Gyeongju

This past Thursday was memorial day here in Korea. That means a day off for me! We took a trip to Gyeongju. A city about an hour and a half away from Busan. My friend told me that it is thought of as the most beautiful place in Korea. I took no more convincing. I was down. So we left at 10:30am on Thursday morning. We arrived in Gyenongju and rented bikes! The rest of the day was spent exploring the town and all of the monuments. I must admit that it was a beautiful city! It was great weather and so much fun!

Here is a little more information on Gyenongju from Wikipedia:

Gyeongju (Korean pronunciation: [kjəːŋdʑu]) is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea.^[2]^[3] It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering 1,324 km² (511 sq mi) with a population of 264,091 people (as of December 2012.)^[2]^[4] Gyeongju is 370 km (230 mi) southeast of Seoul,^[5] and 55 km (34 mi) east of the provincial capital, Daegu.^[6] The city bordersCheongdo and Yeongcheon to the west, Ulsan to the south and Pohang to the north, while to the east lies the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea).^[2] Numerous low mountains—outliers of the Taebaek range—are scattered around the city.^[7]

Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. A vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. Gyeongju is often referred to as “the museum without walls”.^[8]^[9] Among such historical treasures, Seokguram grotto, Bulguksa temple, Gyeongju Historic Areas and Yangdong Folk Village are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.^[10]^[11] The many major historical sites have helped Gyeongju become one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korea.^[6]^[12]