We’ve come all this way to Korea, so it doesn’t make sense just seeing one city when there’s a whole country out there to explore. Fortunately, the UNESCO heritage city of Gyeongju is only half an hour away by high speed rail from Busan (plus the subway ride and bus to the town centre, making it an hour and a half in practical terms).
I had another bad night coughing away. And that was after staying up past 11 pm washing and drying the clothes at the laundromat. On my return I thought B said she set the alarm clock for 6.15 am, so my internal body clock woke me at 6. Turns out she said 6.50 am!
We walk down to Beomnaegol subway station and ride the metro to Busan Station. That’s where we stayed last trip to Busan, so it looks very familiar, but still impressive.
Our train is a KTX, the Korean high speed train based on the French TGV. It is comfortable, but there is a choice between a view out of the window or a charge point.
Not that there’s much of a view. Once we’ve left the freight yards of Busan it’s mainly tunnels and glimpses of mountains and green fields.
In less time than it takes us to ride from our nearest suburban station to Sydney City we arrive in a whole different city in Korea.
The big, new, modern high speed railway station is located quite far out from the city centre. The local tourist centre at the station advises us to take the 710 bus direct to the National Museum, but that means we have half an hour to kill. Enough time for a breakfast in the station’s Lotteria branch. The hamburgers are so much nicer than McDonald’s.
It’s about half an hour’s bus ride from the station to the Gyeongju National Museum. We pass the famous tumuli tombs, bright green jumps in the landscape, and some pretty gardens.
It’s hot outside and the cicadas are singing the song of summer. Inside the museum is cool.
We came here first to get an understanding of what is important about Gyeongju and we aren’t disappointed.
Gyeongju was the capital of Silla, one of the three great ancient kingdoms that ruled over the Korean Peninsula. The museum traces the Silla origins back to Paleolithic times, displaying artefacts such as stone axes and knives and pottery. The Bronze Age saw the Silla Kingdom really develop. Iron implements follow, along with gold and glass traded from elsewhere.
Many of the artefacts were retrieved from tombs scattered around Gyeongju. These tumuli are mounds of earth and stone and were visible on the bus ride in.
Leaving the museum, we cross the road to the pretty lotus gardens, pink and white blooms floating above the water.
The huge and once grand Donggung Place complex consists only of a few rebuilt wooden pavilions overlooking the Wolji Pond. The walk around the pond is pretty and there’s a model showing the true extent of the palace during the Silla times.
From there we cross the road and walk past the Wolseong Fortress excavation site. The breeze through the shaped trees is very pleasant.
The Cheomseongdae Observatory, a stacked stone tower that resembles a kiln, claims to be the oldest preserved astronomy facility in Asia. There are other theories for its use, but I like that one.
On our left are tumuli mounds with a backdrop of mountains. The most impressive lay ahead in the direction we are walking. But first, lunch!
There are a smattering of shops near the entrance to the Daereungwon Tomb Complex. We enter one of the few food outlets, this one run by a couple of old ladies. They have a limited English menu and photos of their dishes. Alex chooses a seafood pancake, B a seafood soup and I a mandu (dumpling) soup.
Out comes a huge number of banchan, Korean side dishes, that complement every meal, including kimchi, japchae noodles, omelette, pickled vegetables and more. Some we like, others we leave, which is apparently quite okay.
The ordered dishes themselves are good, not awful tourist food and we leave feeling very full.
The first tomb at Daereungwon is that of King Michu, whose reign coincided with the defence of the kind by mysterious people with bamboo leaves in their ears. This tumulus is surrounded by a wall and accessed via a traditional gate.
The other mounds are surrounded by grasslands. But don’t think of climbing them, because the fine is 2 million won or 2 years in prison. I don’t think they take being a social media influencer into account when sentencing.
The grounds are very pretty. At the end is the Cheongmachong tomb. You can buy a ticket to enter this tomb, which was built by first constructing a central wooden room containing the body and their treasures. This is surrounded supported and sealed by rocks, upon which earth and soil is heaped to form the dome.
The treasures which were discovered in the tomb included a golden crown and other items of great wealth. The huge bronze and gold shoes that nobles wore appear very uncomfortable. I can’t imagine that you’d get very far in them.
Outside of the tomb complex is a long street of tourist shops with trendy snacks, caricature sketching, photo booths and souvenirs. We have mochi ice creams and I buy the mozzarella cheese filled waffle moulded in the shape of a Korean 10 Won coin that I devoured in Jeonju last trip. It is sweet and savoury and delicious.
There are more sights in Gyeongju, but everyone is ready to head back. It’s a fair walk to the bus stop. We pause at McDonald’s along the way for a soft serve and a drink; it’s still hot out there. The bus is too infrequent for us and we decide instead to catch a taxi to the train station from the rank opposite.
It’s a wild ride. The driver accelerates to almost 100 kilometres per hour in a 60 zone, but stays under the limit on the 80 km/h zones where the speed cameras lurk.
They are advertising the APEC 2025 meeting at Gyeongju station and on many taxis and the map that has guided us around the city. It isn’t until November, but I wonder how many leaders will see the treasures and want them for themselves. Stand by for Trump Gold Shoes.
Originally I thought we’d stay to see some of the sights lit up at night, but that is impractical and we are tired. Fortunately they let us rebook our KTX tickets to an earlier train without charge.
The half hour ride back passes quickly and we are back in Busan Station wondering what to do. Alex and I are tired and B thinks she has caught my disease. We end up back at Seomyeon wandering around the too-luxe Lotte department store, before having a dinner of pizza and fried chicken at Mom’s Touch. Yes, we tasted Mom’s Touch and it was fine, but fattening.
On the way back we buy some Pancold medicine from a convenience store. It appears to work in drying the mucus, leaving an annoying tickle in the back of the throat. At least it’s an early night.
I’m very glad to have visited Gyeongju. Well deserving of its UNESCO status and a fascinating way to do something Silla.