abbles in stereo: Gyochon Traditional Village, Gyeongju (Day 4)

Just like the Yangdong Folk village, the Gyeongju Gyochon Village is another traditional village of old hanok houses that offers visitors a glimpse into life during the Joseon period. One of the famous sites here is the Gyeongju Hyanggyo, a Confucian academy and shrine, where Korea’s first state-operated educational institute “Gukhak” was established in 682.

The village is also well known for being home to twelve generations of the Gyeongju Choe clan. They built an immense hanok mansion on the property which spanned 99 kan, the upper limit allowed for the house of non-royals during the Joseon period. While they were the richest landowners in the region, the Choe clan were widely admired due to their public-spiritedness and generosity to their poor neighbours. Businessman and philanthropist Choe Jun (1884-1970), one of their descendants, was also known for giving away much of his fortune to set up Yeungnam University.

stone statues at the entrance of the village

We visited the village after lunch and although it was a scorching hot day, there were surprisingly many visitors at the village. Perhaps the reason is because there are no entry fees to this place and it is very close to other Gyeongju attractions such as Cheomseongdae Observatory and Wolseong

Fortress.

interior of the hanok houses

living quarters

many earthen pots for fermenting all kinds of stuff

Despite the heat, we had an enjoyable walk around the village, admiring the elegant hanok architecture. We also saw many families enjoying picnics under the shady trees and the kids were happily running around with their ice-creams.

families having picnic

food truck!

Somehow, this place feels more commercialised than the Yangdong Folk Village, which has fully retained its rural charm. Restaurants, cafes, handicraft and souvenir shops have moved in and set up shop inside the modernized Hanok buildings - a stylish blend of culture and modernity (just like Korea itself).

cafes and bike rental shops

As we were wandering around the huge compound, we also found a place which allowed visitors to try on various types of hanboks. I saw a couple of Caucasian tourists having a ball there but as we were hurrying back to the bus, we had to give it a miss.

wonder who lives here!

After an hour of so, our tour moved to the last (and most exciting) stop of the day: a hike through the woods! First, our guide brought us to Poseokjeong (Pavilion of Stone Abalone) which was the site on which a royal pavilion of the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.~A.D. 935) was once built. The pavilion was known to be the most beautiful royal villa at the time, but unfortunately, we can't see any of it because all that remains today is only a granite water feature in the shape of an abalone. It is said that the king's officials and noble guests would sit along the water feature, chatting and reciting poetry, and playing drinking games. The guests would float their cups of alcohol in the water and when the cup stops at another guest, the person would have to drink up and recite a poem. How's that for a poetic and highly intelligent drinking game!

Photo Credit: Korea Tourism Organisation

Of course, we didn't know any of these interesting history tidbits when we were visiting the place, as the tour was conducted entirely in Korean! Instead, we were busy snapping pictures of the lovely woods around us.

Our tour guide (with the mic) surrounded by the tour participants

coffee in a beautiful hanok building

After a brief stop at Poseokjeong, we trekked on some more to the Gyeongju Samneung, which are the three royal tombs that house three kings of the Silla Kingdom: King Adala (8th King of the Dynasty), King Sindeok (53rd) and King Gyeongmyeong (54th). One of the tombs were robbed in 1963 and a full-scale excavation found it to have a stone chamber with a tunnel entrance.

as we go a-wandering

one of the burial mounds

pretty trees and skies

Despite not being able to understand a word of what our tour guide was saying, this tour was still a pretty great way to spend the day. I'm glad we came. It's such a unique experience walking through the beautiful forest of pine trees. It's simply so peaceful and serene! Also, we certainly would not have found these places if not for our tour guide. The hiking trail is completely unmarked!

If only we understood Korean! Here, the other tour participants are listening intently to our tour guide as she explained the history behind the sights.

the woods

Our final destination on the tour was the Sambulsa Temple which means Three Buddhas Temple in English. Our tour guide brought us to a wooden pavilion nearby the temple courtyard where three Buddhist statues stood. These three statues were originally scattered around a nearby temple and then moved here in 1923. All three are believed to date back to the 7th century during the Silla Kingdom. As we visited during Buddha's Birthday, there were many colourful lanterns decorating the premises.