As you may have noticed and probably don't care, I haven't posted in a while. The reason is, I have been in and aroung Gyeongju, touring on my vacation.
Gyeongju is, according to the lonely planet, known as the "museum without walls" due to the incredible amount of visible history in and around the city. Gyeongju itself was the capital of the Shilla kingdom, the kingdom that unified the three kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms period (1st to 6th century) and led through the Unified Shilla period in the 7th through 10th centuries. As Buddhism was the official religion of Shilla, there are ample temples and buddhist relics in addition to the tombs of royalty and scientific advances that can be observed here.
My first day, I took the train from Wonju (17k won, 4 hours, nice views and a 1000 won/10 minute massaging chair available) and walked through Noseo-dong and Tumuli Park, both of which house Shilla tomb mounds viewable by the public. Royal tombs themselves are, externally, little more than large hills. The wooden coffin is at the center, followed by layers of brick and mud, and centuries of green overgrowth that today is nothing more than grass in a park. However, within Tumuli Park there is also Cheonmachong, an excavated tomb which visitors can enter to see replicated structure and remnants of a king's burial chamber.
Near these parks is Kisoya, a wonderful fusion Japanese restaurant. The staff spoke enough English to substitute vegetables for fish in my meal and the Korean-brewed sake-like-drink was refreshing, if a bit pricey (6k won for a small bottle).
The next day is the real story, as it was then, with more time, that I saw Anapji Pond (a reconstructed group of historical buildings), the Gyeongju national museum, the Far East's oldest observatory, and hiked around the Namsan mountains to the South.
[Pictures forthcoming when I can upload them, I'm at a PC bang near the Gyeongju bus terminals and have no usb cable or card reader with me.]
[Ed: Picture of tomb from Gyeongju.]
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