Map of Gyeongju City (click for more detail)
One of my pet peeves with the tourist information available in English about Gyeongju is the deal with maps. First off, if you search online, it seems nearly impossible to find any decent maps of Gyeongju. As a public service I’m posting a couple of good ones that I’ve scanned, both in Korean and English. You can click on them for a more detailed view.
Korean Map of Gyeongju City (click for more detail)
Over the last couple of years the tourist info available in English about Gyeongju has actually gotten a lot better, like the free guidebook “Gyeongju: the evergreen spirit of the Silla…” (available at the tourist kiosks by the train and bus stations). It’s mostly been the same with the English tourists maps. They look way nicer now and they include a lot more details about tourists sights, restaurants, etc.
Map of Mt. Namsan, Gyeongju (click for more detail)
That said, by prettying things up, some of the English maps have lost a lot of detail as far as actual roads and or hiking trails. As a hiker and a cyclist, this can be a big problem. Case in point, they’ve put out a new English map of Mt. Namsan. Through some oversight, they actually forgot to put any of the bloody trails on the map, so it’s not very useful if you actually want to do any hiking. If you plan on climbing Namsan, be sure to pick up the Korean map available at the tourist info kiosks before you head off. Even if you can read Korea, it’s got the trails marked on it so you can hopefully figure out where you’re going and how to get back:
Korean Map of Mt. Namsan, Gyeongju (click for more detail)
About a year ago, I found a very nice English topographic hiking map of Mt. Namsan for sale at the parking lot at Samreung Valley at the foot of Mt. Namsan. It’s the best I’ve seen so far, but it’s dated from the mid 1990′s (hence the weird Korean Romanization). I haven’t found it any where else around town so I’m scanning it and posting it here for public use:
English Topographic Map of Mt. Namsan (click to enlarge)
My last gripe here is with Google Maps and Google Earth. For some daft reason Google has the satellite images of Gyeongju in very low resolution. Considering that Gyeognju is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korea, this just shows how out of touch Google is with their Korean market. Both Daum and Naver have far superior resolution, but unfortunately their navigation controls are only in Korean. Instead, I’ll be using Google Maps for my posts on this blog so readers can actually use them. However, if you can figure out the controls, Naver Maps kicks Google Maps butt in terms of detail:
|
Not only does Naver Maps have way better satellite resolution, they’ve also gone to the trouble of marking the topography and hiking routes on most of the major hiking destinations in Korea. Be to check it out before you head off hiking. You can print the map by hitting the “인쇄” at the top right and you can save the map by hitting “저장.”
| 2010.11.28 | 지도 크게 보기 | © NHN Corp. |
About
12 Comments
Many thanks for the detailed Gyeongju map. We’ll be making a trip there soon and this would be very useful.
Pingback: Day 2 – Gyeong Ju | Witching Hour
Pingback: Day 2 – Gyeong Ju | Witching Hour – Sang Hyun 상현
Thanks for that great blog! I’m in Gyeongju right now and am really enjoying it. This is my last day, but as I leave, I’m thinking that it would be great to add an explanation of how the buses work in this area. It took me a day of learning as I’m not normally a bus user. It would be nice if the city published a bus route/map and schedule that tourist could take along with them.
Cheers!
Leo
Thanks for the feedback Leo. Honestly, I must admit that I don’t really understand the bus system either as I drive or cycle most places. An English guide tot he bus system is a great idea though, as most foreign visitors don’t have cars. I’ll pass it along.
Pingback: Gyeongju Cycling Courses and Maps | Gyeongjublog.com
Hi, i am very impressed with your blog…….so informative and awesome blog! I was wondering is the KTX line from Gyeongju to Seoul operational now. I will be in Korea from Aug 3 – Aug 16 and i would like to visit Gyeongju.
Yes, May, it is. You can can find the timetables and book KTX tickets here: http://www.korail.com/en/rv/pr21100/w_pr21110.jsp Please note the station is spelled “Singyeongju” and you should use the website with Internet Explorer. I hope you have a good visit!
hi, we plan to travel to Korea in March 2013. we will put up a night at Gyeongju. I wish to cover the following places:
Andong:
- hahoe village
- 屏山书院
- 灵岩
Daegu
- seomun market
- haeinsa temple
Pohang
- Oksan Seowon
- Dongnakdang
Gyeongju
- stay in town center
- yangdong folk village
could you pls advise which is the best folk village to visit? it seems we only stay a night there.
Kindly revert.
Actually Oksan Seowon and Yandong Folk Village are very close to each other. It’s only about a 10 minute drive between them actually. You can see both together in an afternoon. The valley around Oksan Seowon is really beautiful, so I suggest taking an hour to walk around the area. I think you can stay the night in both Tokrak-dang, next to Oksan Seowon, or in a minbak in Yandong Village. Either would be more interesting than staying in Gyeongju city. However they might be a little bit cold in March. Good luck and I hope you have a good trip!
My wife and I will be visiting Gyeongju for a week around end Mar and early Apr. We found your blog very informative and would probably follow some of the itineraries mentioned by you. We intend to use the local buses. Where can I get info regarding the bus timetables? Are there any places slightly further away from Gyeongju that is worth visiting to within a 50-80km radius? Thanks!
Hi Richard, you can get info on the local bus timetables at the tourist info kiosk on the corner between the two bus stations (http://me2.do/xi8M4iH). Also, if you read Korean, Naver Maps (see previous link)includes the local bus numbers and their timetables and routes Bus #11 & #10 both stop at Mt. Namsan, Bomun Restort and Bulguksa Temple. They run every 20 or 30 minutes and go on a loop in opposite directions. As for things to do in an 80 km radius, there are lots. Check out this post for some suggestions: http://www.sherwinvjones.com/gyeongjublog/2010/08/10-days-in-gyeongju/