Why Gyeongju [ 경주 ]
The reason that I always wanted to visit Gyeongju [ 경주 ] is due to the reason that I am quite interested and curious about the history of Korea especially about the Silla history [ 신라 ]. I always love to watch the Korean historical drama and after watching Queen Seondeok [ 선덕여왕 ], aroused my curiosity about the Silla history [ 신라 ].
Since Gyeongju [ 경주 ] is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla [ 신라 ], so I feel that there is a need for me to visit Gyeongju [ 경주 ] and explored.
Gyeongju [ 경주 ] is often referred to the museum without walls. There are many cultural properties such as the tombs of the kings and queens, the divine bell built by King Seongdeok [ 성덕대왕신종, 에밀레종 ], the national treasures exhibition in Gyeongju National Museum and many others.
There are also a number of notable people from Gyeongju [ 경주 ] and even till now, they are being respect by the people. Such of these notable people are Choe Chiwon [ 최치원 ], Kim Yushin [ 김유신 ] and many others.
Beside the cultural properties and the history of the notable people of Gyeongju [ 경주 ], the religion, the cuisine are also reasons for people to visit the city.
Thus, I'm going to list down the different ways to travel to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] and hope that it will help you if you're planning to make a trip down to Gyeongju [ 경주 ].
How to go to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] from Busan [ 부산 ] :
By Train
KTX - Direct, Standard class cost about 11 000won ( ~SGD13.40 ) and first class cost about 15 800won ( ~SGD19.20 ) - Takes about 30min.
By Bus
Taking bus is also another option for you if you decided to go to Gyeongju. And it only takes about 1hour but there will be no break/rest time during the travel period. However, the fare is rather cheap comparing to KTX.
Buses from Busan Central Bus Terminal [ 부산종합버스터미널 ]
There are 3 different kinds of buses to choose from - General, Excellent and M/Excellent. The differences between these buses are of course the ticket price and also the number of seats on the bus. But do take note that the prices do not difference much for the journey from Busan to Gyeongju ( Guess that it might be because the travel time is rather short ).
General - Can take up to 45 people and it costs about 4 800won ( ~SGD5.80 )
Excellent - Can take up to 28 people and it costs about 4 800won ( ~SGD5.80 )
M/Excellent - Can take up to 26 people and it costs about 5 200won ( ~SGD6.30 )
You can go to the website http://www.kobus.co.kr/web/eng/02_service/service01.jsp to check on the schedule of the bus before your trip.
* Do note that the subway station for Busan Central Bus Terminal [ 부산종합버스터미널 ] is Nopodong Station.
** The bus will arrive at Gyeongju Express Terminal [ 경주고속버스터미널 ] and there are quite a number of guesthouse located nearby the terminal and lots of public buses will also stopped by the Terminal so it will be quite easy for you to look for a place to stay and also to travel around.
How to go to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] from Seoul [ 서울 ] :
If you only want to travel to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] instead, and you are staying in Seoul, these are the choices of transportation and also information.
By Plane
There is no airport located in Gyeongju [ 경주 ] and the nearest airport to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] is at Busan [ 부산 ] or Ulsan [ 울산 ] and both cities are about 1 hour away from Gyeongju [ 경주 ].
* For my personal view, this might not be the best option to travel to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] from Seoul [ 서울 ] as there is too much transfer in between and it can be a hassle if you have a luggage with you.
By Train
There is only 1 kind of KTX train travelling from Seoul [ 서울 ] to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] and that is the direct train.
KTX - Direct, Standard class cost about 48 300won ( ~SGD58.60 ) and first class cost about 67 600won ( ~SGD82.00 ) - Takes about 2 hours 15mins.
* KTX will depart from Seoul Station [ 서울역 ] and arrive at Singyeongju Station [ 신경주역 ] and from Singyeongju Station [ 신경주역 ], there are several buses that can bring you to the central of
Gyeongju [ 경주 ].
By Bus
You can also choose to take bus to Gyeongju [ 경주 ]. You can say that it is the cheapest way but most time consuming way to travel. It takes about 3 hours 45mins with a 15min break at about after 2hours on the road so that you can go to the toilet or grab some food at the rest area.
Buses from DongSeoul Bus Terminal [ 동서울종합터미널 ]
3 different kinds of buses to choose from - General, Excellent and M/Excellent. The differences between these buses are of course the ticket price and also the number of seats on the bus.
General - Can take up to 45 people and it costs about 20 400won ( ~SG$24.80 )
Excellent - Can take up to 28 people and it costs about 30 300won ( ~SG$36.80 )
M/Excellent - Can take up to 26 people and it costs about 33 300won ( ~SG$40.40 )
You can go to the website http://www.kobus.co.kr/web/eng/02_service/service01.jsp to check on the schedule of the bus before your trip.
The bus will arrive at Gyeongju Express Terminal [ 경주고속버스터미널 ] and there are quite a number of guesthouse located nearby the terminal and lots of public buses will also stopped by the Terminal so it will be quite easy for you to look for a place to stay and also to travel around.
* Buses from Seoul [ 서울 ] to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] will depart from Seoul Express Bus Terminal. You can take the subway to Express Bus Terminal Station [ 고속터미널역 ] ( Line 3, Line 7 or Bus 9 ), and exit at exit 1 to go to Seoul Express Bus Terminal.
** It can be a little complicated while locating the Terminal, so try to arrive early ( especially if you had already purchased your tickets online ), so that you have enough time to look for the bus terminal.
***Note that the travel time by bus can vary depending on the traffic.
****Do note that the prices of the different tickets served only as a guideline as the prices are subject to change on different conditions.
Hope that this article helps you in planning your trip to Gyeongju [ 경주 ] .
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