(The bus sign for Gyeongju, and one of the central temple chambers of Bulguksa Temple)
Hi all,
Well, we finally visited someplace outside of the Seoul--Suwon corridor this past weekend. It was Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) in Korea, the holiday celebrating the foundation of the Korean country Gosojeon by the mythological King Dangun.
As it was a three-day weekend, Jen and I decided we'd rather not just sit around, but go outside the city and explore a bit of the rest of the Korean countryside. In this case, we decided to go and visit Gyeongju, a city in the South-Eastern end of the country, near Busan, on the Eastern Sea (Sea of Japan) coast.
Gyeongju is a rather old city, the former capital of the Ssila (pronounced Shila) Kingdom, which conquered Baekje and Goryeo in the 660 AD and 667 AD, respectively. Ssila then dominated all of the Korean peninsula from 667 until about the 9th century, when the Kingdom collapsed into separate Kingdoms again.
As such, Gyeongju (alternative Romanization: Kyongju), is an ancient city with many ruins and relics of its past. Also, the city was relatively untouched in the Korean War, although some areas have had to be reconstructed. As a result of this, the city *feels* older, and unlike Suwon and Seoul, both of which characterized by tall, concrete-box-style apartment buildings and high-rises, Gyeongju is largely a city of short, older-style Korean buildings. There are not all that many buildings taller than five or six stories, and those that are tend towards being motels or hotels. The rest are what one thinks of when one thinks of Korean architecture, such as in the picture below.
(Buddhist temple in downtown Gyeongju, typical of most of the buildings in the city)
Our trip got off to a bit of a rough start, admittedly. We had a little trouble at the bus stop, which could have been avoided if I had done a bit more asking around when our first bus pulled into the station. The bus to Gyeongju does not, much like most buses in Canada, just go to Gyeongju: indeed, Gyeongju is not even the final stop! The last port of call for the bus is actually Pohang, a major industrial city just north and east of the old capital. Of course, we didn't know this, and no-one at the ticket counter, the bus waiting area, or the bus driver themselves, decided to assist we stupid foreign tourist types by *telling* us that we needed the Pohang bus.
So we waited for four hours for the next bus to Gyeongju, getting there rather later than we would have preferred. Oh well.
We stayed at the Hanjin Hostel. The owner was polite, spoke English well, and knew how to get to all the interesting sites in the city. Of course, he did gouge us a little: we were promised 30$ a night over the phone, but ended up paying 40$. At the time we arrived, around 8PM, we were both too exhausted to bother arguing.
We went to bed early, and got up at 7AM to explore the city. First, we went to Cheongmangchae, a series of tombs built for the Ssila monarchs. One of which, the namesake Cheongmangchae, is open to the public, and is so named for the horse saddle found inside of it along with the coffin of the ancient king. The tomb is literally an earthen mound several stories tall. In the heart of the tomb lies a wooden enclosure, presumably to keep out rot and grave-robbers. Inside this was a simple stone grave and a series of grave goods for the king, including weapons, rings, jewels, several crowns, paintings, and a bronze saddle.
(The entrance to Cheongmangchae tomb, and a view of the central park in which it resides)
(Pardon my closed eyes!)
To get a sense for how big these things are, remember that the city itself has few tall buildings: these tombs tower over most of Gyeong Ju, and there are literally *dozens* of them throughout the city. We wandered around several of them, snapping off pictures right and left, and enjoyed the fantastic park in the heart of the city that contained an even dozen clustered together in one spot.
(Tombs in downtown Gyeongju)
After we explored there, we wandered down to Anapji park, walking past Cheomsongdae, one of the oldest, if not the oldest astronomy observation buildings in Asia. Anapji park is what remains of the old palace and park built by King Munmu, the conqueror of Goryeo and Baekje. Much of the old palace has been destroyed, but the Korean government has been slowly and painstakingly rebuilding it to its original dimensions and design over the past thirty years. The grounds are massive, containing a pond and park for exotic animals and for the pleasure of the King and his court. The palace itself must have been something to see: even the buildings currently restored are wonderful.
(Cheomsongdae and Anapji, respectively)
At this point, Jen and I grabbed lunch, and split up for the afternoon. Jen had been experiencing a cold and the onset of her asthma, and was not interested in taking on Bulguksa temple and Seokguram Grotto with me. Instead, she went to the Gyeongju History Museum, and wandered about the grounds there for the remainder of the afternoon until I returned from Bulgoksa.
Bulguksa is about 18 Kilometres out from Gyeongju, in the mountains surrounding what are the city's suburbs--of course, the city is only about 225,000 people, so the 'burgs aren't on the scale of Suwon, Toronto, or Seoul. After getting off the bus, I walked about five minutes up the hill to the Temple, which is a Buddhist temple built sometime around 528 AD. It has been damaged, rebuilt, burned down, and restored many times since then, due to the Japanese invasions, the Korean and Second World War, and a host of other conflicts. But the Temple remains a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses a few gold-bronze Buddha statues, and is utterly gorgeous.
(The front gates to Bulguksa, and a view of the temple grounds from above)
It is also still a functional temple: many monks were wandering the grounds along with the tourists, and praying, chanting, and meditating along with the visitors. I cannot express in words alone how wonderfully peaceful this temple was. I snapped dozens of pictures, but spent most of my time quietly listening to the chanting of the monks, and simply standing around, looking at the marvelous statues and finding for myself a bit of internal peace. Like Stonehenge, Bulguksa is a place of contemplation and tranquility, and I felt the same sense of positive energy there as I have at the Henge, as well as in other places of worship around the world.
It doesn't hurt that the view is nice, too, from the mountain.
The Grotto, or more accurately, the hike to the Grotto, was the chief reason for Jen's decision to split up the tour: it is three kilometres uphill, nestled about another kilometre from the peak of Tohamsan Mountain. The climb was, to be blunt, painful. My right leg is still stiff from the descent!
(Part of the 3 KM hike up from Bulguksa to Seokguram Grotto)
(The helpful reminder on the right is not just that you're not there yet, but that no enlightenment comes without toil)
But the view upon arrival was worth it, as seen in some of the pictures below.
(Mount Tohamsan, from the path leading up to Seokguram Grotto)
Furthermore, the Grotto itself is amazing: it contains a statue of the Buddha, made of stone, about 15-20 feet tall. Surrounding the Buddha are dozens of guardian spirits, gods, and warriors. All of this is packed into a small grotto that feels full to the bursting point with all the statuary. Again, even with the tourist density, the place felt peaceful and calm, and I can imaging why monks dedicate their lives to studying and meditating there and at Bulguksa.
Returning the way I came, I snapped off a few more pictures of the mountain, before returning to the city for dinner and bed.
We woke up late the next day, and dropped in to the tomb of General Kim Yu-Sin, pictured below. A warrior-general who helped King Munmu unite the Korean peninsula, General Kim was rewarded with this mountainside tomb, in the style of the Kings below. Twelve zodiac figures surround and guard his tomb, and a huge cenotaph marks his final resting place.
(Me standing in front of General Kim Yu-Sin's grave mound)
A fascinating trip, overall. We returned home on Sunday, tired but happy.
It's amazing to me to see this part of Korean culture and history: while the West was still recovering from the fall of Rome, Korea was booming, experiencing a Golden Age of sorts under a united Ssila.
I won't romanticize the warfare that preceded that Golden Age, of course, anymore than I would the Roman method of creating their own era of prosperity. But still, one cannot help but admire this and any sort of architecture that has so stood the tests of time.
Like Stonehenge, or other similar places, I find that I am most drawn to that sense of peace and tranquility I found in Bulguksa. I am not an overtly religious man: I have faith, yes, and beliefs, but I try to avoid forcing them on other people. While I enjoy learning about theology and philosophy, science and faith and all other fields in between, I have been reminded by this trip how much I enjoy simply finding a place of rest and calm and positive energy in such places. Some may call this chi or the Spirit of God, or feng shui, or dao or good vibes, or any host of other interpretations from any number of different perspectives. Regardless of its name, I find it interesting to find and explore places that contain that kind of positive energy, and to see others doing the same.
In this, I think, we are more similar than we might otherwise admit.
My apologies for the slight tangent into the realms spiritual. Returning to the main subject at hand: I can thoroughly recommend Gyeongju. The city is, at times, a bit dirty around the edges, but despite this, it is an amazing piece of Korea's history, one which is just as long and as rewarding, when explored, as any place in the rest of the world.
More next week. Until then, best regards,
Chris
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