National Museum of Gyeongju

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The National Museum of Gyeongju is a representative Korean museum offering a comprehensive view of Silla's cultural heritage. Visitors can observe the condensed history of the thousand-year kingdom of Silla spanning from 57 BCE to 935 CE. It is recommended to visit the museum first when traveling to Gyeongju to build foundational knowledge before exploring historical sites, making the trip much more rewarding. The museum comprises five permanent exhibition galleries: the Silla History Gallery, the Silla Art Gallery, the Wolji Gallery, the Silla Millennium Treasure, and outdoor exhibitions, as well as a special exhibition gallery. In the Silla History Gallery, visitors can follow Silla's historical progression, while the Silla Art Gallery showcases brilliant artistic culture and artifacts. The Wolji Gallery is organized around the court life of the Unified Silla period. The outdoor exhibition area displays approximately 1,300 stone artifacts including temple bells, stone pagodas, stone buddhas, stone lanterns, and stele pedestals. Near the museum is the Silla Millennium Treasure, a storage facility for the Yeongnam region that opened in 2019. This facility preserves approximately 600,000 artifacts excavated from the Yeongnam region, with about 3,000 viewable in the exhibition storage gallery. Exhibition explanation programs are offered at the Silla History Gallery, Silla Art Gallery, and Wolji Gallery; visitors are advised to check the schedule before their visit.