Old Korea: Gyeongju and Yangdong Folk Village

One of the most rewarding aspects of living in South Korea this year has been the opportunity to explore some very old historical sites. Maybe because we’re from a relatively young country by world standards, we get pretty excited to see really old stuff! Although lots of emphasis is placed on the very influential Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392–1910), there is even older history to be explored here.

The promise of ancient history prompted our travel to one of South Korea’s oldest cities, Gyeongju. Of course, the Joseon Dynasty is never far away around here, so while in Gyeongju we also visited South Korea’s largest Joseon-era folk village, Gyeongju Yangdong Village (경주 양동마을).

Gyeongju

Gyeongju, sometimes called “a museum without walls” is the only historical national park in South Korea. It’s best known for its role as the capital of the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE–935 CE), which ruled two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula for nearly 1,000 years. The national park area is very large, divided into eight districts that include villages and mountains as well as the city of Gyeongju. We spent a long weekend here and also did a temple stay as part of our time, so on this visit we didn’t make it out to the park’s hiking areas.

Getting there and staying

Getting to Gyeongju from Seoul is very easy. The KTX (fast train) travels from Seoul Station to SinGyeongju in about 2 hours. The Gyeongju city bus system is decent and uses T-Money, and we also found it easy to take taxis anytime the bus was too slow or inconvenient. (Kakao Taxi worked great here, though often we could easily have hailed a cab on the street because there were so many of them.)

Given our intent to explore South Korean history in this area, we opted to stay in a traditional hanok house for the weekend. Yettle Hanok Stay is centrally located and run by a lovely couple who have renovated a traditional home to accommodate guests comfortably. In addition to being kind and helpful, the hosts have filled their home with her artwork and handcrafts. Her paintings are hung throughout the house, and she even made the sheets on the beds! (This is not a sponsored review. We just really liked the place!)

Gyeongju National Museum

Visiting this museum was easy as we stayed right across the street, but it would have been worth a visit in any case. We hit the high points of the main exhibition hall in about an hour and were on our way again, but the Silla artifacts were really interesting. The 5th century gold ceremonial garb that was excavated from some of Gyeongju’s noble tombs was pretty spectacular. The museum was also a great place to get an overview of the history and significance of this area.

Tumuli Park Belt: The Daereungwon Tombs and Cheomseongdae Observatory

Gyeongju is known for its astonishing number of substantial round, grassy tombs called tumuli. So many of these tombs are concentrated in the city center that the center of Gyeongju is also known as the Tumuli Park Belt. Several of the “must-see” sites are in this area, which is compact enough to be very walkable and also is within walking distance of the national museum.

The tumuli are the tombs of Silla-era nobles and royalty, built during the 4th-6th century. Similar to the Egyptian practice of using pyramids, the Silla ruling class began burying their dead in wooden chambers with valuable grave goods. The wooden chambers were covered with stone mounds and then with earthen mounds, creating the large hillocks visible today.

In the 1970s, the South Korean government began to excavate these tombs and to remove neighborhoods that had been built over and around them. National park status was given to further protect and preserve these historical sites, resulting in Gyeongju’s becoming a “museum without walls.” The Tumuli Park Belt, along with many other sites in Gyeongju, is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Park.

In this area, you can walk through the Gyerim Wooded Forest (경주 계림), a pleasant path along which you can see many old, twisted trees and further tumuli. The forest is significant for being “deeply revered as the mystical birthplace of the first ancestor of the royal Kim clan of Silla.”

Last but not least, the other historical “must-see” in this area is Cheomseongdae Observatory (경주 첨성대), the oldest surviving astronomical observatory tower in East Asia. Constructed in the 7th century, this star-gazing platform was built of 356 pieces of granite, symbolizing the number of days in a year.

Wolseong Park Belt: Woljeonggyo Bridge and Anapji Pond

This area is adjacent to the Tumuli Park Belt, so you can easily walk from one to the other. We happened to be in this spot at the perfect time of day to enjoy the Woljeonggyo Bridge (월정교), originally built during the Unified Silla period in 760 CE. The original bridge burned down during the Joseon Dynasty and was beautifully rebuilt in 2018. It’s now the largest wooden bridge in Korea.

Anapji (안압지)/Wolji (월지) Pond and Donggung (동궁) Palace

Donggung was a secondary palace used by the crown prince of the Silla Kingdom. Its scenic pond was originally called Wolji (“a pond that reflects the moon”), but was then called Anapji during the Joseon Dynasty. The names are now used interchangeably, which at first really confused me when planning this trip! The palace is long gone, but the pond site was excavated and has now been re-created. (There is a whole building at the Gyeongju National Museum, which is just down the street, dedicated to this excavation site.)

Now, the pond and grounds are a scenic spot to stroll around, especially at night when the pavilions and trees are lit up to reflect in the pond’s surface.

Noseo-dong Tombs

Just across a large shopping street from the Tumuli Park Belt is another park filled with ancient tombs. Bonghwangdae, the largest Silla tomb, and 4th and 5th century tombs Seobongchong and Geumgwanchan are found here.

In addition, Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) in this area has a small museum inside that is open to the public. This is the only tomb you can enter.

Should you require some extra caffeine to keep you focused on learning all this history, the Starbucks in Noseo-dong is at least on-theme! Alternately, there are, of course, many atmospheric local cafes and restaurants to visit here.

Yangdong Village (양동마을)

This Unesco World Heritage site is about 20km north of Gyeongju City. It’s an hour to travel there from Gyeongju by bus (partly because from the bus stop you still have to walk 1.5km to the village), and about 30 minutes by taxi. The largest of South Korea’s folk villages, Yangdong features many preserved Joseon-era homes that are hundreds of years old. In addition, some of the village is still occupied and in use today. It was cold and quiet on the day of our visit, but we did see a few signs of modern inhabitants.

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Unfortunately, our visit to Yangdong was shorter than it might have been due to the freezing cold rain and wind we encountered on our day trip there. You can always count on spring to be unpredictable. One day, spring flowers; the next day, cold showers!

We did stay long enough to attest that the village is both scenic and unique. Just the scale of it is pretty impressive, with paths leading through the valley and up the mountainsides to little pockets of houses. The thatched roofs of the common people’s houses are mostly at the bottom of the valley, and the homes of the nobility are up on the hillsides. The village presents a perfect opportunity to gain a richer understanding of village life in old Korea.

Thanks for visiting Gyeongju with us! In our next post, join our Temple Stay at nearby Golgulsa, and then visit Gyeongju’s Bulguksa, one of Korea’s most historic temples.