| Gyeongju
Index |
Gyeongsang-do, Korea |
Since the 1970s, the Korean government has been aggressively redeveloping Gyeongju as one of the country's premier tourist destinations. The city's fame rests on its abundance of antiquities, left over from a time when this small town was once a teeming metropolis of 1,000,000 and capital of much of the peninsula.
According to the Samguk Yusa, an early Korean historical work, Gyeongju was founded in in the 1st century BC. Originally the region was settled by six clans, who joined forces in mutual defense, protecting a city called Saro. At some later date this federation of clans developed into a hereditary kingship which came to control large areas of southeast Korea. State-formation is believed to have occurred in the early 5th century, with prominent leaders interred in large tumuli that now occupy the center of the city. Somewhat later Gyeongju, as it came to be known, developed into a cosmopolitan city with a culture strongly influenced by Tang China.
Silla was but one of three states jockeying for preeminence on the Korean peninsula. In the 660s, Silla forces joined with Tang armies to defeat rivals Baekje and Goguryeo, "unifying" Korea for the first time. However, this "unification" encompassed only the southern two-thirds of the peninsula. The modern contours of Korea would not take shape until the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392).
It is said that at the peak of Silla prosperity in the late 8th century, Gyeongju had over a million residents and not a single thatched roof. Gyeongju remained the capital of Unified Silla until the kingdom's fall in 938 AD.
Visual Index of Gyeongju Sites:
http://www.kiosk.co.kr/kyongju/index.htm Photos and descriptions of interesting attractions in Gyeongju
Bibliography:
All images copyright 1998-2002 Tim Ciccone and Abe Ahn
