HIGHLIGHTS OF GYEONGJU TOUR

• DAY TOUR
• GYEONGJU
• HISTORY

If you stay at GYEONGJU, or BUSAN, you can take one day tour of HIGHLIGHTS OF GYEONGJU.
But, because the popular tourist attractions (mostly, historical places) are scattered around GYEONGJU, it is not easy to move around by public transportation. That’s why we combined the famous heritages for your one day tour at GYEONGJU.

GYEONGJU was the capital of SILLA DYNASTY for one thousand years.
SILLA was one of the world’s longest sustained dynasties, which was founded in BC57 and disappeared in AD935.
The symbols of SILLA dynasty are Buddhism, gold crowns (see the photos in PHOTOS tab) and big round tombs.

The importance of Buddhism in SILLA society was embodied with many number of temples were built, often financed and sponsored by high-ranking nobility, the most notable being HWANGRYONGSA TEMPLE (but, destroyed by Mongolia), BULGUKSA TEMPLE and SEOKGURAM GROTTO. SILLA’s strong Buddhist nature is also reflected by the thousands of remnant Buddhist stone figures and carvings. Among these heritages, you will visit SEOKGURAM GROTTO and BULGUKSA TEMPLE.

SEOKGURAM GROTTO is a hermitage and part of BULGUKSA TEMPLE complex. SEOKGURAM GROTTO was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List together with BULGUKSA TEMPLE. The stone Buddha in the middle of man-made cave is regarded as the best Buddhist sculptures in KOREA. The Buddha is realistic in form and probably represents the Seokgamoni Buddha, the historic Buddha at the moment of enlightenment.

Let’s drive along the curvy road again. We need to visit BULGUKSA TEMPLE. The temple is considered as a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the SILLA kingdom.

There are two pagodas on the temple site; The three-story SEOKGATAP (Sakyamuni Pagoda) which stands at 8.2 meters is a traditional Korean-style stone pagoda with simple lines and minimal detailing. DABOTAP (Many Treasure Pagoda) is 10.4 meters tall and dedicated to the Many Treasures Buddha mentioned in the Lotus Sutra.

Now, it’s time to move to Old GYEONGJU city area where many ancient tombs are scattered.
Let’s have lunch first. By lunch budget, we will arrange the suitable restaurant. But, if possible, we recommend you choose Weekend Meal, or Special Meal. We would like to let you experience to have authentic traditional Korean meal called HANJEONGSIK.

The first place in old town is DAEREUNGWON TOMB COMPLEX, which is the complex of ancient tombs in the central part of GYEONJGU. You can go inside a tomb and look how it was built.

After then, let’s go to NATIONAL MUSEUM of GYEONGJU to see SILLA crowns and thousands of items discovered from the tombs. Also, you will see the Bronze Bell of KING SEONGDEOK the Great attracting a large number of tourists.

At and around GYEONGJU, there are three units of UNESCO World Heritage. Unless you customize the itinerary, you will cover 2 out of 3 places.
– Old GYEONGJU
– BULGUKSA TEMPLE and SEOKGURAM GROTTO
– YANGDONG VILLAGE (if time permits, you can include this place at some extra price)