Gyeongju

Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, historically known as Sorabeol. It covers 1,324 square kilometres and had 264,091 people in December 2012, lying 370 kilometres southeast of Seoul and 55 kilometres east of Daegu. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which lasted from 57 BC to 935 AD and ruled about two thirds of the Korean peninsula at its height, and in the Later Silla period it was among the largest cities in the world. Its archaeological sites and cultural properties, among them the Seokguram grotto, Bulguksa temple and the Gyeongju Historic Areas, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and tourism is its main economic driver.