GyeongJu: Bulguksa and Museum Q

As of Korean Constitution Day 2001, Melissa and I had been in South Korea for little more than three weeks. Constitution Day was our first holiday, and we decided to spend it by going to the nearby city of GyeongJu (often transliterated as KyongJu). As part of that trip, I made my very first visit to a Buddhist temple, learned how to properly mix bibimbop, how not to burn garlic while cooking galbi, and rode a bike 30+ kilometers. It seemed fitting that six years later I would return to GyeongJu to celebrate Constitution Day.

We took the bus from the Express Bus Terminal next to Dongdaegu Station (cost about $3.70), and it took approximately one hour to get in to GyeongJu. A visit to the bathroom in the GyeongJu Express Bus Terminal yielded this gem:

Turned out that the "foreigner only" toilet
was the only non-squatter. Yay!

After making sure to photograph the foreigner only toilets, our first destination was Bulguksa (sometimes transliterated as Pulguksa), a Buddhist temple originally founded in 528... and the very temple that Melissa and I biked to in 2001. Rob and I took the much easier way - bus No. 11, which leaves from a stop directly across from the bus station, costs $1.50, and drops you off directly in front of the temple. The entire bus ride out to Bulguksa I continued to be astounded by the fact that Melissa and I had managed to bike that far. Twenty-two year old Jane must have been in far better shape than twenty-eight year old Jane! (Er, that and Melissa and I had been assured by the tourist information people that the bike ride to the temple was easy... Bah!) Anyhow, Bulguksa continues to be as gorgeous as ever, and it still remains my favorite temple here in Korea:

Small lake on the temple grounds

Guardian statues in the temple gateway

Bulguksa temple front

Bulguksa temple front

Entering the temple itself

Inside the temple



One of the temple shrines

Detail of a temple carving
(I've shot this guy on each of my three trips to Bulguksa over the years!)

Another carving detail



Temple door-knocker

On our way up to Bulguksa, we had spied from the bus a museum named Museum Q, which featured two life-size and life-like (yet fake) elephants on its front lawn. We had no idea what Museum Q was - or even if it was open - but we decided that we absolutely must visit it on our way back. Additionally, having bought toy swords and bows and arrows outside of Bulguksa, we felt that some quality time hunting fake elephants was sorely needed!

Elephants at Museum Q!

Elephants up close - they're pretty realistic, huh?

I go all Legolas on the Mumakil!

It turned out that Museum Q was an Advertising and Communications museum, run by Gyeongju University. The museum was big, and full of all sorts of advertisements (mainly Korean) that had been released over the ages. There were also televisions airing all sorts of award-winning commercials, displays of communication/film/photography equipment, and various diaramas.

A room full of advertisements

Advertising office diarama

I took plenty of other photographs while in GyeongJu;

click here to see the full set!