Gyeongju

Day 3- Flew to Daegu, transferred via bus to Gyeongju

Gyeongju was a capital of the Silla Kingdom for a thousand years. It has numerous historical and cultural sites, thus the Gyeongju Historical District has been designated as a World Heritage by UNESCO.

Daereung-won Tumuli Park (Cheonmachong Tomb)
Large ancient tombs of kings and noblemen of the Silla Dynasty can be seen around Gyeongju at the Daereung-won Tumuli Park. There are twenty-three large tombs located here; the most famous ancient tomb being Cheonmachong and Hwangnamdaechong.

^ Entrance into an excavated tomb.

^ Mounts of tombs dotted the park.

^Cherry blossoms found at Tumuli Park
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Bulguksa Temple

Bulguksa Temple was built in 528 during the Silla Dynasty, in the 15th year of King Beop-Heung's reign (514~540). It was called Hwaeom Bulguksa Temple or Beopryusa Temple back then. In 751, under King Gyeong-Deok (reign 742∼765), Kim Dae-Seong (700~774) started rebuilding the temple and finished in 774, under King Hye-Gong (reign 765~780). After 17 years of construction, the name 'Bulguksa' was finally given to the temple.

Bulguksa Temple was designated as a World Cultural Asset by UNESCO in 1995.

^Main stairway to the temple. Reserved for the King... not for normal civilians.

^ Civilians must enter via the side of the temple.

^Side view of the main hall. Note the interesting roof design.

^Dabo-tap (National Treasure No.20)

^Sukga-tap (National Treasure No.21)

^Hey! Another photo of cherry blossoms! :P Well, there were lots of cherry trees on the grounds of the Bulguksa Temple.

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Seokguram Grotto (Mt. Tohamsan)
The official name of Seokguram, National Treasure No. 24, is Seokguram Seokgul. Designated as World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995, it is an artificial stone temple made of granites. The construction started with Kim Dae-Seong (700~774) in 751 during the reign of King Gyeong-Deok (742~765) of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.~A.D. 935) and it was finished in 774, after 24 years, during the reign of King Hye-Gong (765~780).

^ Picture taken from website. Because the battery in my camera was running v v low.
^ Seokgulam Grotto consists of a square antechamber, a round chamber and a passage connecting the two chambers. It represents the universe, with heaven round and the earth square. (Picture taken from a website because photography wasn't allowed.)

^ Entrance to the Seokgulam Grotto.... There was still a LONG walk uphill to get to the Grotto.

^ An entire troop of school children came along after we had viewed the chamber. Picture shows them exiting... the NOISE they made.. aiyoh.. chatting all the way!

^Sunset at the top of Mt. Tohamsan.