Gyeongju is an ancient city located in the Southeast corner of South Korea. Gyeongju is actually the ancient capital of South Korea and has preserved its ancient history quite well. All over Gyeongju you can see ancient tombs from the Silla Period, reconstructed palaces, and even the oldest star observatory in Asia! It’s a sweet little city that also has incredible food and a bustling nightlife. The architecture is reconstructed based off of traditional Korean styles with beautiful wood and stone buildings and clay tile roofing. It’s extremely close to Busan, and perfect for a weekend getaway!
Traveling to Gyeongju
KTX Train
You can travel to Gyeongju in a number of ways, but the most accessible is by KTX train. Whether you are traveling from Seoul, Daegu, or Busan – you can reach Gyeongju by KTX train in a short amount of time. From Busan, you can board at Busan Station and arrive at the Singyeongju Station after about a 30 minute train ride. Then, you can easily hail a cab or board a bus to the city center where most housing accommodations are located.
Bus
If you are travelling from Busan, you can easily board a bus from Busan Station that will take you to the International Bus Terminal in Gyeongju. The International Bus Terminal is centrally located and close to the city center where most housing accommodations are.
Lodging
There are a number of lodging options in Gyeongju, however, they book up quickly! This is a popular weekend getaway destination in Korea, and many people will take spontaneous trips and wait until the last minute to book accommodations. While you can always find something, often the last minute options available are Love Hotels. These can often be cheap and kitchy, and feature vending machine lingerie and rent by the hour rooms! Hey, if that’s what you’re looking for – go for it! Although, there are much more cozy accommodations available!
Hanok Stays
Given Gyeongju’s rich ancient history, it’s common to book a stay at a Traditional Korean Hanok in Gyeongju! Unfortunately, we have never done a hanok stay due to the last minute nature of our trips here. However, there are many options and we highly recommend trying this out!
Sugar Hotel
We stayed at the Sugar Hotel in Gyeongju, and have nothing but great things to say about it! It’s centrally located, beautiful, comfortable, and affordable. The front desk staff speaks English and is extremely warm and accommodating. There is also a modest breakfast included in your stay, and water and coffee services available to guests 24/7. The beds were comfortable and the bathrooms were nice with waterfall showers. We highly recommend this spot but be warned – rooms sell out fast! You can book your stay at the Sugar Hotel here.
Historical Sites
Daereungwon Tomb Complex
The Tomb Complex is located in central Gyeongju right next to the main road that includes restaurants and shops. This tomb complex is home to the tombs of great kings from the ancient Silla Period in Korea (57 BCE – 935 BCE). Entrance to the park costs 2,000 won for adults and 500 won for children. Once you enter the park, you can stroll through the beautiful grounds and wander on paths through wooded areas and open fields near the tombs. King Michu’s tomb lies in this park, and you can walk through a gate up to the base of the tomb to get a closer look and take photos.
Cheomseongdae
Cheomseongdae is an ancient astrological observatory located in Gyeongju. Entrance to the site is free and located within a large park in the center of Gyeongju. It’s the oldest astrological tower of its kind in Asia, and was constructed in the 7th century kingdom of Silla. While the age of the structure is fascinating and worth a trip, it’s hard not to chuckle at its size! The tower itself is extremely small, and we found it a tad underwhelming. That being said, it’s incredible to think about what the landscape looked like at the time it was built, and equally incredible that its stood strong all of these years!
Donggung Palace & Wolji Pond
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond are a reconstruction of palace remains that were excavated from the area from 1975-1986. Entrance to the Palace costs 3,000 won for adults and 1,000 won for children. The grounds are beautiful and tourists can roam through the park and see excavated artifacts and read about history of the Silla Period before walking around Wolji Pond. It’s recommended that tourists come to the palace during the day and then come back at night when the palace is lit up! We enjoyed taking in the historical artifacts in the afternoon, and returning in the evening along with hundreds of tourists to see the palace lit up.
Woljeonggyo Bridge
It’s common in Gyeongju to rent a hanbok and walk around the city. This is to celebrate the city’s rich cultural history and you can always find tourists roaming the city in beautiful hanboks and taking photos at different historical sites. The best place for such photos is probably the stunning Woljeonggyo Bridge! The original bridge was built during the Silla Period, but has been reconstructed several times since then. The most recent renovation of the bridge was completed in 2018, and is currently the largest wooden bridge in Korea (Visit Korea). Whether you are posing for pictures in a hanbok or just looking for an incredible view, it’s a gorgeous spot to visit in Gyeongju.
Bulguksa Temple
All of the previous sites listed are walking distance from the main city center in Gyeongju and all easily accessible to one another by foot. Bulguksa Temple is a fascinating temple that is located in the mountains a ways away and requires a 45 minute bus trip from the city center. The temple grounds are massive and feature some of the most stunning Buddhist art from the ancient Silla Period in Korea. The temple is a stunning place to behold, and is one of the best places to see fall colors in the area. We enjoyed visiting the temple in mid-October and taking in both the temple and the nature surrounding it. Entrance to the temple is 6,000 won for adults and 3,000 won for kids.
Seokguram Grotto
Seokgruam Grotto is a hermitage that is a part of the Bulguksa Temple grounds. You can take a bus from Bulguksa Temple, but we recommend taking the hiking trails from Bulguksa Temple and hiking through the mountains. The trip isn’t too difficult and it’s the best way to explore the mountain and take in even more greenery or fall colors! We enjoyed the scenic hike through the mountain and drinking from a fresh spring along the way!
Seokgruam Grotto overlooks the Sea of Japan and features stunning Buddhist statues carved out of rock inside of the mountain. It costs another 6,000 won for adults to enter the site, and you can enter the grotto itself but aren’t allowed to take any photos. The grotto was stunning and reminded me of tombs in ancient Egypt. While it is a bit pricey to enter both Bulguksa Temple and the Seokguram Grotto, I recommend sparing the expense and seeing the beautiful and ancient artwork that lies inside!
Hiking Namsan Mountain
Jeremy and I love hiking, and Gyeongju has some stunning hiking trails! We entered Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju National Park near Muryangsa Temple. We then hiked up the mountain and along the mountain ridge until we reached the Seven Buddhas Hermitage. Here, you can see a stunning carving of the Buddha surrounded by Bodhisattvas in the rockface. It is home to a Buddhist Hermitage where friendly monks will invite you to a cup of coffee as you take a rest and visit the site. We then hiked down the mountain through a bamboo forest and ended our hike at the base of the mountain near a beautiful apple orchard!
Dining
I truly don’t even know where to begin when it comes to dining in Gyeongju! For how small the central area is, it’s incredible how many unique restaurants, cafes, pubs, and food carts there are to explore! We have found some of the best sushi, pub food, desserts, coffee, brunches, and snacks here in all of our travels in Korea! All of these options are found in the central Gyeongju area on the main street. I encourage you to wander down all of the many side streets and alleyways as well – you’ll find countless incredible spots! Unfortunately, I realized most of my food documentation was solely on my instagram stories, and not on my camera! My food photos are more limited than expected…but I’ll share what I can!
Conclusion
Gyeongju has everything you could possibly want in a visit to Korea! It is rich with historical sites, ancient temples, beautiful hiking, incredible dining, and endless entertainment options. We think that it’s the perfect place for a weeklong trip or a quick weekend getaway. It’s our favorite place to escape to from Busan, but it’s easily accessible by KTX train from all major cities in Korea! I hope you take some time and add this incredible little city to your travel list!
