Namsan () is a 494-meter peak in the heart of

Gyeongju National Park Gyeongju National Park () is a national park in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the country's only historical national park. It was designated the country's national park on December 31, 1968. The park covers many of the ...

, just south of

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

, South Korea. The mountain is within easy reach from the city and attracts a large number of domestic tourists. Namsan covers an area of about 8 km (north-south) by 12 km (east-west). Some 180 peaks are counted, of which Geumobong (468 m) and Gouibong (495 m) are the best-known. There are about 40 valleys.

Cultural remains

Namsan is home to many historic and cultural remains, and is now part of the historic area around Gyeongju that was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

list of

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2000. Namsan is home to many remains from the

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

period, including some tombs of Silla rulers. There are hundreds of remains scattered around the mountain. Poseokjeong is one of the most famous of these sites, lying at the foot of Namsan. Other remains include

Korean Buddhist Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...

art, sculptures, about 80 carved reliefs, about 60 stone

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

s and remains of about 100

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s and

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

s mostly built between the 7th and 10th century. 12 of these relicts are designated national treasures. It also contains the ruins of the fortress

Namsansinseong Namsansinseong () was a Silla-era Korean fortress located on the mountain Namsan in what is now Gyeongju, South Korea. On January 21, 1963, its location was made Historic Site of South Korea No. 22. According to the ''Samguk sagi'', it was buil ...

. The concentration of remains is particularly high at the foothills west of Namsan. The remains are thought to reflect the rise and fall of the Silla kingdom. Najeong Well is the mystic birthplace of King Park Hyeokgeose, founder of the Silla dynasty. Only a small stone with inscriptions remains of this site. According to legend, one day in 69 BC Seobeol—chieftain of Goheo village—spotted a white horse kneeling by Najeong well. When approaching the site to take a closer look, the horse disappeared, but he found an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

. From the egg hatched a boy who was chosen to become king at the age of 13. The Yangsanjae shrine was built in honour of a founder who lived in

Seorabeol Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

before the Silla kingdom was established. A famous site is the three stone Buddha statue of Bae-ri. The site features three Buddha figures carved into stone. More recently, a roof was erected to protect the statues. The sitting stone statue of Buddha in the Mireuk valley, the sitting image of Bodhisattva carved into a stone wall at Sinseonam are two of the designated national treasures. In addition, there are sites of local significance, such as the sitting figure of Sakyamuni carved on a rock in Samneung Valley. This figure is about 7 metres high and about 5 metres wide. It is the biggest sitting statue at Namsam. Cheongwansa is a historic temple.

Nature

Namsan is not only known for the Silla remains, but also appreciated by visitors for its natural environment.

Gallery

Image:Korea-Gyeongju-Namsan-01.jpg, Image:Korea-Gyeongju-Namsan-02.jpg Image:Three-storied Stone Pagoda in Ongryongam Temple.jpg, Stone pagoda on Namsan Image:Rock-carved Buddhas in Tapgok Valley 01.jpg, Buddha relief carved into stone in Tapgok Valley

References

External links

* {{coord, 35, 46, 05, N, 129, 13, 32, E, dim:5000_region:KR-47_type:mountain_source:dewiki, display=title Mountains of South Korea Tourist attractions in North Gyeongsang Province Mountains of Gyeongju Gyeongju Historic Areas Historic Sites of South Korea

Cultural remains

Nature

Gallery

See also

References

External links