Today was our first full day in Gyeongju, home of the ancient Silla Kingdom. The plan for today is to have a full day tour of the kingdom and some of the sites that represent Korea’s history. When we were all finished eating our breakfast we got on the bus and went to some of the local tombs. These tombs were the final resting place for most of the rulers of the Silla Kingdom. The graves had a circular base of stone with a rectangular chamber at the center. The center chamber housed the body and valuables that the dead would take with them to the afterlife. Once the chamber was filled, more stones were packed on top making a cone shape. Then a layer of clay then the soil was added to finish the tomb. We were fortunate enough to be able to go into one of the tombs and see just how complicated this design was in order to keep the body and the valuables safe during their rest.
Next, the group traveled through the small nature area, surrounded by trees and bodies of water, to get to the Cheomseongdae Observatory. This observatory is the oldest observatory in Asia and was built during the 7th century and is known to have a slight tilt due to one of the primary rock supports being cracked. Being that everyone was in the same area, we decided to get a group picture in front of the observatory.
When we were finished, we left the observatory area and traveled to the Gyeongju National Museum. Each of the buildings that made up the museum were beautifully made and constructed according to the local architecture of the Silla Kingdom. The exhibits were very informative and gave detailed information into the culture of South Korea and how the artifacts were connected to the culture. My personal favorite artifact was the ancient king’s wardrobe made of pure gold. This wardrobe was explicitly built for a king and was initially discovered on one of the tombs as mentioned before. After the museum tour, I decided to take my free time and wander around the site of the museum. After having gone to the far side of the museum grounds, I was met with a nature area comprised of various small trees and a pond. I decided that I would stay here for the remainder of our free time and enjoy the view, along with the beautiful weather.
Lunchtime was right around the corner, and we were pleasantly treated to a massive meal comprised of beef, noodles, shrimp, squid, and many more Korean staple foods. Having eaten Korean food throughout this trip, I can see that Koreans enjoy sharing meals and eating together rather than eating their own individual meal.
Following lunch, we boarded the bus and were on our way for the final two locations of the day. Both sites were Buddhist Temples and were filled with people because today was the celebration of Buddhas Birthday. The first temple was on top of a mountain and took a significant amount of time to arrive. Once there, we toured one of the ancient temple, which was only open once a year on Buddhas Birthday. Later, we went down to the base of the mountain and explored the second Buddhist temple. This site was comprised of many buildings with each building housing a Buddha which specialized in a specific area of one’s life. We were able to visit the Buddha which specialized in helping those with mental illnesses and diseases.
Finally, having toured both of the sites, we went back to the bus and arrived at the hotel. I took this time to take a shower and finish some of my work for the Plus 3 blog posts. Time passed, and it was evident that my stomach was ready for dinner. Several of us decided that we were going to go to McDonald’s and be reacquainted with an American burger and a vanilla milkshake. I can not describe how amazing this was to have an American burger after being away from the states for a little over a week. To end the day we then toured several of the sites around Gyeongju and went back to the hotel for a full nights rest.
