Gyeongju: Capital of the Ancient Kingdom, Silla

The rolling hills before you are called Oreung, meaning “five tombs,” and are believed to belong to the founder of Silla, Bak Hyeokgeose.

The first king of Silla is said to have emerged from an egg, in a well, called Najeong at the foot of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, and was made king by the residents of the Gyeongju’s six constituent villages.

He was given the surname of Bak, meaning “gourd,” because the egg he emerged from looked like a gourd. Inside Oreung there is a well that is thought to be the birthplace of Bak Hyeokgeose’s wife Aryeong, and there is a shrine for Bak Hyeokgeose called Sungdeokjeon.  

Oreung consists of five tombs. According to Records of the Three Kingdoms, they belong to the first Silla king Bak Hyeokgeose, his wife Aryeong, and the subsequent three kings. 

Today, the center of Gyeongju is occupied by a cluster of huge tombs resembling hills. They belong to the monarchs and royal family members of Silla between the late 4th century and the 6th century.

Most Silla-era artifacts; golden ornaments that represent the kingdom’s culture, such as crowns, belts, earrings, and rings, originated from this location. 

The royal tomb complex consists of Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) excavated in 1973 and Hwangnam Daechong (Great Tomb of Hwangnam) excavated from 1973 to 1975, as well as nearby tombs in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju. 

This tomb is said to have been King Michu’s, and, unlike others, it was surrounded by a wall. King Michu (r. 261-284) became the first king from the Kim clan.

Historical records say that, after his death, he was buried in daereung, meaning a huge tomb, after which Daereungwon is named.    

Cheomseongdae stands on an open field in Wolseong and is a landmark for tourists both past and the present. 

Constructed during the reign of Queen Seondeok (r. 632-647), the observatory is known as the oldest surviving one in Asia with a unique structure beyond comparison with other buildings from this era across the world. As such, there are various theories surrounding Cheomseongdae.

Cheomseongdae has a south-facing window. According to historical records, people entered through this window and observed the stars at the top of the tower. However, some think that this is unlikely, as the window is not large enough for people to pass through.

Cheomseongdae is regarded as a symbol of mathematical astronomy in its era. Its base structure is square and main body is cylindrical, which embodies the ancient worldview of the round heaven and square earth.

It was built with 28 levels up to the top symbolizes the 28 major constellations of stars.

On top of Cheomseongdae, rectangle stone bars were positioned in the shape of a well. A well carried great significance to Silla’s people, as it symbolized divinity, the origin of life, and prosperity. This leads some scholars to believe that Cheomseongdae was a ceremonial altar.  

The observatory’s cylindrical structure, which gets narrower toward the top, leads some to believe that it is a symbol of Mt. Sumeru, which represents the Buddhist worldview.

It is presumed that a Buddha statue or other religious objects were placed on top of the tower to perform ancestral rites. 

This is the royal tomb of King Muyeol (r. 654-661), the 29th king of Silla. Before ascending to the throne, he vigorously engaged in diplomatic activities by visiting Goguyeo, Japan, and the Chinese Tang dynasty.

Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms records his accomplishments, recounting that the king unified the three kingdoms with the help of General Kim Yu-sin through an ingenious plot. This tomb is known as the only one among the Silla royal tombs for which the occupant was identified. 

There are a tortoise-shaped pedestal and a headstone of a stele standing in front of the tomb of King Muyeol. The pedestal and headstone follow the style of China’s Tang dynasty, yet their forms and techniques of detailed expression are distinctively different from China’s. 

The mound is surrounded by a stone wall, which is supported by base stones to prevent the mound from collapsing. The base stones can be seen exposed along the mound.

In front of it lies a single block of stone, which is an altar called sangseok that was used to place food during ancestral rites. 

Behind the tomb of King Muyeol, there are four huge barrowssituated along the mountainside. They are enormous in size and located according to the principles of geomancy. 

These features yield the conclusion that the four barrows presumably belong to the four direct ancestors of King Muyeol.  

The Gameunsa Temple site is located off the coast about 30 kilometers east of downtown Gyeongju. The temple was constructed in 682 according to the last will of King Munmu (r. 661-681), who established the first unified kingdom on the peninsula.

During the Silla period, the temple was one of seven temples that were managed by the state and served as the venue for royal rites.

 Although the temple itself disappeared sometime after the 14th century, the surviving pagodas at the temple site demonstrate the progressive spirit of Silla culture in the aftermath of the unification.

 A Buddhist pagoda is a significant religious icon, as it enshrines the remains of the Buddha. At the Gameunsa Temple site, two pagodas of the same shape and size each stand facing the east and west. 

Known as the oldest stone pagodas in Silla, these served as prototypes of all subsequent Silla stone pagodas. 

Geumdang is the main ceremonial space in which the main Buddha statue of a temple is located. According to historical records, openings were made under the threshold stones of Geumdang during the construction of the temple to ensure a dragon to freely enter into the temple.

Located in front of Gameumsa Temple, the stream flows into the East Sea. The Submerged Tomb of King Munmu is located at the estuary connecting the stream and the Sea.

It is said that King Munmu became a dragon after his death and visited Gameumsa Temple through Daejongcheon stream. 

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond comprised the palace of the Crown Prince, and were also used as the venue for royal banquets. King Munmu ordered the pond to be dug in 674, and constructed Donggung Palace in 679. 

This was also where King Gyeongsun, the last ruler of the Silla dynasty, held a feast for King Taejo of Goryeo, the founder of the Goryeo dynasty. 

Let’s take a walk around Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, a location offering a glimpse into the luxurious lifestyle of the Silla royal family. 

Through the excavation, it was found that a total of 26 buildings once existed here, and after the investigation, restoration was carried out for three units out of five buildings that were once located at the western corner of the pond.

While the western corner of the pond is straight, the eastern corner is mostly curved. Such curves were implemented to make the pond resemble the sea, and this intention was also reflected in the name of the main hall “Imhaejeon” which means “the hall overlooking the sea.” 

The pond contains three islets; a large one, a middle-sized one, and a small one. Each islet is surrounded by embankment of over 1.9 meters in height, with large rocks placed at regular intervals. The islets were decorated with artificial hills and natural rocks. 

The stone wall to the west was constructed to be taller than that of the eastern part.

It is estimated that this arrangement was planned to ensure that only natural rocks could be seen at the shore as opposed to artificial stones, while the vista of the pond could be overlooked from the buildings. 

This is the tomb of General Kim Yu-sin (595-673), who contributed to the unification of the three kingdoms with his distinguished feats of arms. General Kim was a descendant of the Gaya royal family.

He served Queen Seondeok, Queen Jindeok, King Muyeol and King Munmu, suppressing domestic rebellions and winning the wars with Baekje and Goguryeo.

General Kim’s accomplishments were long remembered, and ultimately, in the late Unified Silla period, he was honored posthumously as a king. The tomb is also famous for its 12 Chinese zodiac sculptures. 

The stone walls were placed around the burial mound, and some were engraved with the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. The floor of the burial mound was paved with stone slabs on which the stone railing was installed.

This is a typical royal tomb of Silla between the late 8th ~ early 9th century. 

These animal signs were arranged depending on the direction that they each symbolize. Bearing animal heads on human bodies, they are dressed in ordinary clothes while holding different weapons in their hands. 

There is a  gap between the construction for the tomb and the year of General Kim’s death (673) - the clue is in the style of the construction.

Some scholars explain that the inconsistency in timeline resulted from the reconstruction of General Kim’s tomb as a royal tomb in the 9th century. 

This stele was established in 1710. The inscription “The Tomb of Kim Yu-sin, Taedae-gakgan of Silla” was carved on the front of the headstone. “Taedae-gakgan” is a combination of taedae, a prefix meaning the greatest, and gakgan, referring to the highest official rank of Silla. 

This stele “The Royal Tomb of King Heungmu, the Great Founding Contributor” was discovered in 1934. 

Originally, the last word was inscribed as myo (墓), indicating an ordinary tomb, but later, the word was erased by filling the inscribed part, and renamed as neung (陵), indicating a royal tomb. 

The Silla History Gallery at the Gyeongju National Museum is exhibiting the millennium-long history and culture of Silla.

The museum’s collection covers the kingdom’s birth, growth, unification of the three kingdoms, and collapse during the period from its founding in BCE 57 to its fall at the hands of Goryeo in CE 935.

This is Room 2 of the Silla History Gallery, which displays gold crowns from Geumgwanchong (Gold Crown Tomb) and the representative exhibits of the GNM, as well as various artifacts unearthed from the south mound of Hwangnam Daechong (Great Tomb of Hwangnam).  

This is a reproduction of the main chamber of the south mound of Hwangnam Daechong. A large wooden chamber was installed first, and then the coffin was placed in the chamber. The supreme ruler maripgan wore a gilt-bronze crown on his head and a long sword around his left waist. 

This is a reproduction of the secondary chamber of the south mound of Hwangnam Daechong. The secondary chamber contains all of the maripgan’s possessions. 

45 large pots and three iron caldrons were arranged in four columns and 1,600 pieces of iron plates and axes were placed in bundles of ten. 

Hwangnam Daechong was constructed as a wooden chamber tomb with a stone mound. First, the main and secondary chambers were built, and then the stone mound was constructed around them. 

After the wooden coffin was placed and a memorial service was held, the tomb was covered in an earthen mound. 

The upper parts of the stone mound and the main chamber yielded a huge amount of earthenware as well as gold accessories, iron wares and bronze mirrors. This indicates traces of diverse rituals held after the installation of the wooden chamber.

The people of Silla made jades using a blue-colored stone called amazonite, and ornate and diverse glass beads by melting silica sand. Using glass, various shapes and colors were expressed.

For some necklaces, multiple colors were expressed in a single glass bead using the inlay technique.

This gallery displays cultural assets excavated from Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond. Approximately 33,000 cultural artifacts were discovered at Wolji Pond alone.

Wooden relics, bone tools and lacquers remained intact, as they were protected from decomposition by the mud flat below the pond.

Given that unearthed artifacts from Wolji Pond are daily items actually used in the royal court, unlike most extant cultural artifacts from Silla, such as burial goods excavated from graves, they offer a unique glimpse into court life in Silla.

The buildings around Wolji were built with roof tiles, which added significant weight to the roof. Thus, it was crucial to equally distribute the load of the roof to each column supporting the building.

For equal distribution of the load, a complex bracket structure called “gongpo” was installed. 

This is a replica of Wolji Pond during the Unified Silla period based on the results of excavation at the site.

The excavation confirmed the existence of the following in Wolji: a pond and three islets, 26 building sites, eight wall sites, water supply and drainage facilities, and stone walls.