South Korea, Part VIII - In Ulsan Daewangam Rock Park and on to Gyeongju.

Gyeongju lies eighty kilometres north of Busan. On the way to the former royal city, take a break in Ulsan Daewangam Rock Park and hike along the sea through a landscape characterised by black pines, cherry trees, magnolias and camellias.
After arriving in Gyeongju, we head to Deaneung-won, the park of the great tumuli. There are 23 royal tombs from the era of the three kingdoms from 57 BC to 660 AD. Numerous kings found their final resting place under grassy mounds. Tens of thousands of precious burial objects were discovered during excavations on the site. A selection can be seen in the museum. The woman's burial chamber was more richly furnished than that of her husband. Women must have enjoyed a higher social status back then than in later times. Several reigning queens have survived from this era.
Next are the ruins of Donggung Palace, the palace complex of ancient Silla. The remains of the buildings were discovered during archaeological investigations in 1975. Three pavilions were then reconstructed on the banks of the artificial lake.
Gyeongju was the capital of the Korean peninsula for almost 300 years. Much of the city is a Unesco World Heritage Site. More temples, royal tombs and palace ruins are said to be found in no other Korean city - even though the Silla Empire fell more than a thousand years ago.
The Bulguksa Temple, the Temple of Buddha, is a World Heritage Site. It was given its present form around 774 and comprises several buildings. The flow of worshippers and visitors is enormous. The Seokguram Grotto, a cave monastery, is located 750 metres above sea level. It dates back to the 8th century. Silla Minister Kim Dae-Song had it built in honour of his parents from his previous life. And Cheomseongdae is probably the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. Also a world cultural heritage site. It was built around 640 and people probably once used it to observe the stars in order to make weather forecasts. Part 9 of the travelogue about Japan and South Korea takes us to the capital Seoul. A detailed travel report in German can be found at https://reiseinfo4you.de/japan-2024/