Korea, Gyeongju : museum and traditional wedding

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I then went back to the city center, I had first planned to go to the expo park but it was a bit far away from the bed and breakfast where I had let my bag. The father of the owner took me back to the bus station to get my ticket back to Seoul but I still had two hours left before taking the bus so we went to the National Museum where a guide explained me about the different meaning of the piece of pottery and jewelery in the museum, it seems that a lot was related to fertility and to longevity, probably due to the fact that people were dying young at that time. Then we went to the site of a traditional Korean wedding before going back to the bus terminal.
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Korea, Gyeongju : 양동 마을

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The next morning after eating a traditional Korean breakfast, I took the bus for 양동 마을 (Yangdong Maeul), a old Korean village presenting houses for the 15th century. As the opposite of the Folk Village in Jeju island which is a presentation museum, some of the house in 양동 마을 are still inhabited. The site present several house classified as national treasure or being important Folklore Material, 서백당 (Seobaekdang), 무첨당 (Mucheomdang), 향단 (Hyangdan) and 관가정(Gwangajeong).
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Korea, Gyeongju : Night view

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I then took the bus to the bed and breakfast where I was staying that night in Gyeongju. The owner took me and an other guest to visit a pond with illumination during the evening in 경주 임해전지 (Gyeongju imhaejeonji). It was really beautiful and the illumination were changing colors at some places. We were too late for the sakura season and too early for the lotus flower seasons. In the inside of the building were presented model of a bridge that is being reconstructed in Gyeongju.
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Korea, Gyeongju : 석굴암 grotto

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I then took the bus to 석굴암 grotto.  석굴암 grotto is situated higher in the mountain. It was first constructed in 751 by a prime minister of the Silla empire. The cave shelters a statue of Buddha surrounding by relief carving of several figures, counting Devas, Bodhisattva, Arhants, Bodhisattva of Boundless Mercy, Guardian Gods and Kings... The Grotto was configured in a way that the sunlight would reach the Buddha only once a year during the spring solstice. Now there is a glass so that we cannot reach the Buddha but can only admire the art work in the front side of it.
It represent the best of the arts during the Silla period but it's also regarded as the best of Asia Buddhist work. It is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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