Gyeongju Historic Areas
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How it came to be
Gyeongju was the capital of Silla, which ruled for almost 1,000 years, from 57 BC to AD 935. The World Heritage property is made up of five areas in the city centre and its outskirts. The Mount Namsan Belt, around the sacred mountain of Korean Buddhism, covers 2,650 ha; at the time of inscription it had yielded the remains of 122 temples, 53 stone statues, 64 pagodas and 16 stone lanterns.
The Wolseong Belt holds the ruined palace of Wolseong, the Gyerim woodland where legend places the birth of the founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, Anapji Pond on the site of the ruined Imhaejeon Palace, and the Cheomseongdae observatory. The Tumuli Park Belt has three groups of royal tombs, whose excavated burials held gold, glass and fine ceramics. The Heavenly Horse Tomb contained a winged horse painted on a birch-bark saddle flap.
The Hwangnyongsa Belt contains Bunhwangsa Temple and the ruins of Hwangnyongsa. Built under King Jinheung (540 to 576) and covering about 72,500 m2, Hwangnyongsa was the largest temple ever built in Korea. A nine-storey pagoda 80 m high was added in 645 and burned during the Mongol invasions in 1238. The Bunhwangsa pagoda dates from 634. The Sanseong Fortress Belt, guarding the east coast and other strategic points, includes Myeonghwal Mountain Fortress; the property was inscribed in 2000.
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