09 Jun 2023

Beyond the City: Ulsan's Bulguksa Temple and Gyeongju

  Upon Heritage Adventurer's arrival dockside, the view was of thousands of new Hyundai cars and hundreds of giant new diggers, a sign of the industrial might of South Korea. A transit through the bustling city and the towering residential high rises led to a totally different world - water lily blossoms and burial mounds at the tombs of the kings of the Kingdom of the Heavenly Horse.

  Tumuli Park in Gyeongju is the site of 6^th century burial mound tombs from the Silla Kingdom. These tombs are covered in mounds of earth, together forming what is called a Tumuli. One of the tomb mounds has been excavated to display replicas of the gold crowns and other royal trappings of that era.  Included is the saddle piece showing the flying Heavenly Horse which was the talisman of the Silla Kingdom.

 At Gyeongju National Museum we saw displays of the actual artefacts from the tombs - and other displays from the Silla Kingdom, which ruled the area from 50BCE to 700CE, as well as more from the Palaeolithic era.

 Lunch today was nothing short of special, a delectable 15 course lunch - the dishes just kept coming!

  The Bulguksa Temple, with golden statues of various incarnations of the Buddha, reflecting ponds, and tended gardens were made even more beautiful next to the spectacular decorations and floral displays remaining from the Buddha's Birthday celebrated just recently.

  Before it was time to return to Heritage Adventurer our guides found just enough time to call into a riverside bamboo grove on the way back to the port, rounding of an excellent day of adventure.

Image (c) by: S.Tranmer