A Museum Without Walls, Part 3: Gyeongju (Folk Craft Village, Bulguksa, and to Golgulsa)

Monday in Gyeongju was my last day getting up after 4:00 a.m., my last day not having kim chi for breakfast, and my last day feeling my legs (and liking it) for four days that went far too fast but seemed like an eternity.

I got up at a reasonable hour and took a bus to Bulguksa, a famous temple East of Gyeongju. Like most temples, this one has been largely rebuilt, but rebuilt to exacting specifications. Like most temples, it sits atop a wooded hill (like the hill I would soon curse) and looks out upon beautiful scenery, has astounding sculptures and architecture, and all in all was an amazing, and reasonably priced (4k won), experience.

Bulguksa was beautiful, if swarming with tourists, and this entry is mostly an excuse to place-save for picture links in the future. My apologies.

(FYI the "Folk Craft Village" was great for shopping, but not for folk existence--the Yangdong folk village in Part 4 was far better.)

[Pic: Bulguksa]

A Museum Without Walls, Part 2: Gyeongju (Anapji, observatory, Museum, Namsan)

My second day in Gyeongju was a predictable but enjoyable tourist's path through the "major" hits.

First, I should really lavish more praise on Gyeongju. It is to Korea what Kyoto is to Japan: Not the first city you'd think of, but easy to navigate, tourist-friendly, and historically rich.

Walking slightly further than I had yesterday, I initially saw (even more) historical burial mounds set against mountain forestry in the background. Having grown accustomed to such scenery, I proceeded quickly to Cheongseomdae, the East's oldest observatory. Though appearing little more than an awkward oversized stone pillar, each piece is carefully thought out--the base, each story of the tower, and its facing all are calculated to correlate to months, days, and the year.

Shortly past Cheongseomdae was Anapji Pond, and the path to Anapji was a trail through varied gardens, including water lilies so plentiful that the waterway was hidden. Anapji itself (on a vacation weekend) was a very crowded tourist draw, but still the faithfully reconstructed buildings reflecting off the pond were quite beautiful, and there were well-kept and kindly displayed Shilla-era relics (from incense burners to cups to a game die) within the building.

The third stop was the Gyeongju National Museum. Having relegated only a few hours to this museum, I could only view a couple of the buildings, and listen to the recording of a temple bells beautiful and haunting overtones. (More on that, and TV coverage of it, in a later post.) Suffice to stay its collection, being spread out among multiple buildings is less imposing than the National Museums', but still is rich and English-friendly.

Now it was time for lunch. A nearby place offered ssam-cheong-shik (rice eaten in greens with lots of side dishes) at a reasonable price and then I was off to Namsan.

Namsan is reachable by both bus or foot from Gyeongju, but not knowing the bus routes (and having an abundance of energy), I went by foot. The small portion that I hiked in 3 hours (the Lonely Planet has courses spanning 8 hours) included a stone buddha sculpture in a buddhist nunnery, and Korea's largest collection of buddhist relief carvings--on a single rock (but yes, a different rock from the aforementioned sculpture). Trails were not particularly well marked but locals were helpful. Bathrooms were ... special.

Which brings me to another point. The hostel I stayed in these two nights was also "special." Generally well rated (but docked for cleanliness), I can assure you the detractors are not being overly critical. No bedbugs, no roachs, but that's about all I can say. It was a bed, though, which was more than I'd have the next three days, as I was about to be the victim (though glad) of a boot camp billed as a "temple stay."

[Pictures forthcoming.]

[Ed: Pic from the National Museum.]

A Museum Without Walls, Part 1: Gyeongju (Introduction)

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.]