Gyeongju
Appearance
Gyeongju City | |
---|---|
Korean Name | |
Revised Romanization | Gyeongju-si |
McCune-Reischauer | Kyŏngju-shi |
Hangul | 경주시 |
Hanja | 慶州市 |
Gyeongju is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which ruled most of the Korean Peninsula from the 7th to the 9th centuries. At that time, the city was called "Seorabeol" (서라벌; 西羅伐). Today, Gyeongju is a major cultural site and tourist destination for South Koreans. To the east of the city is Bulguksa—one of South Korea's largest Buddhist temples—and Seokguram, a Buddhist shrine. (For much more on the ancient capital and its modern historic remains, please see the article Silla).