인생은 바다같다. 고요하고 잔잔하다가 거칠고 엄하지만 끝에는 아름답다. Life is like an ocean. It can be calm and still or rough and rigid. But in the end it's always beautiful. . #winter #beach #sea #ocean #sky #clouds #scenery #sunrise #gangneung #korea #겨울 #바다 #하늘 #경포대 #강릉 (at 경포대해변)
On November 18th, a special episode of KBS Music Bank; a K-pop music program in Korea, was held in Gyeongju. One of the purposes was to promote tourism in Gyeongju to foreigners as well as locals, which is well known for its beauty and thousand years of history. And for this event, KTO was giving free tickets to foreigners! Sound interesting for me because the line up were top idols including EXO-CBX (Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin), BTS, SHINEE, and TWICE. Besides, I was actually always wanted to visit Gyeongju, because my teacher once said that it is one of the ‘must visit’ places in South Korea.
So... I thought that was a good opportunity to go there.
A brief information about this city:
Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla and a vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period still remain in the city.
Gyeongju is often referred to as "the museum without walls". Among such historical treasures, Seokguram grotto, Bulguksa temple, Gyeongju Historic Area ang Yangdong Folk Village are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These many major historical sites have helped Gyeongju become one of the most popular tourist destination in South Korea.
I went to Gyeongju with my friend and we took bus to Gyeongju express bus terminal. It is easy to get there, since there are many choices of public transportation going to this city. Especially from big city like Seoul, you can take bus or KTX, but from some other cities there might be no direct bus or train, so you have to transit in other city first.
As soon as we arrived, we headed to the event venue, which is the Gyeongju Citizens’ Stadium. Public transportation within this city is convenient too. City buses will take you to almost of the tourists sites, or you can take taxi or rent a motorcycle or bike to go around the city.
Music Bank special episode in Gyeongju
After exchanging the ticket at KTO booth, we joined other people who were already queuing to get inside the venue.
Although it was raining, all artists still did their best, singing and dancing on the stage.
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
The Music Bank ended around 7 PM and then we decided to go to Donggung Palace, since it is the only tourist attraction that opens until night and located only few minutes from downtown.
Donggung Palace is one of the main palaces of Silla Kingdom. After the fall of Silla, followed by Goryeo and Joseon, the site was named ‘Anapji’ instead. Later, a fragment from a pottery which the carved letter “Wolji” was found in 1980s and it revealed that Wolji contained the meaning of the pond reflecting moon. Thus, the name ‘Anapji’ was changed to the current - ‘Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond.’
It opens all year round from 9 AM to 10 PM. The entrance fee is ₩2.000 for adult and there is discount price for group entry.
This is where we can buy the entrance ticket. There are staff who will help us to use the machine.
The miniature of the whole palace is displayed inside one of the building.
Beautiful night view of the palace surrounded with the pond.
Bulguksa Temple
The next day, because we didn’t have much time to take tour around the city, we decided to go to the most popular tourist site in Gyeongju, which is Bulguksa Temple. Bulguksa (불국사, "Temple of the Buddha Land") is a Buddhist temple and is home to no less than seven Korean national treasures. It is the representative relic of Gyeongju and was designated as a World Cultural Asset by UNESCO in 1995.
The location is quite far from downtown, approximately 40 minutes by bus, so we catch the early bus to get there. The entrance fee is ₩5.000 for adult, and it opens from 7 Am to 5 or 5.30 PM.
One of pagoda inside the temple; Dabotap Pagoda, which means pagoda of many treasures. It is depicted in Korean 10 won coin.
The scenery is so wonderful, and the autumn foliage added more beauty into it.
There are some souvenir stalls inside the temple. I got a set of postcard for only ₩2.000.
You can also donate some money by buying the roof tile and write your wishes on it.
I wish I could explore this temple more and stay in this city longer, so that I can visit other historical sites here. However it was such a pleasant short trip for me. I will re-visit this city again someday if I have the chance.
turnnoffyourmind
dededos
kianamaiart
ellievsbear
titsay
blakekathryn
jbbartram-illu
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina