Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering 1,324 km2 with a population of 264,091 people. The city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries.
About Gyeongju in brief
Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering 1,324 km2 with a population of 264,091 people. The city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula at its height between the 7th and 9th centuries. A vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. Among such historical treasures, Seokguram grotto, Bulguksa temple, and Yangdong Folk Village are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Tourism remains the major economic driver, but manufacturing activities have developed due to its proximity to major industrial centers such as Ulsan and Pohang. The early history of the city is closely tied to that of the Silla kingdom, of which it was theCapital. Gyeong Ju is 370 km southeast of Seoul, and 55 km east of Daegu. It borders Cheongdo and Yeongcheon to the west, ULSan to the south and Pahang to the north. To the east lies the coast of the Sea of Japan. Numerous low mountains—outliers of the Taebaek range—are scattered around the city, and the city has a large number of scenic overlooks. The many major historical sites have helped Gyeonju become one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korean.
G Yeongju was once the provincial capital of Yeongnam Province, although this area was greatly reduced in the subsequent 13th century. In 1601, the city ceased to be the provincial center of influence, but remained a regional center of regional influence. It was removed from political importance in 1012, the third year of King Hyeongjong’s reign, due to political rivalries, though it was removed due to the political instability at that time. In the 13th Century, a nine-story wooden pagoda was destroyed at Hwangnyongsa by Japanese invasions. Over the centuries the city suffered numerous assaults by Mongol forces, and it became a provincial capital during these centuries. In 940, the founder of Goryeo, King Taejo, changed the city’s name to \”Gyeongsju\”, which literally means \”Congratulatory district\”. It is similar to 53 other small and medium-sized cities with aPopulation under 300,000 people in South Koreans. It has been the center of Korean political and cultural life since the unification of the peninsula up to Taedong River in 668 AD. Its prosperity became legendary, and was reported as far away as Persia according to the 9th century book The Book of Roads and Kingdoms. In 1995, Gyeongoju was united with the nearby rural GyeONGju County in 1995 and is now an urban–rural complex.
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This page is based on the article Gyeongju published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
