Planning a Trip to Gyeongju with Kids: Maps, Books, and Excitement!
We're heading to Gyeongju next week, and instead of assuming my child wouldn't understand, I wanted to involve them in planning and preparing for the trip. After some thought, I found information on the 'Gyeongju Culture & Tourism' website and applied for a tourist map!✌️
Gyeongju Trip Prep with Kids, Step 1:
Apply for a Free Gyeongju Map
You can request a free map on the 'Gyeongju Culture & Tourism' website.
You'll find the 'Request Tourist Map' option at the bottom of the main page. If you don't see it, keep scrolling through the arrows.
Click 'Apply' at the very bottom and enter your information.
They said it would take about 15 days by mail, but I checked the mailbox today, a week later, and the map had arrived!
The map shows the Daereungwon area, the Namsan area, and the Bomun Lake Resort area in Gyeongju.
You can even see Bulguksa Temple marked on it.
The back features larger maps of each area, which will be great for planning routes and getting a general sense of direction. It's an incredibly useful map, especially considering it was free!
There are also brief explanations of the cultural heritage sites.
I imagine when my child wakes up and sees the map tomorrow, they'll be full of questions like, "Mom, what's this?" and "Mom, why does this look like this?" That's how their world expands, so I'll do my best to answer them. 🙂
"This is Bulguksa Temple; it's a temple built during the Silla period," etc. I'll need to study a bit to teach my child about it. It will be a fun way for them to look forward to our upcoming trip!
Gyeongju Trip Prep with Kids, Step 2:
Picture Books about Gyeongju and the Silla Dynasty
I borrowed picture books about Silla and Gyeongju from the library. I don't know how much my four and five-year-old will understand, but when answering my children's questions, I always try to explain things in a way that they can understand, rather than assuming they're too young to grasp it. They often surprisingly connect the stored information later on.
Just like reading a guidebook before traveling abroad helps you appreciate the experience more, reading picture books about Silla and Gyeongju will naturally spark an interest in history (or rather, just people from the past) and make them wonder why things were done differently back then.
Instead of giving them definitive answers, it might be good to say, "Let's find out when we get there!" I hope these conversations will encourage them to ask questions and seek out answers during the trip.
My child keeps asking when the trip is, so I drew a calendar and marked the travel dates. Now they're counting down the days! Preparing in advance like this is making me excited to study Gyeongju, turning it into a fun experience and more than just a field trip from my past. Seeing it with my own eyes will also make it much more memorable.
Preparing for a trip with my child is teaching me that it’s far more important to spark my child's interest before we leave than to cram the itinerary full of activities. I hope the map and books will maximize their curiosity!
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