디시인사이드

Gyeongju is a place I always visit because I am so interested in it, and because I visit it often, it is so familiar to me that I think of it as my second hometown. Nevertheless, cultural assets are scattered everywhere, so there are still many unexplored areas.

The purpose of this visit was to revisit these unexplored places and places that had been visited for a long time. Until now, when I visited Gyeongju, I always traveled there by car, so I have not been able to find cultural assets in downtown Gyeongju (Cheomseongdae, Wolseong, etc.) since my visit in 2016. The goal of this trip was to find cultural assets in the Namsan area, Mujangsan Mountain, Geumgangsan Mountain, and Seondosan Mountain, along with these unexplored places in the city center, but Mujangsan Mountain was postponed due to trail restrictions and Geumgangsan Mountain was postponed to another opportunity due to lack of time.

On the first day, January 31st, we departed Seoul by express bus at 6:50. Now that I think about it, I was quite tired because I hadn't slept at all the night before because of the absurd Asian Games match against Saudi Arabia, but it was a very tight schedule because everyone had to walk.

The first places I visited after getting off the terminal were Nodong-ri and Noseo-ri ancient tombs. It doesn't get much attention because it's always overshadowed by Daereungwon, but I personally prefer it because it feels more familiar, like a park.

Geumgwanchong was recently renovated as shown above, but I did not go in because it was inconvenient and the admission fee was high.

Hwangnamdaechong Tomb

Compared to the phoenix. It is the largest tomb in the Nodong-Noseo-ri tomb group. There is an old, old tree growing in the tomb, giving it a charm.

I went down through Daereungwon. The weather was really nice that day, so many families came out for an outing.

Tomb of King Michu. I think the door was locked before.

Cheomseongdae. When I came here in the past, I passed it by indifferently, but now that I look at it again, I feel proud that it is the only one left in the center of downtown Gyeongju and has survived for 1,400 years.

Then, they moved to Wolseong via Gyerim.

Because it is a forest that has been maintained since ancient times, it has a charm that cannot be found in parks created these days.

A monument within the Gyerim Monument. It seems to be written as Gyerim Kim Clan sijotan? Yuheobimyeong.

Wolseong seen behind. Wolseong Fortress Wall is also lined with old giant trees, and it is the only place in the area with high ground, so it has a good view.

It’s been a while since I visited Seokbinggo. There are many ice bing storage facilities across the country, but they are concentrated in the areas near Daegu: Hyeonpung, Changnyeong, Yeongsan, Cheongdo, and Gyeongju. The remaining areas are Andong and Haeju. They also have in common that they were built in the 1700s.

I slowly walked towards Kyochon Village.

This is my first visit to Gyeongju Hyanggyo. Confucian schools usually block the main entrance and leave only the side doors open, and Gyeongju Confucian schools are no exception.

Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang were both built in the early 1400s, and are one of the oldest Confucian schools along with Jangsuhyanggyo and Gangneunghyanggyo. Heotcheomcha with carved wings proves its long history.

Myeongnyundang seen from Daeseongjeon. Uniquely, it is arranged in a pre-myo-fu style.

A well in Hyanggyo. It is a relic from the Silla period.

We visited Rich Man Choi’s house afterwards. There is a pagoda made of old stone lanterns in the backyard garden.

A stone structure designated as a cultural asset as the 'Gyodong Stone Lantern'. The very elegant carving skills stand out, but it is difficult to take detailed pictures since it is inside a private house. I am curious about the identity of the octagonal foundation stone below.

Woljeonggyo.

This set of octagonal stone pillars and lion statues was restored based on what was excavated at the Jeongjeonggyo site.

Woljeong Bridge signboard. This is a collection of the monument to Great Master Nangong on the second floor of the Central Museum.

(Reference) Monument to Master Nangong. The symbol for Woljeonggyo (月) can be seen at the bottom.

On the way to Cheongwansa Temple Site. The Seoak-dong Ancient Tombs can be seen in the distance below Seondo Mountain. These are the tombs of key figures who led the heyday of Silla, including King Beopheung, King Jinheung, King Jinji, and King Muyeol.

The recently restored Cheongwansaji Three-story Stone Pagoda. It is an unprecedented pagoda with a square stylobate and an octagonal body.

A member claimed to be the roof stone of the Cheongwansaji Three-story Stone Pagoda. Located inside the Gyeongju Museum. The lower part of the roof stone has a very unique style with a lotus pattern engraved on it instead of a tiered support.

Gyeongju City, which wants to restore, excavate and view everything, is insisting that the roof stone be released. However, the Gyeongju Museum rejected the claim as it had no clear basis, and as a result, it could not be used for restoration. In the end, it was replaced with engraved stone.

Leave Cheongwansa Temple Site behind and go to Oreung.

Oreung Shrine. Actually, there wasn't much to see in Oreung, so my intention was to find the Dangganjiju of Dameomsa Temple Site, but I mistakenly thought it was near the shrine building and ended up wandering around for a while. I found out later that it was located to the east of Sungdeokjeon.

Oreung. It is known to be the 5 martial artists of Hyeokgeose, Alyeongbi, Namhae, Yuri, and Pasa, but it is more likely that this is not the case due to the style.

At the back of Oreung, there is Alyeongjeong, the well where Alyeong came from.

There are these stone structures behind Alyeongjeong. Among them, the octagonal pillar-shaped stone on the left has the universe engraved on it, so it is highly likely to be the pagoda body stone. There is also an opinion that this is also the pagoda body stone of the Cheongwansaji Three-story Stone Pagoda. However, the vertical ratio is long, so my guess is that it is more likely not.

A bamboo forest path like this was created next to Sungdeokjeon.

I walk slowly again. Passing through Sihyegok's Wolam head house, we head towards Jangchanggok.

As you walk down the hill, you will come across the stone pavilion of Namgansa Temple Site. This is a typical well from the Silla period.

I walked again and headed towards the tomb of King Ilseong.

Tomb of King Ilseong. King Ilseong is known as the 7th king of Silla, but according to the records of the Samguk sagi, he was born in 44 AD, ascended to the throne in 134, and died in 154, making him an unknown king. Since the Gyeongju Park family arbitrarily determined the royal tomb without any verification, the person buried is also unknown. However, due to its large size, it is presumed to be a royal tomb or the tomb of a person equivalent to it.

There is a reservoir to the east of King Ilseong's tomb. Professor Lee Geun-jik, who devoted his life to researching the royal tombs of Silla, estimated that the tomb of King Hyogong, located to the east of Gujije, was the tomb of King Ilseong.

If you walk south again, you will come across Namgansaji Temple. To be precise, since this is Dangganjiju, it would be reasonable to consider the area around Seokjeong as a temple site, but it is full of private houses, so no traces of a temple can be found.

Namgansajidangganjiju unusually has a 十-shaped prayer.

Now heading to Changlimsaji Temple.

Changnimsaji Three-story Stone Pagoda. The elevation is high, allowing a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. It is located on the west side of the mountain, so it is the best place to watch the sunset in Gyeongju along with Sungboksa Temple Site.

Changrimsa Temple Site looks flat in the photo, but it was a temple built on a fairly steep slope and divided into three tiers. There is a tower for each section, so it is presumed that there were originally three towers, but it collapsed for a long time, and in 2008, some of the towers were stolen.

The pagoda was damaged by grave robbers in 1824, and the site of the discovered pagoda was discovered and recorded by Chusa Kim Jeong-hee, who happened to visit the place. In the discovered 「無垢淨塔願願記」, it was recorded that Mugujeongtap was built in 855, but it was later destroyed and its whereabouts were unknown.

However, in 2012, it was discovered again in the storage room of the Yongjusa Temple Filial Piety Museum, and it was excavated from the foundation of the Daeungjeon Hall of Yeongwonsa Temple in Icheon. Yeongwonsa Temple is the original temple of Kim Jo-sun's family, who were influential figures, and was rebuilt by him in 1827. It is presumed that Chusa passed on what he discovered in 1824 to Kim Yu-geun, the son of Kim Jo-sun, who was close to him.

However, unlike the record of the pagoda that it was built in 855, the Changnimsaji Three-story Stone Pagoda shows a style that predates the Bulguksa Three-story Stone Pagoda (742), which became the standard form of the Unified Silla pagoda. It even shows a style that predates the three-story stone pagoda at Hwangboksa Temple site, which was built with the donations of King Hyogong in 692. As mentioned earlier, there were several stone pagodas at Changnimsa Temple site, so it appears to have been the site of another pagoda.

Meanwhile, the upper stylobate of this pagoda is engraved with eight arms. Of the eight, only four remain: Asura, Gundalpa, Cheon, and Garura, and the sculpture above is the Asura statue. Assuming that it was built in the late 7th to early 8th century, it can be seen as the first pagoda with eight-part sculpture.

There is another unique relic at Changnimsa Temple Site. This is the double-headed noble woman where the Changlimsabi stood. It is said that there was originally an inscription written in Kim Saeng's handwriting.

There are only four double-headed ghosts left in the country, and in addition to this one, they can be found at Sungboksa Temple Site, Mujangsa Temple Site, and Beopgwangsa Temple Site. The neck is gone, but the cute feet are an attractive feature.

The first half of the day's field trip was completed with the final visit to Changlimsa Temple. Today was the last Wednesday of January, and the museum was open until 9 p.m., so we went to the Gyeongju Museum. There are a lot of pictures, but I don't think they will have much meaning, so I'll omit them.

+) Another pair of ears in the Gyeongju Museum. It was moved from the Sungboksa Temple site in Gyeongju, and is where the Daesungboksa Monument, one of Choi Chi-won's four mountain monuments, stood. The secret plane is on display on the second floor of the Central Museum.