Gyeongju is the Silla Kingdom capital of Korea. One of the three Kingdoms of Korea. It is also a place where you  can find several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Here’s the list of the places I visited in Gyeongju which you might want to check out if you are planning to visit the city anytime soon.

Daereungwon Tomb Complex

Daereungwon is where you’ll see the large royal tombs of the kings and nobles of the Silla Kingdom. They are large that they look like hills.

The park has a really peaceful ambiance plus they play soothing music which will make you feel relax while strolling around the area.

The photo above is the entrance to Cheonmachong. The crown and others relics can be found inside as shown in the photos below.

Cheomseongdae

Cheomseongdae is said to be the oldest existing astronomical observatory in Asia. It is a star-gazing tower, unfortunately the place is closed at that time.

Seokbinggo

On our way to the Anapji Pond, we passed by Seokbinggo or the Stone Ice Storage.

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond

The Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, formerly known as Anapji pond was a part of the palace complex of the ancient Silla. The place is open until 10pm, so you might want to save the night for Anapji to get some night shots of the beautifully lit up pond.

Gyochon Traditional Village

Gyochon Traditional Village is small hanok village which allows you to look into the life of the famous Choi clan.

It was spring and I enjoyed walking around the village with beautifully bloomed flowers lined up in the streets.

All places above are close to each other. They can be reached by foot but I suggest to rent a bicycle because the place is huge. There’s a bicycle rental near the Daereungwon.

Bulguksa Temple

Lastly, the Bulguksa Temple, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a home to many cultural relics.

That’s it for my Gyeongju trip this year. I am still hoping to visit the city again because of two things, first, I was not able to see Cheomseongdae and the second one is I want to see the night view of Wolji pond.

Let me know you have questions or share your photos and stories if you’ve already been to Gyeongju.

Advertisement