The Gyeongju Historic Areas of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

were designated as a

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Site by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

in 2000. The protected areas encompass the ruins of temples and palaces, outdoor pagodas and statuary, and other cultural artifacts left by the

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...

Kingdom. The historic areas are sometimes known as one of the largest outdoor museums in the world.

Organization of the areas

Mount Namsan Belt

The Mount Namsan belt is anchored by Mount Namsan, a mountain that was held sacred by the Silla people. Both Buddhist artifacts and artifacts related to

Shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

that predate the introduction of Buddhism to Korea have been found at this site. Buddhist artifacts include the ruins of 122 temples, 53 stone statues, 64 stone pagodas, and sixteen stone lanterns. Other notable sites include the Namsan Mountain Fortress (built in 591 CE), the Poseokjeong Pavilion site (famous for its abalone-shaped watercourse), and the Seochulji Pond. Mount Namsan is famous for the various Buddhist images carved into the rocks and also show the progression and maturation of Silla sculpture during the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

period. The most famous example of these reliefs is the Buddha Rock. This bas-relief is located in the Tapgol Valley and consists of three walls decorated with the images of Buddha and his disciples.

Tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones b ...

of the Silla kings dating from the 2nd century until the 10th century are also found at this belt.

The Wolseong Belt

The main attractions of this portion of the Gyeongju Historic Areas are the ruins of Banwolseong (Half-moon Palace/Fortress), the Gyerim forest, the ruins and reconstructions of the pavilions at the artificial

Anapji Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, formerly known as Anapji, is an artificial pond in Gyeongju National Park, South Korea. It was part of the palace complex of ancient Silla (57 BCE – 935 CE). It was constructed by order of King Munmu in 674 C ...

Pond, the ruins of the Imhaejeon Palace, and the famous

Cheomseongdae Cheomseongdae ( ko, 첨성대; Hanja: , ) is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed in the 7th century in the ...

Observatory.

The Tumuli Park Belt

This belt consists of three groups of royal tombs. Most of the tumuli are shaped like domes or mounds of earth. However, some are shaped like gourds or half-moons. Excavated tombs reveal wooden coffins covered with gravel and rich grave goods of gold, glass, and quality ceramics. A famous example of a tomb in this park is the

Heavenly Horse Tomb Cheonmachong, formerly Tomb No.155 in South Korea, is a tumulus located in Gyeongju, South Korea. The name "Cheonmachong" means Sky horse tomb. This tomb was built in the style of Silla. Excavation of the tomb began on April 16, 1973 and is beli ...

which contained a mural painting on birch bark saddle flap of a winged horse.

The Hwangnyongsa Belt

This cluster of historic remains is centered around the ruins of Hwangnyongsa Temple and

Bunhwangsa Bunhwangsa ("Fragrant Imperial Temple") is a temple complex from the Old Silla era of Korea. It is located in Gyeongju. The temple is recorded to have been built in 634 under the auspices of Queen Seondeok. Today the temple is still used by a ...

Temple. According to the excavated foundation stones, Hwangnyongsa was the largest temple ever built in Korea and covered 72,500 m². The Bunhwagsa Temple exists today at a fraction of its size. In the past, it was one of the most important Buddhist temples. A stone pagoda made from brick-like stones is a popular ruin. It is believed to have had seven or nine stories but only three remain today.

The Sanseong Belt

This portion of the property includes the ruins of the Myeonghwal mountain fortress (Myeonghwal Sanseong) situated on Mount Myeonghwal at Bomun Lake about 6 kilometres east of the downtown of Gyeongju.

References

External links

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Korean National Heritage Online

Cultural Heritage

Oriental Architecture
{{World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Korea World Heritage Sites in South Korea Archaeological sites in South Korea Buddhist archaeological sites in Korea Buildings and structures in Gyeongju Tourist attractions in Gyeongju Tumuli