Purists and die-hard patriots would probably bar me from entering the city again for my irreverence. But hey, I’ve read in the Lonely Planet that even Korean tourists have been traipsing up and down the slopes when the security guards weren’t looking.
Unlike most graveyards, the ancient tombs for the royalty and nobility of the Shilla Dynasty have an approachable air about them. Sanitized by the archeologists’ excavations and the manicured lawns, the Daereungwon is more like a languid stroll through a park than an exciting exploration of people’s final resting places.
Even when one enters the Heavenly Horse Tomb ( Cheonmachong) and peers through the glass for a close-up look at reproductions of the famous gold crown ( now in the museum), there are no shivers down one’s spine the way one would feel exploring the Roman catacombs or the dark cramped spaces within an Egyptian crypt. But then again such comparisons are unfair.
Just go with an open mind and you might enjoy learning a thing or two about the difference between a stone-lined chamber tomb and a tunnel-type tomb or discovering the origins of the names for some of the tumuli such as “Bamboo Soldier Tomb” ( Chukhyonnung) , “Tomb of the Deceased’s Shoes” ( Singnichong), and “Tomb of the Auspicious Phoenix” ( Seobongchong).
For more information on how to get there, admission charges and opening times, click here.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju_Historic_Areas
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/kyongju/216
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264117&nearBy=accom&
http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=2988
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Heavenly_Horse_Tomb
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