Gyeongju

A short train ride out of Busan, Gyeongju is a small tourist town home to the Bulguksa Temple and a remodelled old quarter next to the remains of the ancient Donggung Palace.

This region was the unifying seat of power of the Silla Kingdom (pronounced ‘shilla’) ~50BC to 900ish CE. These archaeological sites are significant in modern South Korea’s self-narrative: harking back to a time when there was a hierarchical tradition in the south, distinct from the later northern kingdom. Essentially, the rebuilding of the Buddhist temples, Bulguksa in particular, and the archaeological care for the Silla evidence is a way to assert historical sovereignty. A non-threatening way to say ‘we own this peninsula.’ Can you tell Chelsea’s been doing some reading and interpretation?

After a quick meal of gimbap, we had a lovely evening walk around the Wolseong grounds, as well as the palace and Wolji pond at night. The next day we visited Bulguksa Temple and then relaxed in the Gyochon traditional area, with a much needed burrito at a Mexican restaurant. We don’t feel even slightly bad about this break from local food as it appears to be a crime to eat anything Korean that hasn’t got a mountain of mince slopped on top of it (gimbap excepted). The struggle for veggie food has been a real surprise, given how developed South Korea is in other ways. We've also been enjoying some of the badly-translated menu items—see photos!

Much of the past week has been spent strategising our next four months across China and Central Asia, which is really quite a lot of ground to cover. The planning has been exciting though, and we’re looking West with anticipation.Læs mere