Gyeongju

"Known as 'the museum without walls', Gyeonju holds more tombs, temples, rock carvings, pagodas, Buddhist statuary and the ruins of palaces, pleasure gardens and castles than any other place in South Korea." Lonely Planet.

Our EPIK training had originally been scheduled to be held in Seoul but it was hard to moan when they changed it to Gyeongju - especially as I hadn't visited before.

We had a whole day of sightseeing and culture.

This is the King and Queen (or was it Prince and Princess) from Shilla dynasty
Burial mounds
Astrological observatory from around 635AD
We visited a place where we made 'rubbings' - wetting paper on a block (with relief image) and then dabbing with ink to bring out the picture.
They were pretty cool.
Up close on one of the relief blocks.

At the museum. Despite the freezing temps (it was probably below zero if you included the wind chill) there were other groups also there - these soldiers plus a few busloads of rowdy school kids. (There was no getting away from them)
The museum is described as the best history museum in Korea. It had a great array - lots of Buddhas etc. I liked these copper shoes.
After lunch we went to Seokguram Grotto - a stunning carved Buddha - however no photos were allowed
And then to Bulguksa - "the crowning glory of Shilla temple architecture" - and once again photos were limited. Both these sites are on the Unesco World Cultural Heritage List.
But I loved this wrapping on a restoration project - photos above and below