13 May 2024

Experiencing Hyundai City – Ulsan, South Korea

Our Sacred Japan & South Korea voyage saw us arrive at Ulsan, South Korea or ‘Hyundai City’.

We drove through the busy industrial area, with acres of cars awaiting export, and past many clusters of high-rise apartment buildings into the forested mountains.
Our first stop was at Tumuli Park to visit the tombs of the Kingdom of the Heavenly Horse. The burial mounds for the rulers of the Silla Kingdom date from the 5th or 6th century. We entered the one tomb that had been excavated and saw the burial chamber with replicas of the golden crowns and artefacts that were unearthed.
To see the actual golden items, we ventured to the Gyeongju National Museum. There the beautiful items were displayed along with many other historic remains from that kingdom, with the huge bronze Bell of King Seongdeok the Great proving very impressive.

We then headed to a nearby authentic Korean restaurant. The dishes ranged from jellyfish to tempura prawns, sticky rice with kimchee to pumpkin punch for dessert. They just kept coming, and it was a delicious feast!

After lunch, we visited the Bulguksa Buddhist Temple and Art Gallery. The temple complex is large, with several plazas and pavilions housing statues of the Buddha in various incarnations. Originally built in the 8th century but destroyed, it had been faithfully restored with detailed paintings and decorative motifs throughout. As a special treat, the entire temple was decorated with racks and racks of colourful paper lanterns to honour the Buddha’s birthday – only 2 days away on May 15. Many lanterns had paper tags with wishes and prayers from the petitioners.

After a hot and exciting day, a walk in the park seemed a great way to finish. So, we travelled back to Ulsan for a stroll through the Taehwagang River Bamboo Forest.
Our visit to South Korea had certainly been action-packed, and we boarded Heritage Adventurer to set sail back to Japan.

Images © C. Finch, Heritage Expeditions