Kyongju

A 9:30 tour with Mr. Kwon’s nephew and his mini-bus. It was the two of us and four Canadians here on a one-year contract teaching English.

Kyongju is Korea’s ancient cultural city, the capital of the once great Silla Kingdom (similar to Kyoto in Japan). UNESCO selected it as one of the worlds 10 most important ancient cultural cities, both for its position in the historical and cultural development of East Asia and for its role in the formation of the Korean nation. For nearly 1000 years, Kyongju was the capital of the Silla dynasty. It had origins back to 57 BC and survived until the 10th century AD when it fell victim to division from within and invasion from without.

Our first stop was Pulguksa Temple. It was built on a series of stone terraces and is known as “Buddha nation temple”. Originally built in 528 AD, it survived intact until the Japanese destroyed it in 1593. Reconstruction was done in 1972. The roof tiles were spectacular and the sites were active Buddhist temples.

Next stop was the Sokkuram Grotto. On the way to the grotto, our guide took out his karaoke microphone and started signing to some Korean song. Fortunately, none of the others in our group sang along.
The grotto was high in the mountains above Pulguksa. Inside the grotto was a huge seated image of Sakyamuni Buddha. It was constructed in the mid-8th century out of huge block of granite. Surrounding the Buddha were temple guardians, bodhisattvas and disciples of Buddha.
The Kwaenung Tomb was most interesting- the carved figures guarding the tomb are unlike any other in Kyongju. They’re said to represent Persian mercenaries who were known to have served in the court of Silla (wavy hair, big noses, and heavy beards). Around the tomb were the 12 figures of the zodiac.



Lunch option was “warm or cold”. We all opted for warm and got some relatively tasty curry rice. The Canadian teachers were an interesting group. They were teaching in the SW corner of Korea at a private school. Evidently the pay is quite good and they get set up with their own apartment and one free meal per day in the school cafeteria. Since it’s a private school, the children come to learn English after their full day of regular schooling. So, they start teaching at 3:30 p.m. and teach until 10:30. The students then go home and finish their homework!
Our last stop was the National Museum. Outside the museum was the Emille Bell. It’s claimed that when the bell was cast, a child was sacrificed and you can hear her cry of “Emille” (mother) when it’s rung.

The museum was beautifully done with spectacular relics from the Silla dynasty- beautiful gold jewelry and decorations, pottery, and the Korean National treasure, a general sitting on a horse.
Our guide explained that the Koreans descended from Mongol stock….they’re “people on the move” (which he claimed, explains their preoccupation with cell phones??!!) He made an interesting analogy when he described the game of “go”, a form of flat warfare, no ranks, no hierarchy- the Mongol way, with chess (much hierarchy, division of labor)- the European way. The Koreans/Mongols stream at their enemy taking advantage where they find it. He said that the Internet is also similar to the Mongolian military- flat, no formal structure.
He also told us that Korean babies, like the Mongols, Eskimos and American Indians, all have a blue spot at birth- that disappears with age. He said that the Mongolian slitty eyes were an adaptation to the dust of the plains, the square jaw developed as a result of eating meat only. The Koreans are a very handsome people and very Mongolian in features. Both the men and the women are good-looking.
We were exhausted after a full day of touring and settled for noodles and wine in the garden.