Think about South Korea for a moment. What comes to mind? Seoul, the dynamic capital perhaps, which next to Tokyo, Japan, supports more people in one metropolitan area than anywhere on the planet. Almost half of South Korea lives in the capital region.

Perhaps the Korean Wave comes to mind. A virtual Generation Y phenomenon throughout vast East Asia, the proliferation of South Korean culture has swept over the continent and has made forays into Europe, Australia and North America. From television dramas to films, pop music (or K-pop) to cuisine, even fashion, Korea has become cool.

The most familiar characteristic of hyper-modern South Korea is perhaps the robust Tiger economy, whose supersonic rise between 1961 and 1997 gave birth to the term “”Miracle on the Han River”. With heavy emphasis on high-technology, robotics and petrochemicals, the progressive country has a functional education system that introduces a copious stream of knowledge workers into the economy with each new generation.

For these reasons and more, South Korea has become a tourist curiosity. More and more people visit Seoul and Busan, the nation’s second city and 2020 Summer Olympics hopeful, every year. Far from the gloss and shine of these visionary metropolises however, is the relative calm of Gyeongju.

Within Gyeongsangbuk-do, a province in east South Korea, the region is close to Ulsan. The industrial city of over 1 million people serves many tourists who come to the area. And do they ever come. One of the most popular destinations for native South Koreans, Gyeongju is a place that for many, connects to the very heart of the country’s origins. In one of the most pristine landscapes in South Korea, with the Taebaek Mountains all around and the Sea of Japan to the immediate east, Gyeongju is the premier link to the Silla Kingdom.

Incredibly, there is evidence of human settlement in what is now South Korea as far back as the Lower Paleolithic. This puts the country and by extension, her people, in very, very rare company indeed. To witness the powerful pride in heritage and history, inherent in Korean civilization since the dawn of the modern age, you have to come to Gyeongju. As the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom, in power for almost 1,000 consecutive years until the late 10th century, the ground here is indeed sacred.

For hundreds of years, the region was the nexus of high culture, art, political and spiritual life in Korea. The pharaohs of Egypt even knew of the great Kingdom of Silla, despite the relative primitive quality of global communications well over a millenium ago. In relative isolation from the rest of Asia, the Silla era of prosperity ran from 57 BC to 935 AD. New blood in Korea took over, then the Mongols and ultimately, Imperial Japan.

Avid interest in archaeology in the early 20th century unearthed a treasure trove in Gyeongju, most notably in the form of Buddhist worship by the Silla rulers. Two sites in the area, the grotto of Seokguram and the temple of Bulguksa, became the first Korean inscriptions on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list.

The majority of the over 9 million visitors who patronize Gyeongju every year come to see the attractions of Gyeongju National Park. Perhaps the best of twenty to exist in South Korea, the park contains a slew of Silla landmarks, altogether unknown on the national landscape before the last century. Many of the spectacular showcase treasures to have been found here are on display at Gyeongju National Museum.

One of the most unique sights in the area are the tombs of the Silla monarchs. The incredible burial mounds have been carefully combed for artifacts, a process that endures to the present day, in order to identify the dead. As a result, we now know more than ever about ancient Silla civilization. It’s a heritage that all in all, holds as much fascination for native Koreans as for observers from abroad.

Check out the best hotel rates in Gyeongju, South Korea.

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