Gyeongju Is My New Favorite Spring Destination in Korea

After my Busan trip, I turned right back around and headed out of Seoul to Gyeongju with my friend Kaila - we were hunting more blossoms!

We took the KTX to Singyeongju Station which is about a 15 minute taxi ride from the center of town. When we got in our taxi at around 2pm on a Sunday, though, our driver warned us we were in for a long ride. The traffic in the city was absolute madness thanks to the perfect weather and peak blossoms. I’ve genuinely never seen a city outside of Seoul packed like this - Gyeongju is usually such a peaceful town!

We finally made it to our guesthouse, dropped our bags, and started walking around the border of Daeruengwon and then over to the astronomy tower, Cheomseongdae. Everyone was out flying kites and enjoying the tree-lined road.

We ended up walking far enough and got to the Gyeongju Gyocheon Hanok Village and the famous Wolgyo Bridge. The stream was lined with people out enjoying the sunshine and all the cafes were filled! We grabbed a tea at the first cafe we saw and sat out in the shade of a weeping willow.

Dinner was pizza at the pizzeria next to our guesthouse, 987 Pizza, and then we browsed the shops (like my favorite bookstore Eoseo Eoseo) on the main street, Hwangridan-gil. Once the sun had fully set we followed the crowd to Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond to see the pond and structures lit up at night. It was 3,000won and the winding path around the trees were magical in the dark!

Our guesthouse doubled as a pub so we grabbed some french fries and a rooftop view, then went to sleep.

Our next day started at Daereungwon, the main site of the royal tombs. Luckily the crowds seemed to have left and we have the place almost to ourselves at some points! The cherry blossoms in the park were incredible and the wind kept making the blossoms ‘snow’ all over the place.

We took a taxi over to the east palace greenhouses and had a little picnic by the lake before turning back to our guesthouse for a little relaxation. Dinner was a delicious pasta and risotto at 1994, then we bought a bit of Kaluha and milk to drink back at our place. We were able to sit on our room’s porch area and order marshmallows from the pub - we could roast them ourselves!! We went to sleep happily filled with sugar.

The next day was a slow one because we’d done so much the first two days. We visited Laso Coffee then wandered the tree-lined streets saying our last goodbyes to the city. Our train was at 3pm so we left around 2:15 and made it to the station with lots of time to spare.

Definitely add Gyeongju to your list, but try to go on a weekday if you can - the crowds were no joke!