Travel Phrases — Entry No. 0377
경주
gyeongju · noun
경주
gyeongju
[gyeong-JOO]
nounbeginner
Meaning
Gyeongju (경주) is a city in North Gyeongsang Province that served as the capital of the Silla Kingdom for nearly 1,000 years (57 BCE–935 CE), making it one of the great ancient capitals of the world. Dubbed the ‘museum without walls,’ the city is scattered with royal burial mounds (고분), Buddhist temples, stone pagodas, and UNESCO World Heritage sites including Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto. Today Gyeongju is South Korea’s foremost heritage travel destination, where visitors come to touch a living connection to Korean antiquity.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
BTS’s V (Kim Taehyung) starred as the young warrior Hansung in the 2016 SBS historical drama ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth’ (화랑: 더 비기닝), which was filmed extensively among Gyeongju’s Silla-era sites — his debut acting role sent global ARMY fans flooding into the city. BTS’s ‘IDOL’ music video draws on traditional Korean aesthetics rooted in the same Silla culture that Gyeongju preserves, connecting modern K-pop to its ancient heritage. Cherry blossom season transforms Gyeongju’s Bomun Lake and Tumuli Park into scenes that look lifted straight from a period drama set.
Example Sentences
경주는 신라의 옛 수도예요.
Gyeongju-neun Silla-ui yet sudo-yeyo.
Gyeongju is the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom. (Essential context — nearly everything in the city traces back to Silla’s millennium-long reign)
불국사는 경주에서 꼭 가봐야 해요.
Bulguksa-neun Gyeongju-eseo kkok gabwaya haeyo.
You must visit Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju. (강추, ‘highly recommended’ — Bulguksa is considered a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture)
경주에서 고분을 볼 수 있어요.
Gyeongju-eseo gobun-eul bol su isseoyo.
You can see royal burial mounds in Gyeongju. (The Daereungwon Tomb Complex has enormous grass-covered tumuli rising right within the city center)
⚠️ Don’t use gyeongju when…
Do not try to see Gyeongju in a rushed half-day side trip — its UNESCO sites are spread across the whole city and deserve at least two full days. Also, ‘Gyeongju’ appears as ‘Kyongju’ in many older English maps and guidebooks; both names refer to the same city.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth — BTS’s V (Kim Taehyung) played the noble youth Hansung in this Silla-era saga, filmed across Gyeongju’s historic landscapes
- K-Pop: BTS — ‘IDOL’ (아이돌), which celebrates Korean cultural heritage through traditional imagery rooted in the very Silla-era history that Gyeongju preserves
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.