Gyeongju, located about an hour's drive from Busan, is a popular tourist destination as the royal capital of the millennium-old Silla. Among them, the Gyeongju National Museum, which tells the story of Silla's long history to the present day, is an essential tourist spot for any visit to Gyeongju.
The Gyeongju National Museum, which displays various relics from the Silla period, has a total area of over 2 square meters and includes the Silla History Hall in the main building, the Silla Art Museum, Wolji Hall, Special Exhibition Hall, Outdoor Garden, and King Seongdeok the Great Bell, with approximately 2 relics on display.
Silla History Museum in the main building in front of Gyeongju Museum
<A room in the Silla History Museum>
<A room in the Silla History Museum>
<A room in the Silla History Museum>
<A room in the Silla History Museum>
The Silla History Museum, the main building of Gyeongju Museum, displays various relics with the themes of the founding and growth of Silla in Room 1, Silla as a golden nation in Room 2, the nation of powerful kings in Room 3, and the rise and fall of Silla in Room 4. In particular, Room 2 is filled with a variety of gold relics and Silla earthenware excavated from the Namburh, Cheonmachong Tomb, and Geumgwanchong Tomb of Hwangnamdaechong in downtown Gyeongju.
Silla Museum of Art
The two-story Silla Museum displays various stone Buddha statues brought from various places in Gyeongju, including Namsan Mountain, and on the second floor is a model of Hwangnyongsa Temple, the largest temple in Silla. Wolji Hall displays relics excavated from the pond of Imhaejeon, which was built as a villa for the royal palace shortly after the unification of the Three Kingdoms.
Tsukichikan
In addition, the outdoor garden displays the King Seongdeok the Great Divine Bell, famous as the Emily Bell, stone Buddha statues, and stone pagodas from the Goseonsa Temple ruins. Located diagonally to the right of the museum's main gate, the King Seongdeok the Great Divine Bell is an astounding 3.6 meters tall and weighs 18.9 tons. It is the largest bell in Korea and has been designated National Treasure No. 29.
King Seongdeok the Great's Divine Bell (National Treasure No. 29) hanging in the garden of Gyeongju Museum
The King Seongdeok Great Bell (also known as Emire's Bell) hanging in the garden of the museum is a temple bell that was cast by King Gyeongdeok, the 35th king of Silla, to commemorate his late father, King Seongdeok, but failed. His son, King Hyegong, carried out his father's wishes and completed it in 771. There are reliefs of flying celestial beings and lotus motifs on the surface, but there is a sad legend behind this bell.
No sound came out of the bell, and no matter how many times they cast it, the result was the same. One night, a prophecy was heard that "If a young girl born in the year of the dragon, month of the dragon, day of the dragon, and hour of the dragon is melted along with the bell, a soul will reside in the bell and it will ring." So they threw the young girl into the boiling copper crucible and successfully completed the bell, but among the sound, a low, sad cry of "Emire (mother)" could be heard, and so it came to be called Emire's Bell.
It would take a considerable amount of time to see all the artifacts at Gyeongju Museum, so if you're short on time, it's still worthwhile to just look around the main museum building and the Silla History Museum.
| spot name | Gyeongju National Museum Gungnikgyeongjupanmulgwan |
|---|---|
| Address | 76, Inwang-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do (Road name address: 186, Iljeong-ro) 76(186) |
| Phone | 054-740-7500 |
| Time | (Weekdays) 10:00-18:00 (Culture Day *last Wednesday of every month) 10:00-21:00 |
| Holiday | January 1st, Lunar New Year's Day, Chuseok Day |
| Admission fee | Free |
| Site | http://gyeongju.museum.go.kr |
| directions | Take bus numbers 11, 600, or 603 from Gyeongju Station or Bus Terminal. |
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