Five historical districts of Gyeongju City. Namsan District (남산 지구)

irisworld (64)in #jjangjjangman • 6 years ago (edited)

Today we will have a tour of the historical districts of Gyeongju and get acquainted with the legends of the city, which have been passed down from generation to generation for many centuries.

Rich in historical and cultural heritage, Gyeongju City became a tourist center of South Korea. The current administration of the city is trying to maintain this "status" by organizing various events aimed at attracting tourists.

Gyeongju Historic Areas since 2000 are the World Heritage of UNESCO and are considered one of the largest outdoor museums in the world.

Namsan District (남산 지구)
The Namsan region is located in the belt of the Namsan Mountain with the same name, near which there are "ruins of 122 temples, 64 stone pagodas, 53 stone statues and 16 stone lamps." This area is famous for its "Buddhist spirit". There are many statues of Buddha here. And also, the history of the city says that at one time in this territory there were more than 100 Buddhist temples.

Another attraction of this area is Phosokchon (포석정), where once there was a royal pavilion surrounded by pine and bamboo, in which palace events and feasts were held. However, today there is only a stone bed of a small stream of Koksu (곡 수거), 10.3 meters long and 5 meters wide. The brook was built during the reign of the Silla Dynasty and consists of 63 granite blocks about 26 centimeters deep and about 35 centimeters wide.

When official receptions were held in the pavilion, bowls of wine floated along this stream. The guests sat around Koksu and played Yusankoksu (유상 곡수). The essence of the game was that it was necessary to compose brief poems. It was necessary to have time to come up with a poem before the cup of wine arrived. And the one who did not have time to come up with had to drink the cup to the bottom.

Koksu (곡 수거)

And there is a legend that during the reign of King Hongan (헌강왕) one of the guests of such feasts was the spirit of Namsan. He appeared before the king and began to dance. The king danced with the spirit. So the divine dance Omusansimu (어 무산 신무) was born.

In 1963, Phosokchon became number 1 in the list of the historical heritage of South Korea.

And at the foot of Mount Namsan, there is a pond of Sochhulji (서출지), which in Korean means "a message from the pond". There were many legends about this pond. Why is the pond called "Message from the pond"?

pond of Sochhulji (서출지)

Once, in 488, when the kingdom of Silla reigned King Sozhi (소지왕), he met a mouse and a crow. The mouse asked the master to follow the crow. Then Sozhi ordered his retinue to follow the crow. But after a while, they lost their way and found themselves near a pond. Suddenly an old man appeared with an envelope in his hands. He asked the king's suite to hand this envelope to the king himself. And then again disappeared into the pond. On the envelope it was written: "If 2 people do not die, 1 will die." And this one man was a king. Inside the envelope was a note, which stated that the king should shoot from his bow in a case for komongo (a national Korean musical instrument). The king returned to the palace and fired a bow in a case. And when he opened it, there were pierced by the arrow of the body of the queen and the court monk, plotting a conspiracy against the emperor.

If you have any questions about Korea don't hesitate to contact me here or via instagram .