Climbing Namsan, the Buddhist land, and looking down over Gyeongju

Namsan in Gyeongju is not only designated as a national park, but it is also an essential course for exploring Gyeongju’s cultural heritage, to the extent that there is a saying, “Don’t discuss Gyeongju without climbing Namsan.” After passing through Oreung, Najeong, Poseokjeong, and Samneung, you will reach the top, facing each of the Silla Buddhist lands created on Namsan Mountain. This is the path to encounter the essence of Buddhist culture refined over a thousand years by the Silla people who aspired to the Pure Land of Buddha.

Details

Gyeongju Five Royal Tombs

Oreung, Historic Site No. 172, is called Oreung because it enshrines in one place the four kings of the Park clan and one queen from the early Silla Dynasty, including the founding king of Silla, King Park Hyeokgeose, his queen Lady Alyeong, the 2nd King Namhae, the 3rd King Yuri, and the 5th King Pasa. On the east side of Oreung, there is still Sungdeokjeon, which houses the memorial tablet of the founding king, and behind it, Alyeongjeong, where Lady Alyeong was born, is well preserved.\n

Najang, Gyeongju

Looking southeast from Oreung, there is a small monument in the middle of a pine forest, and the well next to it is Najeong. There is a legend that Park Hyeokgeose, the founder of Silla, was born at the site of this well.\n

Gyeongju Poseokjeong

Poseokjeong was one of the villas where the king could enjoy drinks, but the building has disappeared and only a dried abalone-shaped stone sphere remains, and is presumed to have been built during the Unified Silla period. The exact date of its composition is unknown. \n

Rock-carved Standing Buddha Triad in Baedong, Gyeongju

The three stone Buddhas here are adjacent to Sambulsa Temple on the western foot of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju. It was erected in 1923 by collecting materials that were scattered around the site of Seonbangsa Temple.\n

Samneung in Baedong, Gyeongju

This place is called Samneung because the tombs of Silla's 8th King Adala, the 53rd King Sindeok, and the 54th King Gyeongmyeong are gathered in one place.\n

Gyeongju National Park

Gyeongju National Park is not a national park with natural scenery such as mountains or the sea like Seoraksan National Park or Hallyeohaesang National Park, but a national park with world-class cultural heritage. Gyeongju, where the splendid culture of the millennium of Silla blossomed, is a representative place for Korean tourism, with the traces of the brilliant national culture left behind by our ancestors and the magnificent spirit of the unification of the three kingdoms, and where numerous cultural heritages such as scenic sites, legends, and unique folklore are preserved wherever you go.\n

Gyeongju Namsan Yongjangsagok Three-story Stone Pagoda

The Namsan Yongjangsagok Three-story Stone Pagoda omitted the lower stylobate and built a 6m-high bead directly into the rock to receive the middle stone of the three-story stylobate. One side of the central stone is made of one stone, the other three sides are made of two stones, and one corner pillar and one inner pillar are carved on each side. The capstone is made of two-tier flagstones, and there is an appendix underneath it. \n