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Latest update: 13 January 2026
Maybe it’s because of the absence of towering buildings that Gyeongju feels immediately relaxed. In this South Korean city, you’ll find a nice mix of historical sights and hip bars and restaurants.
Gyeongju: capital of the Silla kingdom
Gyeongju is located in southeastern South Korea and was once the capital of the Silla kingdom, which existed from 57 BC to 935 AD. The remnants are still visible today. You’ll quickly spot gigantic burial tombs. They look like green hills, but perfectly round. And Bulguksa Temple (Silla architecture) is pretty much the most famous temple in South Korea.
The city is manageable and has a nice, calm vibe compared to big cities like Seoul and Busan. During the day, you can soak up culture at temples and tombs, and in the evening, you can have a cocktail in a hip bar. I only booked one night, but I really could have stayed another.
What can you do in Gyeongju?
Everything in Gyeongju is easy to reach. From the center, you can walk to the burial tombs, trendy streets, and main sights. The temples outside the city are a bus ride away.
Visit Bulguksa Temple (or maybe not)
Bulguksa is the most famous temple in South Korea. And I notice it right away: it’s crowded. Really crowded. Buses full of tourists get dropped off, and everyone tries to take the same photo at once. The temple itself is beautiful, but the crowds don’t make it a pleasant visit. If you walk a bit further back and look at the buildings from the other side, it’s better in terms of crowds, but not visually, of course.
From Bulguksa, you can take a shuttle bus to Seokguram, a hermitage in the mountains. Sounds nice, but that bus only runs once an hour. We miss it and don’t feel like walking 1.4 miles (2.2 km) uphill for probably even more crowds. So we walk another lap around Bulguksa for some photos and call it a day.
Across the road you’ll find restaurants and coffee cafes. A nice place to catch your breath after your temple visit.
Tip: The bus to Bulguksa departs from the center and takes 45 minutes. The temple is 10 miles (16 km) outside the center. So plan enough time. You can get there with buses 10, 11, and 100, but always double-check on-site.
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
On the way back from Bulguksa, we get off the bus near Donggung Palace. This was the royal family’s summer palace during the Silla period. But it was destroyed and reconstruction took place from 1974 onwards. Now it consists of three reconstructed houses around a pond (Wolji Pond). Nice to walk around, but because of the word ‘palace’ I expected something really grand and captivating. The area around the pond is beautifully lit in the evening, and you can also visit Donggung Palace then.
Woljeonggyo Bridge and Wolseong Park
From Donggung, we walk through Wolseong Park to Woljeonggyo Bridge. The park is quite large and diverse: there’s a mix of forest, grass, and flowers.
Woljeonggyo Bridge is a reconstruction of an old Silla-period bridge. In the evening, it’s beautifully lit; now, during the day, it’s harder to see because of a stage in front of it – apparently, there’s a show planned for that evening.
Hwangridan-gil: Gyeongju’s hip street
If you like cute shops, coffee cafes, and restaurants, you need to go to Hwangridan-gil. This street is pure coziness. Traditional hanok houses have been transformed into hip, photogenic shops and cafes. I can’t take my eyes off everything. There are so many cute cafes just for coffee: I can’t handle that much caffeine!
And of course, you can also try to score a stuffed animal from a claw machine at various arcades, get your photo taken at photo booths with crazy props or filters, rent a hanbok dress, or have a caricature of yourself or your pet drawn.
Daereungwon Tomb Complex: walking among burial tombs
Gyeongju’s burial tombs are pretty impressive. They’re huge green mounds scattered throughout the city. At Daereungwon Tomb Complex, you can get close to them and walk between the tombs. There’s something mysterious about it: somewhere under those green hills, kings and queens are buried. You’re not allowed to climb them, in fact: there’s a hefty fine, or even a 2-year prison sentence, if you do!
Eating and drinking in Gyeongju
Whether you feel like street food or want to dine extensively, Gyeongju has you covered. At Jungang Market, you sit down at market stalls that serve food from almost every continent. Or head to the area around Hwangridan-gil for a nice restaurant.
TAK for breakfast
We have breakfast at a Danish-oriented coffee shop called TAK. At nine in the morning, it’s already packed with Koreans and tourists. Techno music plays as Danish cardamom buns are baked in the large, open kitchen. The coffee is good. Fun fact: they use beans roasted by Friedhats from Amsterdam! After a few days of traveling through South Korea, it’s also wonderful to eat good bread. We’re really spoiled with that in the Netherlands.
Hyangmisa: specialty coffee
We have coffee at Hyangmisa, where they roast their own beans. They take coffee very seriously here. They make drip coffee, for example, and that’s quite a process, so keep in mind that waiting times can add up.
Try 10 Won bread
You’ll come across a 10 Won bread location in various places in Gyeongju. It’s a street food that first appeared in this city in 2019. It’s a kind of bread/waffle filled with mozzarella cheese. It’s a bit sweet, but with cheese. Sounds weird, tastes good. And it turned out to be a successful formula: you can now get it in various places in South Korea. In Gyeongju, there is a 10 Won coin variant; in other areas, for example, there are 50 or 100 Won coins.
Wooljip for a traditional dinner
We eat at Wooljip in the evening because we really want to try the bulgogi in Gyeongju. Bulgogi is basically very tender beef marinated in soy sauce, onion, garlic, sesame oil, and often also grated pear or apple.
We can get that at Wooljip. The entrance alone is beautiful: a path along bamboo with lanterns. Inside, it’s atmospherically decorated.
My friend and I order hanwoo cha hot pot with bulgogi: a hot pot with premium Korean beef known for its flavor and marbling. The food arrives at the table, and then we realize we need some explanation on how to approach this.
Fortunately, there’s a handy instruction on the table’s screen. Here’s how it works:
- Mix the rice with the bulgogi in the large bowl and scoop it into a smaller dish
- Pour hot water into the large bowl where the rice residue still is, put the lid on, and save this for later
- Dip the meat and vegetables from the hot pot in a raw egg mixed with soy sauce
- At the end of the meal, you eat the “rice soup” that you saved earlier
It sounds complicated, but it’s just a matter of knowing what to do. And it’s really delicious, so give it a try!
Bar Boon for cocktails
Hidden in a not-so-inviting shopping center, we come across Bar Boon. We hesitate for a moment, but we really feel like having a cocktail. And they take making cocktails seriously here. It’s a beautiful, dark bar filled with familiar and unfamiliar bottles. They have interesting cocktails like tiramisu and cherry blossom, so it’s definitely fun (and tasty!) to try something different from what you’d usually pick.
Vinyl Vibe: listening to records
We also try Vinyl Vibe, a vinyl listening bar. You buy a ‘ticket’ for 14,500 won (about $10) and get a drink and popcorn. There are benches where you can sit with two people, and at each seat there’s a record player with headphones. So you can pick a record yourself and listen to it. Funny concept, but it is a bit awkward. Everyone sits quietly listening, and there’s little interaction. At least, I find that pretty awkward. My best friend finds it super chill.
Hotel tip in Gyeongju: Travel Light Hostel Gyeongju
We’re staying at Travel Light Hostel, and it’s working out well. It’s a self-service hostel: everything is clean and tidy, but there’s no staffed reception. You get a code to enter.
The common area is spacious with a kitchen where you can cook and eat. There’s also a washing machine and dryer (both cost 1,000 won per use, about $0.70). By the kitchen, there’s a cash box where you put the money, based on trust.
The room is small, but the mattresses are good. And everything is provided: towels, conditioner, shampoo, shower gel, and even a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a face mask.
The hostel is close to both bus stations, so it’s ideal if you’re coming or leaving by bus. Do check which station your bus departs from – they’re close but not next to each other.
Check on Booking or Trip (the latter usually works out cheaper in South Korea)
How do you get to Gyeongju?
Gyeongju is conveniently located between Seoul and Busan. From either city, you can easily reach Gyeongju by train or bus.
From Seoul, you’re in Gyeongju in about 2 hours with the KTX (high-speed train). The train stops at Singyeongju station, which is about 6 miles (10 km) outside the center. From there, you take a local bus to the center (about 20 minutes).
Trains also depart from Busan to Gyeongju. The journey takes about an hour. You can also take the bus, which stops closer to the center.
We travel from Andong to Gyeongju by train, and that takes an hour. And we continue our journey to Tongyeong. We do that by bus, and that takes about 2.5 hours. Warning! Gyeongju has two bus stations that are close to each other, but check before departure which one you need to be at. If you only have a few minutes to transfer, it might be just a little too far to catch your bus.
Check train times and prices on the Korail website, and for buses, go here.
Frequently asked questions about Gyeongju
I’m only in Gyeongju for one day, and I really would have liked to add another day to see some more sights, and especially to have some more chill time in and around Hwangridan-gil.
More South Korea inspiration
Useful links for your South Korea trip
- Accommodation. Always handy is Booking.com, but compare prices. Trip is often much cheaper in South Korea. Rather stay in a hostel? Try HostelWorld.
- Activities. You can book the best tours and activities with GetYourGuide, Klook and Viator. You can book ‘free’ walking tours at Freetour and cool food tours at Secret Food Tours.
- Attractions and museums. For 5% off museums and attractions, use discount code KIMOPREIS22 at Tiqets.
- Car rental. Compare your options at Discover Cars and Rentalcars.com.
- Flights. Compare all your options! Be sure to check Expedia, Kiwi and Trip.
- Guide books. I love the practical guides by Lonely Planet, for sale at Amazon.
- Package deals. Rather go on a catered trip? Check out your options at Expedia and CheapOair for example.
- SIM card. Beware of unexpectedly high phone and internet costs. Buy a local SIM card when you arrive, or arrange one online via Airalo. Use the code THISIS8469 for a discount.
- Train and bus. Buy your train tickets directly on the Korail site and intercity buses also directly via this site. Some trips can also be booked on
Klook or via12Go . For local transport in the city, you use a T-Money card.
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