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Kyongju
KNOWLEDGE OF Kyongju
Gyeongju is a city (see Subdivisions of South Korea) and prominent tourist destination in eastern South Korea. It lies in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, on the coast of the East Sea. Nearby cities include the industrial centers Ulsan and Pohang. Numerous low mountains, outliers of the Taebaek range, are scattered throughout the city.
Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, a fact to which it owes its present-day prominence. The Silla kingdom arose at the turn of the 1st millennium, and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula from the 7th to the 9th centuries. A vast number of sites from this period remain in the city today. After the kingdom fell, the city gradually declined in importance.
Today Gyeongju is a typical medium-sized city, having shared in the economic, demographic, and social trends that have shaped modern South Korea. However, amidst these trends the city has retained a distinctive identity. In tourism, it is one of South Korea's best-known destinations. In manufacturing, it profits from its proximity to major industrial centers such as Ulsan. Gyeongju is connected to nationwide rail and expressway networks, which facilitate both industrial and tourist traffic.
The early history of Gyeongju is closely tied to that of the Silla kingdom, of which it was the capital. Gyeongju first enters non-Korean records as Saro-guk, during the Samhan period in the early Common Era. Korean records, probably based on the dynastic chronicles of Silla, record that Saro-guk was established in 57 BCE, when six small villages in the Gyeongju area united under Bak Hyeokgeose. As the kingdom expanded, it changed its name to Silla.
After the unification of the peninsula in the mid-7th century, Gyeongju became the center of Korean political and cultural life. The city was home to the Silla court, and the great majority of the kingdom's elite. Its prosperity became legendary, and was reported as far away as Egypt. The population probably exceeded one million. Many of Gyeongju's most famous sites date from this Unified Silla period, which ended in the late ninth century.
Under the subsequent Goryeo (935-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) dynasties, Gyeongju was no longer of national importance. However, it remained a regional center. The city was made the seat of Yeongnam Province in the 10th century. It had jurisdiction over a wide area, including much of east-central Yeongnam, although this area was greatly reduced in the 13th century. In 1601, the city ceased to be the provincial capital.
Over these centuries, the city's relics suffered numerous assaults. In the 13th century, Mongol forces destroyed a nine-story wooden pagoda at Hwangnyongsa. During the Seven Year War, Japanese forces burned the wooden structures at Bulguksa. Not all damage was due to invasions, however. In the early Joseon period, a great deal of damage was done to Buddhist sculptures on Namsan by Neo-Confucian radicals, who hacked arms and heads off of statuary.
In the 20th century the city has remained relatively small, no longer ranking among the major cities of Korea. In the early 20th century many archaeological excavations took place, mostly on the many tombs which survived the centuries fairly well. A museum, the forerunner of the present-day Gyeongju National Museum, was set up in 1915 to exhibit the finds.
Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, a fact to which it owes its present-day prominence. The Silla kingdom arose at the turn of the 1st millennium, and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula from the 7th to the 9th centuries. A vast number of sites from this period remain in the city today. After the kingdom fell, the city gradually declined in importance.
Today Gyeongju is a typical medium-sized city, having shared in the economic, demographic, and social trends that have shaped modern South Korea. However, amidst these trends the city has retained a distinctive identity. In tourism, it is one of South Korea's best-known destinations. In manufacturing, it profits from its proximity to major industrial centers such as Ulsan. Gyeongju is connected to nationwide rail and expressway networks, which facilitate both industrial and tourist traffic.
The early history of Gyeongju is closely tied to that of the Silla kingdom, of which it was the capital. Gyeongju first enters non-Korean records as Saro-guk, during the Samhan period in the early Common Era. Korean records, probably based on the dynastic chronicles of Silla, record that Saro-guk was established in 57 BCE, when six small villages in the Gyeongju area united under Bak Hyeokgeose. As the kingdom expanded, it changed its name to Silla.
After the unification of the peninsula in the mid-7th century, Gyeongju became the center of Korean political and cultural life. The city was home to the Silla court, and the great majority of the kingdom's elite. Its prosperity became legendary, and was reported as far away as Egypt. The population probably exceeded one million. Many of Gyeongju's most famous sites date from this Unified Silla period, which ended in the late ninth century.
Under the subsequent Goryeo (935-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) dynasties, Gyeongju was no longer of national importance. However, it remained a regional center. The city was made the seat of Yeongnam Province in the 10th century. It had jurisdiction over a wide area, including much of east-central Yeongnam, although this area was greatly reduced in the 13th century. In 1601, the city ceased to be the provincial capital.
Over these centuries, the city's relics suffered numerous assaults. In the 13th century, Mongol forces destroyed a nine-story wooden pagoda at Hwangnyongsa. During the Seven Year War, Japanese forces burned the wooden structures at Bulguksa. Not all damage was due to invasions, however. In the early Joseon period, a great deal of damage was done to Buddhist sculptures on Namsan by Neo-Confucian radicals, who hacked arms and heads off of statuary.
In the 20th century the city has remained relatively small, no longer ranking among the major cities of Korea. In the early 20th century many archaeological excavations took place, mostly on the many tombs which survived the centuries fairly well. A museum, the forerunner of the present-day Gyeongju National Museum, was set up in 1915 to exhibit the finds.
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