Eating KOREAN CHINESE Food + UNESCO Royal Tombs | Gyeongju, South Korea
My fourth day in South Korea continued in the city of Gyeongju, a coastal city about an hour north of Busan. It’s famous for its 150+ ancient royal tombs! Come along with me as I explore the royal tombs of Gyeongju and have some amazing Korean Chinese food!
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Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla Kingdom for nearly 1,000 years between 57 BC and 935 AD. Its tombs and several other historical sites around the city have been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites! What’s great is that the buildings have retained their traditional architecture due to the area being a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
We started off by walking through a park with lots of trees. Beyond a nearby wall, we could see some of the town. The tombs are massive mounds that are covered in grass and each contains 1 or 2 people from the royal family. Back in the 1960s or 1970s, they opened one of the tombs and found a massive treasure inside! It was moved to the national museum in the area.
Of the over 150 tombs, only 57 of the occupants have been identified! Only one of the site’s tombs can be entered. Inside, I could see where the remains of the occupant’s coffin, as well as lots of gold, silver, pottery, and jewelry. The crown inside the burial chamber is amazing! There’s a second crown on display but I wasn’t sure which one was a replica.
There is a display of the gold pieces that would go around the horse, including the stirrups, bit, saddle, and harness. They’re all made of gold and are really stunning! Even the king’s shoes are gold!
Next, we visited the Observatory, a stone tower that was built in 647. It was the tallest structure at the time, but is only about 30-40 feet tall. It served as a watchtower to look for invaders.
Then we headed to a local restaurant for a Korean Chinese dinner! Our group was given a private dining hall. The restaurant was really nice and fancy!
We started with deep-fried pork with sweet and sour sauce. It looked like sweet and sour chicken and was amazing! It was chewy and was fried just enough to give it a nice crispiness on the outside. It was also quite fatty and had a honey-like glaze on it. It’s something that is unique to Korea!
Then we went with an ice-cold Korean beer, which was light and refreshing. It was like a Bud Light. We also had some Soju, a fermented sweet potato drink that tastes like vodka. It tastes great mixed with the beer.
There was also a spicy seafood noodle soup. You cut the noodles with scissors. They come with things like squid and has a nice Kimchi-like spice. My next dish was a specialty dish made with black bean paste, noodles, and pork. It was very saucy and reminded me of Chinese dishes. I mixed them up and dug in. They were super greasy and rich and so tasty!
Then were pan-fried dumplings with pork inside. They were amazing when I dipped them into the black sauce!
What a fantastic dinner! It was heavy, greasy, and so different from everything I’d had in South Korea so far. After dinner, we headed to Singyeongju Station to catch the KTX bullet train back to Seoul.
The ride to Seoul would take 2 hours. We had 45 minutes before our train. I recommend buying your ticket in advance! We rode First Class back to Seoul, which costs about $80 per person one way. The train has free WiFi, free water, TVs, and places where you can charge you equipment.
And just like that, we were back in Seoul! What a long and epic day!
I hope you enjoyed exploring Gyeongju, South Korea with me! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave me a comment below. Also, please subscribe so you don’t miss any of my upcoming travel/food adventures!
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About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann. For the last decade, I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food, and history! Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,000 destinations in 73 countries, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube Channel, travel blog, and social media sites.
I focus a great deal on food and historical sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning about the local history and culture.
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