Exploring the golden city of history, Gyeongju[Photo Essay Contest - Gold Prize Winner]

by Seungeun Kim, Seoul Women’s University

Gyeongju is well known in Korea for its value in preserving cultural heritage. Back in the time whrere three kingdom including Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo existed, Gyeongju was capital city of Sila. Sila then unified Baekje and Goguryeo and became Tongilsila, which means ‘Unified Sila’. This means a lot in Korea history, because it is the first time that only one kingdom exists in Korea. Tongilsila stayed strong until the later three contries era arrives. It led to Gyeongju being as a capital city for almost a thousand years. Now Gyeongju is the city with the largest number of cultural heritages in Korea and performing a role as the city of history.

I’ve decided to visit Gyeongju for the first time in my life to explore the beauty of Korea tradition and to experience the historical meaning of Gyeongju. In February 2025, I went on a trip to Gyeongju with my friend. Bulguksa, Seokguram, Cheomseongdae, and Donggung And Wolji are really famous, since they all have UNESCO Cultural Heritage Certification. So, me and my friend visited all of them, but I want to focus on Donggung And Wolji. Donggung And Wolji is not that much recognized compared to Bulguksa, Seokguram, and Cheomseongdae in Korea. As a person who actually visited all of these places, I can tell that Donggung and Wolji is very devalued. Therefore, it inspired me to let people know the actual value Donggung and Wolji has.

Donggung And Wolji used to be called as Anapji, because geese and ducks used to gather here. Anap is the combination of geese and ducks turned into Chinese character. Also, Ji means pond. Donggung And Wolji is basically a site of palace and pond. Donggung regards of palace and Wolji regards of pond. Like I have explained, Donggung And Wolji already has historical meaning in its name and it is an interesting point in Korea cultural heritage. Moreover, I saw geese and ducks still floating on Wolji, and it made me realize that cultural heritage and nature didn’t change over time. For that, I experienced permanence and sustainability of history and the reason why we should preserve cultural heritage.

Donggung was used as Byeolgung Palace of Wolseong. This adds to antique beauty of Donggung And Wolji. Furthermore, Roof tiles and eaves represent vintage style of Korea architecture. Last but not least, the lighting of Donggung And Wolji in the nighttime is pure gold. The yellowish light goes perfect with the trees and the sky. I was fully amazed by the scene in the picture when I first got to look at it. Visiting here and watching the view will get you to learn a lesson of value in history and wonder of Korea cultural heritage. Also, wonderful and marvelous nature will be a bonus to it. Now it’s your time to visit Gyeongju and enjoy it as much as I did. Don’t hesitate to explore this amazing Golden City of history.