Lighter your body and mind these days when you can feel the warm sunshine and pleasant spring breeze. The cherry trees that were snowing have receded, and the green leaves and yellow rapeseed flowers catch our eye, stop our gaze, and we can fully enjoy the beautiful scent of Gyeongju along with the spring flowers.
A town full of history
Gyeongju Gyochon Village is a place where tiled houses are gathered one by one to form a village. However, it's not easy to find this image in cities.
Currently, Gyeongju Kyochon has Gyeongju Gyochon Village, which restored traditional hanok villages from the Joseon Dynasty, centered around Hyanggyo and Choi's old house. This town can be said to be a complex cultural space that preserves the original forms of cultural sites and includes a PR center where you can see the past and present at a glance, as well as an experience center where you can experience traditional culture firsthand.
There are many important Silla ruins nearby, centered around Hyanggyo and Choi's old house, and the place that has the characteristics of Joseon culture within Silla culture is Gyeongju Kyochon Hanok Village.
Kyochon in Gyeongju is the place where Gukhak, the first national university on the Korean Peninsula, was located in the 2nd year of King Shinmun of Silla (682). The towns are called “Gyo-dong,†“Kyochon,†and “Gyori†because Hyanggyo is located here. It is also the site of Yeoseokgung, where Won Hyo-dae and Princess Yoseok shared their love during the Silla period.
After passing through the entrance to Kyochon Village, there is a large space where you can play folk games, and there are folk games that anyone of all ages can enjoy. Like a hanok village, you can experience a variety of activities such as hooping, tuho, playing games, and running around.
Leave behind the fun of folk games and walk around Hanok Village. The neatly placed black tiled roof comes in comfortably. While walking through the alley, the yard is filled with a similar feeling of comfort, as if it were different from house to house. The view of the sky captured on the flowing roof is beautiful.
In the quiet alleyways and the cozy and elegant alleys, I was very careful when walking, and I naturally walked slowly as if I were standing.
If you look down at the neatly raised black roof tiles over the fence, the panoramic view cannot be so beautiful. It's a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and feel relaxed.
As you walk along the street, you can see the richest man's old house, Choi's old house, which showed the image of the right rich man.
There is no one who doesn't know Choi's old house next to Namcheon, which flows through the Wolseong castle, and the richest house in Gyeongju. He kept his fortune for 12 to 400 years and produced nine major Jinsa. In particular, he is widely known for helping poor neighbors and practicing Korea's Noblesse Oblieu. We are running the Gyeongju Richest Academy to contribute to the development of local communities and countries through the creative succession of the richest person spirit.
Today, the 'â–¡' main house, Sarangchae, Daemunchae, and shrine remain, and Sarangchae was destroyed by a fire in 1970, but was restored in 2006 to preserve the original form of Yangbanjip from the Joseon Dynasty.
While I was looking around the old house, I was able to see a cat sleeping on the floor even though it was popular, breaking the quiet silence. It seemed so comfortable to lie down and sleep on the floor where the spring breeze blew. A smile kept on my face the whole time I took the picture.
“Woljeonggyo†creates relationships
If you leave the old house and walk down a large alley, you'll see Woljeonggyo Bridge (Historic Site No. 457), which is undergoing restoration work. Many visitors to this place don't know if this path is a “path of love where two people become one.â€
Woljeong Temple seems to have been used as the main transportation route in the area west of Silla Wanggyeong, and it is estimated that it survived for more than 520 years since there is a record that it was destroyed in the 6th year of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo (1280). This place is presumed to be Confucian where Daishi Won Hyo and Princess Yo-seok formed a relationship.
In Muncheon, which flows under Woljeonggyo Bridge, you can still see the lyrical and beautiful scenery of young girls picking their backs.
Hanok cafe 'Gabi' with a panoramic view of Woljeong Jeong Street
View of Mount Gumgang after a meal. It would be scary if you didn't go to this cafe after visiting the town.
This is a view of a hanok cafe with a roof tiled roof rising high. The word “Gabi†is an old transliteration of coffee in kanji, but the transliteration word for coffee seems to be a hanok cafe topped with elegant hanbok.
Once inside, the clean interior and old-fashioned accessories add a comfortable and cozy atmosphere along with the interior.
The narrow store is not stuffy with a visible, rolling partition, and is built without getting in the way of each other's tables, making the use of space stand out.
If you sit here and have a cup of coffee, you'll feel more relaxed. In addition to coffee, healthy traditional teas are also available. The tea bag placed on the teacup is dazzling once more. It's also nice to sit by the window and finish with a relaxed mind.
As you walk through the narrow streets of Gyeongju Gyochon Hanok Village, you'll feel nostalgic as you think of them facing each other on a low fence. I think the appeal of visiting Hanok Village is that it has the “taste of walking slowly�
You can forget the scent of the city for a while in this place with its humble hanok and flowing tiles. It would be great to finish off with a night view of Kyochon Hanok Village illuminating one or two lights as the sun sets.