A Chuseok Getaway in Gyeongju: From Delicious Tofu to Crowded Landmarks
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Hello, I'm John :)
After our dates in Andong and Gumi, we headed to Gyeongju to spend the Chuseok holiday.
The drive from Gumi to Gyeongju took about an hour – less than I expected.
We hurried over and went straight to the restaurant! We were meeting my family there.
Our first stop: Maetdol Sundubu (맷돌순두부).
Wow...
We went to Maetdol Sundubu, known as a popular restaurant in the Bomun Lake area. We were a bit late, so we didn't wait too long, but the rest of my family had already been waiting for around two hours!
After waiting for over two hours, we finally got a table on the second floor, ordered, and started eating right away. The sundubu (soft tofu stew) came out quickly.
Honestly, the sundubu itself was delicious. But the other dishes... not so much. And waiting two hours for it??? Made it even worse...
Even the barbecue salad came out after we had finished everything else. I almost cancelled it because it was so late, but they mumbled something and brought it out. I figured, okay, let's at least taste it. But the meat was tough, the portion was small... the worst dish of all.
Maetdol Sundubu... the sundubu is the only thing that's good! hahaha
Bulguksa Temple
Since we were in Gyeongju, we visited Bulguksa Temple. It's a bit cliché, but a must-see. Being the Chuseok holiday, it was, of course, packed with people! hahaha
I remember a past trip with Hyem when we couldn't go inside for some reason. We only saw the cherry blossoms right outside of Bulguksa. Bulguksa is famous for its cherry blossoms, after all! lol
There was no parking, so we parked between the Bulguksa restaurants. But it turned out parking in the Bulguksa parking lot wouldn't have been a problem either. My brother's family did that and got up faster.
There were so many people around the Seokgatap and Dabotap pagodas! Perhaps it's less so now, but Bulguksa in Gyeongju on a holiday like Chuseok is not easy! hahahaha
The K Hotel
After lunch and Bulguksa, we decided to check into our hotel to relax and freshen up.
We stayed at The K Hotel! Thanks to my dad being a civil servant, we got a relatively good discount :)
It's not far from Bomun Lake, overlooks Bomun Lake, and is right in front of Gyeongju World. The APEC event hall booths were also nearby.
The hotel was clean as always! I'd stayed here before and liked it, and this time I was just as happy.
Last time, we just used the hotel. But this time, we decided to try the sauna. I'm going to the sauna tomorrow morning :)
Hwangridan-gil Street
After unpacking and freshening up at the hotel, we went out. We headed to Hwangridan-gil to see the ancient tombs and Cheomseongdae Observatory.
My mother wanted to see the Cheonmachong Tomb, but there were so many people that we got out of the taxi halfway there...
So we ended up seeing Cheomseongdae first! hahaha
It doesn't look like there are people in the photos, but there were so many. Whenever I tell someone a story about Gyeongju, I tell them there are a lot of people! hahahaha
I remember paying an entrance fee, maybe 1,000 won, in the past, but it seems to be free now.
The road to Hwangridan-gil was also crowded with people. We were originally going to eat yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef bibimbap), but it didn't seem like the best choice to have with alcohol, so we decided to go to another restaurant. For drinks... let's have meat haha.
Bonghwang Meat Restaurant
We went into the first place we saw, Bonghwang Meat Restaurant!
It was a Korean beef restaurant in Hwangridan-gil with good accessibility.
It's not far from Micheuwangneung Royal Tomb and Cheomseongdae Observatory.
I was worried because we didn't research it beforehand... but it's Korean beef, after all!
There were plenty of seats. Instead of ordering Korean beef by the serving, you pick out the cuts of beef that are on display, pay for them, and then eat them. Kind of like a beef outlet, maybe?
We had to grill the meat ourselves.
Well...
Overall, it was very disappointing. How can Korean beef be so bad?
Even the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) was like a watery jjigae (stew) and tasted really bad. I couldn't figure out what flavor it was supposed to be...
Everything was generally bad. Even the side dishes... I would normally have a few more drinks, but it was so bad that we ate and drank a little and left ㅠ
Writing this... what *do* I even enjoy eating?
Miffy Store
After dinner, we decided to visit the Miffy Store, which is so popular these days.
Apparently, it's trendy... sigh :)
It's on Hwangridan-gil, so you'll definitely run into it while sightseeing.
When we went, there weren't many people, so we went right in... But the next day, the line was incredibly long. I recommend going in to look around when there's no line! hahahaha
As expected of a Miffy Store in Gyeongju, the Miffy characters were in Gyeongju style! hahaha
Gyeongju souvenir Miffys!
Most of them were keychains, but there were also dolls, cups, and other accessories.
Hyem bought a Gyeongju Bulguksa Miffy. hahaha
She keeps it on her bag and hasn't even taken off the plastic wrapping yet!
The Miffy Store isn't a must-see, but I recommend taking a look if you pass by! Of course, it's good for people who like Miffy characters, but the store is a bit small! hahaha
Anapji Pond (Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond)
The last stop of the day was Anapji Pond.
Also known as Donggung and Wolji Pond.
To be precise, it was Anapji Pond, but it was renamed Donggung and Wolji Pond.
Donggung and Wolji
Originally named Anapji, meaning "Goose and Duck Pond", the pond was found to have been called Wolji during the Unified Silla period in 1980. It was recently renamed Donggung and Wolji.
But those who are a little older... remember it as Anapji, right? hahahaha
Me too...
Anyway, it was so difficult to get to Donggung and Wolji because the traffic was terrible.
Taxis were impossible to catch, the cars were crawling... and it was too far to walk...
We finally made it there, but...
The number of people there were too X 10,000 many.
When it was called Anapji, there weren't this many people...
There were just too many people, so we went in and came right back out... I don't think I'll be visiting Donggung and Wolji again...
There were so many people that I didn't even know what I came to see. Or maybe I'll only go when there aren't any people...
In the end, we just took a quick look and left!
But still, let's take a photo since we came :)
That was the end of our first day in Gyeongju!
We finished the day with chicken and beer at the cafe & pub in The K Hotel, but I don't have any pictures. hahaha
That’s it for our trip to Gyeongju during the crowded Chuseok holiday!
Bye!
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