Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for the better part of a thousand years, and the Wolseong belt is the heart of it. Wolseong means Crescent Moon Fortress, a low curved rise that once held the royal palace. Today you will see grassy embankments, the outline of old foundations, and a landscape more of absence than of monuments, which is exactly why so many Koreans come to stroll it, particularly at dusk and in the first week of April when the cherry blossoms are out.
Nearby, a few steps away, stand the elegant little Cheomseongdae, a stone tower from the seventh century that is usually described as an astronomical observatory, though scholars still argue about what it really did. The forest of Gyerim lies close, where the legend tells of the golden box found in the branches and the child inside it who founded the Kim clan. Gyeongju is often called the museum without walls, and that description is fair: the huge grassy burial mounds of Silla kings rise in the middle of town like green whales.
Getting here is easy, as Gyeongju is a city of 155,000 people, with fuel stations and restaurants in every direction. Pohang and the East Sea are about twenty-five kilometres away, and the mountain roads toward Haeinsa, the temple that houses the thirteenth-century Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks, take you through a Korean landscape of steep forested ridges, terraced fields and sudden, narrow valleys. Roads in Korea are generally excellent but are fiercely watched by speed cameras, which are announced by signs but not forgiving; keep an eye on your speed.
In the town centre the traffic is busy but not heavy, and parking near the monuments is simple enough. Try the local speciality hwangnam-ppang, a small round pastry with sweet red bean paste, which is sold in boxes at nearly every shop near the tombs. A bowl of ssambap, rice wrapped in leaves, makes a good lunch.
Best time to visit is spring or autumn, when the air is clear and the maples redden; in summer, the heat and humidity make walking miserable, and typhoon rain can arrive in late summer. Winter is cold but clear and quiet.