Verified historic sites & memorials in Gyeongju — descriptions, map and practical info.
Selected city: 경주시
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Driving from central Gyeongju towards the East Sea, you will spot two huge stone pagodas standing side by side at the edge of the fields, below a low hill. Every temple building has gone and only foundation stones remain, yet the site stil…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Between Cheomseongdae Observatory and Wolseong Palace Site lies a small grove of willows and zelkovas called Gyerim (鷄林), the "Rooster Forest". This is where, according to legend, Kim Al-ji, founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was found in a…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
In September 1921, a man building a house in Noseo-dong, in the centre of Gyeongju, dug soil from a nearby mound to level his plot. Children found beads in the earth and played with them; a policeman noticed, looked into the mound and real…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
On a pine-covered ridge, walk around the round burial mound and you notice that the twelve animal-headed guardians carved around its base all turn their heads the same way. The Tomb of Kim Yu-sin is traditionally the grave of Kim Yu-sin (5…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
On the slopes of Seondosan on the west side of Gyeongju, the Tomb of King Muyeol belongs to Kim Chun-chu, King Taejong Muyeol, 29th ruler of Silla, who laid the groundwork for unifying the Three Kingdoms. It is one of the few Silla royal t…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
The Tomb of King Munmu is a small rocky islet about 200 m off the beach at Bonggil-ri, Munmudaewang-myeon, on the coast of Gyeongju. It is said to hold the remains of King Munmu (r. 661–681), the 30th ruler of Silla, who completed the unif…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Step away from the crowds around the great mounds of Daereungwon, head a little south and you reach a quiet burial ground ringed by pine trees. Oreung, the "Five Tombs", is believed to hold Hyeokgeose, the founder of Silla, his queen Lady…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Woljeonggyo is a roofed wooden bridge over the Namcheon (Muncheon) stream in Gyo-dong, Gyeongju, just south of Gyochon Village. It recreates a Silla-era bridge that linked the royal palace of Wolseong with the land to the south, rebuilt in…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Cheomseongdae, whose name means "star-gazing tower", is a stone structure built in Gyeongju during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla (632–647). It is regarded as the oldest surviving observatory in Asia, was designated a National Treasu…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Poseokjeong is a Silla-era stone watercourse hidden in woodland at the western foot of Namsan in Gyeongju. Water ran along a groove curved like an abalone shell, and the site is famous as a place where courtiers floated wine cups and compo…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
In the middle of Gyeongju, huge grass-covered hills rise between the streets. They are not hills at all but the tombs of Silla kings, queens and nobles, built some 1,500 years ago. At Daereungwon you walk along paths between the mounds, an…