Tourist Attraction in Korea ④: Shilla Millennium Park

Many international couples have two wedding anniversaries, one for the wedding in the bride’s country and the other for the wedding in the groom’s country. On our third year wedding anniversary, we went to Gyeongju. Gyeongju is a beautiful traditional city. It was the capital of Silla, the ancient kingdom that ruled most parts of the Korean peninsula for 992 years from 57 BCE ~ 935 CE. The entire city is like a museum of the kingdom. We went to the city with J.J.’s family after our wedding because we wanted to show them the uniqueness of Korea. Gyeongju was the first stage of our honeymoon before we flew to Thailand. We wanted to go back there on our anniversary. We took a bus to Gyeongju, but we recommend you take a train. We both like to take a train because we can see rural parts of the country with unique scenery.

You can book seats for a train online at http://info.korail.com/2007/eng/eng_index.jsp (English version). You can print your tickets at home or get them at a station by using an automated ticket machine. You need to take a Saemaul train for Gyeongju. Saemaul trains have a train café where there are computers with Internet connections, Karaoke rooms, a massage chair room, video games and chairs to sit and eat some snacks. The chairs are also comfortable with generous leg room. It takes about 5 hours from Seoul to Gyeongju.


Since it was our wedding anniversary, we didn’t want to push ourselves too hard by taking a long tour, and we had been to most of the tourist attractions in Gyeongju. So we decided to go to just one place: the Shilla Millennium Park. It was built in 2007 and we hadn’t been there before. The Shilla Millennium Park is a historical theme park. It showcases a village with houses that reproduce the style of houses during the Silla Dynasty.

As soon as we got our tickets, we walked quickly toward the Hwarang Arena to watch an outdoor performance. It was a martial arts performance that included shooting arrows on horseback and sword practice. The park holds several outdoor performances every day and a night performance on the weekend.


After the performance, we walked around the park and visited the set for the popular drama, Queen Seondeok. This drama is about Queen Seondeok, the first queen in Korean history. The popularity of the drama helps attract more tourists to the park.

We also found a pottery studio. Gina has wanted to experience making pottery for a long time, but this time she was afraid to get mud on her dress. So we made a necklace instead at a pressed flower studio.
Making the necklace was easy and quick. It took 15 minutes and cost 10,000 won (about 10 US dollars). Gina cherishes the handmade anniversary necklace. There are also many other studios where you can make different kinds of handicrafts. We really enjoyed our time in this park. The park opens from 10 am to 8 pm every day, and its admission fee is 18,000 won for adults. You may be able to get 20% discount coupons from the hotel where you stay. We used a discount coupon for our entry and paid 28,800 won (tax included). It was a bit expensive but worth it.


If you want to take a city tour, take a tour bus from your hotel. It takes you to tourist attractions in Gyeongju. Most bus tours usually start in the morning and end in the evening. Using a taxi is expensive in this city. The taxi fare goes up a lot quicker than in other places in Korea. So take advantage of a bus tour.

※ Gyeongju Tourism website: http://eguide.gj.go.kr/

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