Explore Gyeongju

The richest repository of ancient history and arts in Korea, the city of Gyeongju was once the splendid capital of the Shilla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935). Gyeongju is filled with the remains of the ancient Shilla Kingdom’s temples, the royal tombs, the monuments, one of the earliest astronomical observatories in Asia- Cheomseongdae, built in 647 A.D., and the crumbled remains of the palaces and the fortresses. There is a branch (Gyeongju National Museum) of the National Museum Korea in the citywhere thousands of the items are exhibited. The two supreme treasures of Gyeongju are the Bulguksa Temple and the Seokguram Grotto, often referred to as "The Museum Without Walls". Gyeongju has been designated by UNESCO as one of the world's ten historic sites, and the Bulguksa Temple and the Seokguram Grotto were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995.