Browsing the archives for the legends tag

10 Jul 10

Top 10 ancient Tombs of Gyeongju: Part 2

Continued from Part 1….
5. Neoseo-ri Tombs (너서리왕릉): Once surrounded by houses, the half dozen or so tombs of Noseo-ri have been cleared of buildings and made into oasis-like park in the midst of downtown Gyeongju. Just across the street from Bonghangdae tomb, this park is a great spot for tomb watching, an afternoon picnic or [...]

2 Comments Posted in Gyeongju, Sites to see, Tips for tourists, Tombs, Top 10, history by Sherwin
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30 Jun 10

Top 10 ancient Tombs of Gyeongju: Part 1

One of the things that make Gyeongju noticeably unique among Korean cities are all of the ancient Shilla hill tombs scattered about. Some of them are pretty darn impressive actually, as they range from one to two millennia old and most of them are at least a couple stories high. Not to mention [...]

3 Comments Posted in Gyeongju, Sites to see, Stories, legends & people, Tips for tourists, Tombs, Top 10, history by Sherwin
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20 Jun 10

Gyeongju Guide Books

Over the last couple of months I’ve managed to collect a few really killer guidebooks on the Gyeongju, mostly through tips from friends and browsing through the Gyeongju National Museum book store.  If you’re visiting Gyeongju, you’d be doing yourself a big favor by picking up at least one of these books and giving it [...]

0 Comments Posted in Book Reviews, Gyeongju, Stories, legends & people, Tips for tourists, history, photography by Sherwin
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30 Mar 10

The Four-sided Buddha of Gulbulsa Temple (굴불사)

Just a few blocks down from City Hall in Dongcheon-dong is one of the lesser known historical gems in Gyeongju, the four-sided Buddha of  Gulbulsa Temple (굴불사).  The original Shilla era structures of Gulbulsa are long gone, but remaining is a striking four-sided Buddha, or samyeonseokbul (사면석불), chiseled out of a large boulder.  In fact, [...]

3 Comments Posted in Buddhist culture, Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju, Ruins & remains, Stories, legends & people, Temples & shrines, Tips for tourists by Sherwin
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29 Mar 10

Ichadon (이차돈) Continued

My wife and I went out for a short hike yesterday on Mt. Geumgansan (금강산) to get some exercise and enjoy a bit of the Spring weather.  As I’d just posted on the legend of of Ichadon (이차돈), I figured we’d take walk up to Baegyulsa Temple (배귤사), which was built on the spot where [...]

0 Comments Posted in Buddhist culture, Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju, Shamanism, Stories, legends & people, Temples & shrines by Sherwin
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25 Mar 10

Shilla Legend: The Martyrdom of Ichadon (이차돈)

If you visit enough Buddhist temples here in Korea, you might come across some pretty gnarly scenes painted on the sides of these hollowed halls, such as the gothic  tortures of the Hell Realms or the gruesome image of the 2nd Patriarch of Zen, or Seon (선) Buddhism, chopping off his left arm (but more [...]

3 Comments Posted in Buddhist culture, Gyeongju, Shamanism, Stories, legends & people, Temples & shrines, Tombs by Sherwin
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26 Jan 10

Golgulsa Temple (골굴사)

Though it’s not quite Korea’s answer to the Shaolin Monastery of China, Golgulsa Temple (골굴사) is one of the more unique temples in the Gyeongju area and it’s pretty darn cool. If you’re on your way over to King Munmu’s tomb (문무대왕릉) on the East Coast, it’s well worth taking an hour or so to [...]

1 Comment Posted in Buddhist culture, East Sea, Gyeongju, Statues & carvings, Temples & shrines, Tips for tourists by Sherwin
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10 Jan 10

Underwater Tomb of King Munmu the Great (문무대왕릉)

With friends visiting for the New Year, we decided to make use of our new set of wheels and go exploring a bit.  On New Year’s day we made the 45 min. trek over the mountains to Bonggil Beach (봉길해수욕장) on the East Sea, though were a bit too late to catch the sunrise, as [...]

8 Comments Posted in Gyeongju, Shamanism, Stories, legends & people, Tips for tourists, Tombs by Sherwin
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30 Dec 09

The Legend of Asadal (아사달) and Asanyeo (아산여)

If you’ve had the pleasure of visiting Bulguksa temple (불국사), you’ve probably admired the twin masterpieces of Seokgatap (석가탑) and Dabotap (다보탑) pagodas in the main courtyard (if you haven’t yet, Dabotap is on the face side of the 10 won coin).  What you may not have known is that there is a tragic legend [...]

0 Comments Posted in Bulguk-dong, Gyeongju, Statues & carvings, Stories, legends & people by Sherwin
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7 Dec 09

Links: The Hwarang (화랑) Warriors of the Shilla Dynasty

 
I was going to include this with my new links  post a few days back, but it was so cool I figured it need a posting of it’s own.   Last week I stumbled onto the official website of the Hwarang Do martial arts organization .  If you’ve read anything about the history of the Shilla [...]

3 Comments Posted in Stories, legends & people, Websites by Sherwin
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