Next week, there is going to be a relatively large event in Korea: APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum). This is an event where leaders from 21 countries are coming together to discuss policy and economics. In true Korean fashion, there has been an official over-the-top video created for the event, it's definitely worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JWz25QeUeE(Anyone look familiar? 😉)
But enough about the politics and stuff, we wanna talk about where it is hosted: 경주! 👑
경주 is an old city that was previously the capital of the 신라 dynasty (57 BC – 935 AD). It is home to many 유네스코 (UNESCO) 세계유산 (세계 (world) + 유산 (heritage)) sites! Some of the most famous things in 경주 are the 오릉 (five tombs). These are massive hills that are to honor dead royalty!
But there are so many of these around 경주 and they can be quite imposing! Here's a picture from our trip last year that hopefully gives a better sense of scale!
I wonder how they mow the grass on the mounds...
There is one tomb (the 천마총 = Heavenly Horse Tomb) where you're able to go inside and it is essentially a museum of recreated artifacts from the 신라 kingdom including a 금관 (gold crown) like below. Although, it is theorized that the gold crown was more of a burial artifact rather than a day-to-day, ruling-the-kingdom-and-doing-your-kingly-duties kind of crown. ß
But it is named 천마총 because within the tomb itself it had an ancient painting of -- you guessed it -- a heavenly horse:
Heaven looks awfully dark...
One thing not many people know is that 경주 actually extends to the sea and is technically a coastal city. It has a coast along 동해 (East Sea) and right there is a famous grave of 문무대왕 (King Munmu the Great) called 문무대왕릉 (King Munmu the Great's Grave -- obvious, eh?)
문무대왕릉
문무대왕 was incredibly important for the history of Korea since he was the ruler who finally unified the three kingdoms of Korea (신라, 백제, and 고구려) into the Later Silla Kingdom so they can form a unified protection along the East Sea, where Japanese forces historically posed a threat.
So, all in all, 경주 is an absolutely cool place to visit if you haven't been! We only scratched the surface talking about the history here, there are famous palaces, new shopping streets, delicious food, and, if you happen to be a world leader reading this, the 2025 host of APEC!
P.S. In case you were wondering, yes, 경주 does have a mascot (two in fact!) and here they are in all their regality:
경주 has this amazing program where you can try on these traditional clothes from Silla (신라복) for free! So you can walk around pretending as if you're in the Silla dynasty in the year 600 AD and take beautiful pictures with some cherry blossoms nearby! When we went we were like "Really? This is free?" and they enthusiastically said "Yes!" They even help dress you and will take pictures for you if you're nice. 😊