World Heritage Tour in Korea: Gyeongju Historic Areas - a unique outdoor museum

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This region of the country houses a wonderful collection of Korean Buddhist art from the ancient Silla Kingdom, which can be found both above and below ground.

The Gyeongju Historic Areas encompasses a remarkable concentration of wonderful examples of Korean Buddhist art, in the form of sculptures, reliefs, pagodas, and the remains of temples and palaces, including the renowned Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto. Gyeongju City and its surroundings have inherited traces of the glory of this unique artistic expression that blossomed and withered in the ancient Silla Kingdom (BC 57 - AD 935).

Excavations of this delightful city and its outer reaches reveal a treasure trove of buried secrets. The ruins of Wolseong, the Half Moon Palace; many temple and fortress sites, including Hwangnyongsa, the Temple of the Yellow Dragon; the exquisite astronomical observatory of Cheomseongdae; huge royal mounds; and ancient wells and bridges have provided a wealth of archaeological data.From royal tombs and palace sites, to stone sculptures and rock-cut reliefs of the Buddha, to pottery buried for more than a millennia, Gyeongju holds thousands of relics within its noble embrace that embody Buddhist teachings and compassion.

The Gyeongju Historic Areas comprises a wealth of beautiful and wondrous artifacts for studying Buddhist culture and the arts of the Far East, as well as for studying the techniques of the ancient kingdoms most talented and gifted craftsmen. This area is considered to be an outdoor museum, where this magnificent collection of beautiful examples of Korean Buddhist art is housed within nature.