History Buff

In my previous post, I have mentioned about some places of interest if you are into history. One city that has a lot of concentrated and accessible historic site, is none other than Gyeongju (경주 慶州). If you are in Busan, you can easily catch a bus and will reach Gyeongju in about an hour.

There are so many write up about Gyeongju, so I will just paste a couple of entrance tickets for reference.

If you are into legend type of history, Jeju island old kingdom of Tamna founding legend is very interesting, at least to me. If you have time, do check it out Samseonghyeol. I don't think most tour package will cover this place, but do check it out as you can associate the story with places in around Jeju.

For modern history, I think Gwangju should not be missed, and I have to tell you, the images that you might see at the 5.18 Memorial can be shocking to some. What is the whole incident about? There is a 2007 movie called May 18, in which I have watched it in Gwangju itself, tells the story about this unfortunate event.

Also, if you are in Gwangju, do check out the nearby city of Damyang, the bamboo city. Rather nice scenery with everything that has to do with bamboo is just around the corner.

When in Damyang, don't forget to check out the Metasequoia Road, which is featured in the May 18 movie as well. Here's how the place looked like:

On the way back to Gwangju from Damyang, check out another historic site Sosoewon, the retreat for a scholar in those days. Rather picturesque, peaceful and calm. That explains why the poet rather be here than anywhere else.