1 Day at Gyyeongju 경주

Summer Break is finally here! Yay! Do you want to enjoy a quick 1 day trip to the beautiful historical city, Gyyeongju (경주)?

I'm sure if you love traveling and discovering new places like me your answer would be "YES!". So here are some tips and a 1-day plan for you to enjoy Gyyeongju this Summer.

Gyyeongju is called the "Golden City" or "The Museum Without Walls” and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korea, especially for visitors who are interested in the cultural heritage of the Silla dynasty and the architecture of the Joseon dynasty.

Tip #1: before planning your one day trip to any destination, check out the distance between where you live and the desired city and the best traveling method. In my opinion it won't be worth a one day visit to a place that will take more than 3 hours to get there.

From my location in Daegu, it takes me around an 1 hour and 13 minutes by a Mugunghwa train (무궁화호). You can book your train ticket by visiting Let's Korail or their apps [Google Play | App Store]

Duration and fees to get to SinGyyeongju station [신경주]

From Seoul by Mugunghwa train: 5h 45m ₩ 23,800 - [From Cheongnyangni Station 청량리역]

From Daegu Mugunghwa train: 1h 13 minutes ₩5,000 [From DongDaegu Station 동대구역]

From Busan KTX train: 29 minutes ₩9,300 [From Busan Station 부산역]

It takes around 1 hour from Daegu to Gyyeongju and with that we can travel at 10 am, enjoy exploring 3 places in the city and get back by to Daegu by 10 pm.

The Trip Itinerary:

11:30 - 01:30 Gyochon Traditional Village (교촌마을)

01:30 - 02:30 Lunch Break

02:30 - 04:30 Bulguksa Temple (불국사)

04:30 - 06:30 Hwangnidan street (황리단길)

For the trip we heard a lot about cherry blossom trees in Gyyeongju and its historical heritage so we planed the day according to the distance between the places and the best time to visit them. My friend and I started our visit by going to Gyochon Traditional Village (교촌마을), then enjoy the cherry blossom trees at Bulguksa Temple (불국사) end our day with a good meal at Hwangnidan street (황리단길).

Tip #2: Search the area before traveling and save the locations that you want to visit using Kakao Map, Google Map or Naver Map. In order to use your time more efficiently and enjoy your trip.

Gyochon Traditional Village

(교촌마을)

After arriving to Gyyengju Station we headed to our first destination Gyochon Traditional Village by car [it took 15 minutes to reach the village] and took a walk between it's historical alleys and it's beautiful park. We ended up the visit by walking near Woljeonggyo Bridge.

Fun Trivia: Train to Busan & Coffee Prince's actor Gong Yoo took lots of pictures for one his advertisements campaign in the traditional village.

Bulguksa Temple

(불국사)

Cherry Blossom Trees heaven! We took an express bus from Gyochon Traditional Village to the temple that is located on the slopes of Mount Toham. It cost ₩1,250 and took us around 35 minutes to reach it.

To visit the temple you have to pay a fee [Adult ₩6,000] but you can enjoy the park around the temple for free and see the beautiful cherry blossom tree [Depending on the season you are traveling in].

Hwangnidan Street

(황리단길)

Last destination before heading home. Is the popular street food Hwangnidan-Gil filled with unique cafes and Korean traditional restaurants. We visited the famous Café Ohi with it's rooftop that showcase the city highlight where the famous actor Gong Yoo took a beautiful photo there. We grabbed a coffee and saw the sunset there before heading home.

With that we ended our trip and hope that you can now plan yours and share it with us at the World Reports Forum.