Exploring Historic Temples in Gyeongju

Historically and culturally, Gyeongju is a very important city to South Korea. It has many UNESCO World Heritage sites and can be called "the museum without walls" in reference to Korea's only historic national park situated within it. My journey this Sunday, September 13 takes me and three friends to this city just north of Ulsan.

I'm up early to catch a half hour bus to the train station to meet my friends at 8:15. We get tickets and wait for our train to leave at 8:34. The tickets are around $2 and the ride an easy 30 minutes. From Bulguksa Station, we take a short cab up to Bulguksa Temple. Passing the entrance gate, we first come to a pond where one could easily spend hours in meditation. The weather this morning is perfectly cool and the crowds are small. One lady seems to be having a full-on photoshoot on the bridge, but I can't blame her with how pretty the scenery is. Past the pond and bridge is Cheonwangmun Gate housing the four heavenly guardians who protect the temple. Larger than life and intense gazes, I can see how they would strike fear into any intruders.

Crossing another bridge, we come to Bulguksa Temple itself. It's very grand, build up on a hill with an impressive stone base. The staircases leading up to the temple are the only remaining bridges still intact from the Silla period. Unfortunately, many of Korea's important sites had been destroyed during the many times Korea has been invaded. Luckily, most of them have been rebuilt or restored to their original appearance. Bulguksa itself was built in 528 AD but burned down by invaders in 1592. It was mostly rebuilt by the time 1700 rolled around, but not fully until 1973.

We spend a good while meandering the grounds, listening to the monks chanting from each temple. It feels very surreal and makes for an incredibly peaceful ambiance. We come across stone pagodas, stupas, basins, and more temples. Each temple within the complex houses a gold Buddha and some Buddhist art. It's all very interesting and new, especially since I've seen enough Renaissance art to last me a lifetime.

We slowly make our way back to the entrance. Unfortunately, because of the recent typhoons, the hiking trail we want to take is closed. Luckily, a helpful woman advises us to catch a bus up the mountain. The road up is mostly switchbacks, but the bus driver is fearless apparently. We take the hairpin turns at full speed and only slow when we reach the top. Invigorated (and maybe slightly rattled) from the journey, we're ready to hike to Seokguram Grotto, another UNESCO world heritage site. The view of the surrounding area from the mountain is gorgeous. It's chillier up here, but the walk through the trees is pleasant and not strenuous in the least. The path is wide and smooth and winds easily through the woods. At last, we take some stairs up to an unassuming little temple jutting from a hill. The grotto itself is man-made and dates from 774 AD. The 23 ft tall grotto houses an 11.5 ft tall stone Buddha statue. The temple antechamber leading to it is separated from it by a glass partition, but it's still easy to feel the statue's presence and the spiritual weight of the room. The photo really does not do it justice. From there, we trek downhill again, passing more and more people as it nears 1pm. Back at the entrance to the hike sits a pavilion with a large bell. A sign in Korean and English reads "Donate 1,000 won and ring the bell to receive mercy". Not one to pass up on $1 mercy or the chance to ring a huge bell, I pay and step up. Best 1,000 won I've spent yet.

After receiving all the mercy (and a super satisfying gong sound), we catch the bus back down and into town. We search up a good BBQ place and head there for lunch. It was pricey, but the beef was delicious. On the bus we passed a nearby "Fashion Street" so we head in the direction. We stroll the pedestrian street for a bit, glancing in trendy shops and cafes. At the end of the street is this giant store selling only one thing: hwangnam bread. It's a Gyeongju specialty: small, warm pastry balls filled with red bean paste. The store itself shows off it's production process behind the counter, Krispy Kreme-style. It's an assembly line of people scooping giant red bean mounds, stamping chrysanthemum patterns, and assembling trays for baking. I was too distracted by the good smell to take photos, so here are a couple from the internet (pre-covid). I've been skeptical of red bean in sweets until now, but I actually quite enjoyed the bread.

We wander the streets a bit more and come to an open area dotted with giant mounds covered in grass. These mounds are actually royal tombs, something Gyeongju is also famous for. We only glimpse the park filled with them, but it's a peaceful stroll back to the train station for our 4:30pm train. I definitely need to return to Gyeongju to experience everything else the city has to offer, especially since it's so close by.

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Here's a short video of my Gyeongju trip!