Yangdong Folk Village

Yangdong Folk Village was designated a World Heritage in 2010. It's a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty and famous for the resident of Yangban, intellectuals of upper class. 

It took about 30 minutes from Gyeongju Station to Yangdong. The bus stopped by the main road and I had to walk 15 minutes reaching the village. Two young girls getting off at the same stop were going there too. I just follow them. It was countryside with nothing but hills, trees, a rive and a bridge being buiｌt. In front of the village, many people gathered in the square of a primary school. It seemed there was an event. 

The place I got off from the bus

The village was just on the slope behind that school. The May day was very hot and a huge number of hornets there. I even couldn't find a seat for visitors to have a break. The village is traditional and living -- people still live there, and they build house of the past style in the past way. The advantage of that is the original, otherwise, the disadvantage is also that "original".

I planned to stay at Yangdong for all the afternoon time, walk around, buy some handicrafts or just sit and think. But I only spent an hour there, because it was boring. There were few activities for visitor -- no mini museums and handicraft shops, few cottages could be walked in, and only two cafes and a local flower shop. It was just a village in Korean countryside!

Cottage of upper-class family

Cottage of common family

A wall built in traditional way 

Gyeongju - A City built on the History

I have learned at my middle school history class that Korea Peninsula has Three Kingdoms Period  in history as China has a same-named period. Those three kingdoms were Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. Through fighting with others, finally, Silla (57BC-935) conquered the other two kingdoms and occupied most of the Korea Peninsula. 

Gyeongju was the capital of that Silla Kingdom.

I arrived at Singyeongju in the early morning, and planned to take a bus to Yangdong at 7:50 am. I have checked the timetable in advance, but unfortunately it changed to 8:50 am. NO COMMENTS... The KTX Singyeongju Station is a little far from the Gyeongjy Station of local line located in the center of Gyeongjy City. I must go into the city first, look around and visit Yangdong then. OK, let me catch a bus. I must say it was inconvenient here comparing with Seoul that no signboard was written in other languages besides Korean. There was a bus waiting at bus stop. I had to ask the driver if this bus was bound for the inner town by pointing a map. The driver spoke Korean loudly and showed me the number of bus I should take. An old woman was waiting for that bus with me. She was very friendly and spoke Korean loudly to me too. It must mean "I also take that bus, follow me." -- I enjoyed guessing what Koreans said.

Gyeonjyu Station in the downtown

After about 20 minutes, I got off the bus. It was kind for the bus driver to show me the direction of Gyeonjyu Station, though he had no smile face. It was too early to borrow a bicycle. I decided to walk to Bunhwangsa, an old temple built in Silla era. Bunhwangsa is a small temple with few structures, and really old.The pagoda in the temple is special. It' s said that the pagoda is an important thing to research Silla culture. I've never seen that style in China or Japan before. Since Buddhism was spread from China to Korea then to Japan, I wondered where this style came from and wnet to. 

The Bunhwangsa Pagoda

Main Gate (left) & entrance (right) of Bunhwangsa 

Near the Bunhwangsa, there is the ruin of Hwangnyongsa which is considered the largest temple in Korea history. Hwangnyong written in Chinese characters means Yellow Dragon. Matching the name, this temple was built for protecting the Kingdom of Silla in 6th century. Ironically, this temple was destroyed by Mongolian invasion in 1238 when it was the Goryeo Dynasty. I like this ruin with herbs reached my knees. It was a quiet place and so wide that I could view the far mountains and maybe the ancient dynasties.

Ruin of Hwangnyongsa (the pillars are remains of the temple)

Since I thought it was far and seemed not a bus would come to take me away, I took a taxi to the Cheomseongdae, the oldest astronomical  observatory in East Asia. It is a simple tower made by stone, and the shape is like a glass bottle of milk in the past time. It's cute. I like its shape and like its name more. The Cheomseongdae written in Chinese character means "the tower of looking up stars with respect ". Through this name, I can image the scene that ancient people observe sky on the tower.

Cheomseongdae

Around the Cheomseongdae there are a great number of tumuli of Silla Kings. Contrary to the tombs of Chinese emperors, they are simple without attached structures. They're similar to those in Japan which are covered by trees. It's really so many tumuli that looks like green waves when you see them in a moving car.

Tomb of Naemul of Silla

Cheonmachong, means Heavenly Horse Tomb, is likely the only tomb people can walk in. It's in the Tumuli Park Belt. Maybe because of Saturday, many people went there with family. 

Tumuli Park Belt

Lovely girl with her brother

 I'm sad to say Korea has many wonderful foods, but I haven't eaten much enough. I had some snacks for lunch near Gyeongju Station. It was good taste and price, and I could eat while walking. After the lunch, I went north to Yangdong, returned to the station, and move to south for Bulguksa.

Lunch

The Way to Gyeongju

I left Seoul for Gyeongju very early in the day about 5 o'clock, because I wanted to meet the bus bound for Yangdong Folk Village which was just designated a World Heritage in 2010. I planned to take KTX, Korea Train Express by which it would take 2 hours from Seoul Station to Singyeongju Station. I reserved a Korea Railway Pass for foreign visitors, with which I could make a round trip a day.

 I took a train in South Korea for the first time, and I didn't mention if there was an introduction about how to use KR Pass on the its official website (probably not). I got a KR Pass card in Seoul Station the last day, and just went to the station with it in the morning. The card was just a piece of hard paper. I didn't know how it worked. I kept going to close the train thinking a ticket gate and a station employee would be in front of the train. But it wasn't -- no ticket gate and employees were there. I got on the train and selected a seat to sit down, though I found all of the seats had a number. I was nervous and waiting for the departure. Finally, the train started to move. 

A young female employee came into my car to check ticket after the train left the second station from Seoul Station. When I showed her my poor card, she seemed to have trouble. I asked her if I couldn't take this train with the KR Pass. She said no. She could speak limited English words, and kept to touch the screen of her hand machine. I tried to guess what did she want to say. As a result, I went along the train to look for an unreserved seat car -- I though there would be one, but there were not. I went back to ask the employee. She still touched the machine screen ceaselessly (In fact she was searching a seat for me. I knew it later) while speaking some single English words. What the hell it is? She seemed nervous and to be at a lost. In the end she asked me where to go and gave me a seat number. At that moment, a man in the uniform likely the conductor passed us. The female employee called him and spoke to him about me. I guessed the dialog was as follow.
F: Conductor, this foreigner has a KR Pass but not reserve a seat. 
M: Where will she go? Busan?
F: Singyeongju.
M: Then give her a seat.
F: OK.
M: Where does she come from? Japan?
F: No, China.
Uncle conductor was very nice. I liked his smile. Though I didn't know Korean at all, I got it! How exciting!

When the train was getting close to Gyeongju (I knew it because I kept time and I had a GPS), I prepared to get off the train. The woman asked me something in Korean. I guessed it was "do you get off at the next station?" I nodded definitely. But the next station wasn't Singyeongju which station the train would arrive at several minutes later. Anyway, I arrived in Gyeongju safely. 

When I returned Seoul in the evening, I got to know I should reserve a seat by showing my KR Pass card to the employee in the window of the station before getting on the train.

I took the 5:30 KTX

In the train

Singyeongju Station

In the station

Why did I go to South Korea?

I went to different places for different reasons, most times for fun, sometimes for exciting experiment or just filling the free time, but they're all not the answer. I went to South Korea with a particular purpose.

I have been to Seoul a few years ago when I transferred in Inchon Airport, a place famous for the U.S. army's landing in 1950. The airport was great. You could do shopping, see a show of Korean traditional culture or draw a Korean-style fan for free. I loved these thoughtful details just like that in Japan, while the behavior of the Korean staff were not also -- they were like Chinese more. Two stuffs talked with each other while walking. They were smiling and seemed relax and not saying something not about work. I've never seen that scene in Japan but China. At that moment, I recognized that a portion of this country was similar to China, while the other resembled Japan. Maybe many people who have been in China and Japan can find it easily and feel it too usual to worth thinking. But to me, it's huge.

I have known if I am looking for the differences of two issues, finding a point between them as a reference is likely a good idea. I thought China and Japan were similar to each other. The people look like almost the same. And Chinese elements such as Chinese characters, tea culture, and so on were accepted  by Japan from Tang Period and continued until now. I have been told this SIMILAR theory since I was a child in China. But when I grow up and come to Japan, it makes me confused. At that time I met Korea, the reference point of China and Japan.

I learned Korea history roughly before the journey around South Korea, and found that the nationality is closely related to the geography. Korea Peninsula is between China and Japan, geographically, and socially or politically. As a peninsula, Korea has both Chinese-continental and Japanese-marine natural environment; As a small country, Korea was under the pressure of BIG China and STRONG Japan until 1945 or even now. 

I visited three places in South Korea: Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57BC - 935AD), where a vast number of historical heritage remain, Seoul, the current capital, famous large metropolis and a city you must go to when you visit South Korea, and Panmunjon, a crack of Korea Peninsula, divides a whole country to two portions. 

Now, I'd like to talk about my journey ~