The Planned City, Seorabol

Now let’s look around the 1000-year-old city of Gyeongju, the capital of Silla.

If you look at the picture closely you will see the way the roads are laid out in rows, forming a grid pattern. Gyeongju was well-planned and divided into neat areas. There was a palace, a residential area with a temple, a royal tomb complex, and an industrial iron and earthenware manufacturing area. Eighth-century Gyeongju was a flourishing city comparable to Constantinople, Baghdad and Chang’an.

In the middle under the painting of Gyeongju, you will see a crescent-shaped tract of land. It is the Silla palace known as Wolseong, meaning ‘moon-shaped palace’. The palace was built on a low hill along the river, which served as a natural moat to impede intruders.

Silla engaged in active cultural exchange with neighboring and western countries. This affected the foundation of aristocratic culture in Silla as many Silla nobles built ponds in their gardens and decorated their houses with gold.

As you can see in the picture, Gyeongju played an essential role as a planned city in leading the ancient society, and the marvelous culture of Silla flourished with Gyeongju as the heart of it. Large amount of relics representing the past glory of Silla has been excavated in Gyeongju, and thus, Gyeongju is often referred to as the treasure house of Silla Dynasty.