It was about 3:15PM when we left Woljeong Bridge, but we’d return at 6PM to see the same bridge at night. The next stop was the Daereungwon Royal Tomb and the Hwangnidan-gil shopping street beside it, and this spot was a short 5 minutes away.
The Gyeongju Daereungwon Tomb Complex consists of several tombs and is situated inside a beautifully landscaped garden. We didn’t really get a good sense of the individuals who were buried here, but the Koreans at least treat this garden with the utmost respect, and there is an air of serenity and reverence as locals walk about the compound. The burial mounds were bathed in the late afternoon light and made for some beautifully contrasty photos, like these below.
Adjacent to the tomb complex is Hwangnidan Street. Our tour group stopped here for an hour and a half, and we observed that most of the group finished exploring the tomb complex in double time and spent most of the remaining time at Hwangnidan Street itself. Not surprising: the street is filled with cafes, snack shops, boutique stores and the like. Our guide recommended that we try out the town’s speciality: Gyeongju bread. The bread’s default filling is red bean paste, but the one the missus got had mozzarella cheese as its filling. Either way, it was super yummy, with the cheese melting in the mouth. A little pricey at 3,500 KRW per piece, but it was delectable.
The two areas were quite a contrast: the serenity and almost sedate-like garden versus the bustling and busy shopping street just next door. Pictures!
