Daereung-won Tumuli Park (Royal Burial Grounds)

Description:

• If you see only one tomb park in South Korea, this should be it. Tumuli Park contains 23 of the over 200 royal tombs found in Gyeongju. At times, the sense of history, and of secrets buried along with the royals, is almost palpable in the quiet between the large grass-covered mounds. Of the various round burial mounds only the 13m-high (43-ft.) Cheongmachong (Heavenly Horse) Tomb has been excavated (in 1974). The excavation of this tomb, presumed to be from the 5th century, revealed over 10,000 treasures inside, including a well-preserved ceremonial saddle piece made of painted bark stitched with leather. The tomb is named after a painting of a galloping horse -- the first pre-Shilla Dynasty painting found in Korea -- and is open for you to see how it was constructed and how the artifacts were arranged. Another tomb, the Hwangnamdaechong, is the largest in the area (23m/7.5ft high and 123m/41ft long) and was the tomb of a king and queen, likely King Soji and his wife, who were buried around A.D. 500. With over 30,000 relics, like earrings, glass beads, and a magnificent crown of gold, archeologists are able to get a sense of the extravagant lifestyles of the Shilla royalty. Of interesting note is that the queen's tomb is more elaborately decorated than the king's.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010