“Walk through another thousand years!”

The excavation site of Wolseong, the 'millennium-old palace', carefully revealed its inner workings
Seeing the historic sites inside and outside Wolseong with your own eyes and feet
Approaching the traces of a vast and distant time

Gyeongju, a city with a yearly increase in tourists of more than 10%, attracting over 12.7 million visitors annually (as of 2019).
As Korea's premier city of historical relics, it's a popular destination for school trips and is also famous for its hip Hwangridan-gil. But how much do we really know about the history and spatial significance of Gyeongju?

Kim Byeol-a, author of the best-selling novel "Misil," which won the first World Literature Award and sold over 200,000 copies, visited Wolseong and its surrounding areas in Gyeongju and published a new collection of essays, "Time to Walk Wolseong," in 2019 to experience Gyeongju "properly."
This book was completed through additional research and supplementation based on the content serialized in the [Gyeongbuk Daily Newspaper] for about a year starting in 2019.
The author of this work, which depicts the power struggles of the Silla royal family centered around the woman Misil, who was a goddess of sex, actually walked and recorded the excavation site of Wolseong, the royal castle of Silla, which was the main stage of the work, and thus, his unique perspective and literary sensibility combine to create a new era in the Gyeongju travelogue.

“How can we explain such a strange absence and silence?”

Most people who visit Gyeongju know about Cheomseongdae, Bulguksa Temple, and Seokguram Grotto, but not Wolseong.
It wasn't even in the history textbooks I learned in school.
Wolseongji was actually left in perfect ruins for over a thousand years without even a trace of the palace.
Although the neighboring Anapji Pond (Donggung and Wolji Pond), Daereungwon Tomb, Hwangryongsa Temple, Namsan Mountain, and Cheomseongdae are located around Wolseong, there was no real space to explore them.
They ignored their living spaces and only visited graves, prayer places, and observatories.
How can I explain such a strange absence and silence? And yet, my heart beats with a pang of pride.
We seem to already know a lot about Silla and Seorabeol, but there is still much we do not know.
So, my heart, carrying the secret key called Wolseong, heads to Gyeongju, and my heart flutters with excitement at the things I already know and the things I still don't know.
---From the "Prologue"

Crossing the boundaries between history and mystery
The breath of the old Silla people still stirs beneath our feet!

Silla, the ancient kingdom that ruled the eastern and southern regions of the Korean Peninsula for 992 years from 57 BC to 935 AD, began and ended with the brilliant capital of Seorabeol-Gyeongju.
The people of Seorabeol, especially the royal family who were the rulers of the kingdom, looked at the stars at Cheomseongdae, prayed at Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple, and when they died, they were buried in Daereungwon.
But then, where did they live? Silla's thousand-year capital was Wolseong.
Wolseong was the palace of Silla for 834 years, from 101 AD during the reign of King Pasai to 935 AD when Silla fell.
Excluding the 5th king, King Pasai, who directly led the construction of the palace among the 56 kings but did not reside there for long, it was the residence and government office of 50 kings from the 6th king, King Jima, to the 56th king, King Gyeongsun, and it was the center of the Silla dynasty.
---From the "Prologue"

"Wolseong? Where on earth is that?" When I told people I was going to cover Wolseong, the reactions from those around me were usually similar.
Although they are educated people and have traveled to Gyeongju several times, they said they do not know much about Wolseong, and even if they do know about it, they only read about it in history books.
How can we tell them about Wolseong? In a world so fleeting that new things are created, or even erased, as quickly as they are created, what can make them rewind a millennium, even if only for a moment?
---From "Chapter 1: The City That Slept for a Thousand Years_The First Time I Met Wolseong, The Second Time I Met Wolseong"

The people who visit 'Wolseong-irang' the most are elementary, middle, and high school students who visit Wolseong for field trips or experiential learning.
There are some children who listen with one ear and let it go out the other without any interest, but sometimes there are 'history nerds' who surprise the commentators.
Commentators don't overuse empty promises to generate shallow interest.
He honestly confesses that even if he comes back as an adult in about 10 years, he will still be the same as he is now.
However, with a little hope, I tell them that if they are interested, they could major in a related field and work at Wolseong.
Yes, that's right.
Because Wolseong has been with us for a long time and will continue to be with us for a long time to come.
Researcher Lee Seong-moon gave his final remarks.
“It will take a while, so please wait patiently,” he added with a smile as the Wolseong commentator.
“If you want to see Wolseong, come anytime!”
---From "Chapter 1: The City That Has Slept for a Thousand Years_Come see it whenever you want"

I did everything that human power could do.
If you pile it up, it will collapse.
When it falls, it is built again.
In the face of such overwhelming force, the ancients tried to achieve what was impossible for humans to do by doing things that humans should not do.
It is a prayer that sacrifices be made to the gods of the land, water, and wind, or whatever spirit, so that the walls, bridges, and buildings that were painstakingly built will not collapse.
The story of the human pillar, as fierce as it was earnest and as terrifying as it was desperate, was confirmed for the first time in Korea through the excavation of the Wolseong Fortress Wall.
---From "Traces of Life Encountered Through Time in Chapter 2_Two Corpses Buried Under the Wall"

The abandoned pond was overgrown with weeds and had only a small amount of water pooled in the center.
To the northwest, weeping willows lined the grounds, and to the east, at Imhaejeong, people drank and played.
To the east was a bamboo forest, and behind it was a house that sold makgeolli and snacks, although it wasn't a formal bar.
It is said that there was a vendor selling boiled eggs, snacks, and soju across from the current Donggung and Wolji ticket booths, perhaps because it was considered an amusement park due to its pond and pavilion.
The wide wings of Wolseong, the shining evidence of the unification of the Three Kingdoms, were thus lost to time.
When the dredging work at An-apji Pond began, it was thought that the pond was covered with thick sediment and the water was not deep, so it would be possible to pump out the water with a water pump.
There is a story that while draining the water, many fish like carp came out, some of the large fish were put in the pond of Bulguksa Temple, and some were taken home by the workers. One fish was so big that it had to be carried on a carrying pole.
So who would have thought that the entire abandoned pond, An-apji, would be surrounded by such elaborate stone walls?
---From "Chapter 2 Traces of Life Found Through Tracing Time_Silla Pouring Out from the Pond"

The Silla people were neat people.
The flush toilet excavated from the Donggung building site is the most advanced type of ancient toilet.
After the royal family or nobles finished their business, they would pour water from a jar placed next to the toilet and pour it into the toilet hole.
The water carrying the sewage flowed down a sloping canal and appears to have collected in a facility similar to a modern septic tank.
However, it is said that the last part of the canal was connected under the Donghae Nambu Line railroad, so the entire remains could not be seen.
The remains of the Crown Prince's bathroom were also tested for the presence of parasite eggs.
However, unlike the Wanggung-ri relics, no parasite eggs were found, either because they were all washed away in the water or because Silla had a separate method for exterminating parasites.
---From "Chapter 2 Traces of Life Found Through Time_Plagues and Restrooms from a Thousand Years Ago"

“What good is it to dig all that up?” A guide from the Silla Cultural Center, whom we met at the excavation hall of Tomb No. 44 of the Choksam site, said something similar.
You can't know anything until you dig everything up.
Since the gold crown was discovered in the Noseo-dong Ancient Tombs in 1921, a total of six Silla gold crowns have been excavated.
But among them, there is not a single one whose owner can be clearly identified.
Even after a century of research, I haven't been able to identify a single owner. What will I gain by digging through everything, what will I uncover? I whisper to my son, who will one day build my grave.
“If I were the owner of the grave, it would be terrible if someone were to dig up my grave for any purpose!
---From "Chapter 3: What Did Silla Dream of? The Path of a True King, the Path of a Hero"

Even after living such a difficult life, King Munmu decided to remain a 'symbol' until the end.
Even after death, he is buried underwater, saying that he will uphold the Buddhist law and protect the country as a dragon of the East Sea.
The structure of King Munmu's tomb, known as 'Daewangam', is thought to be similar to the structure of the main hall of Gamsansa Temple.
From the time of the unification war for the unification of the Three Kingdoms, there was a tendency in Silla for the ruling class to sacrifice themselves.
It is said that the death rate of the ruling class above the county magistrate level, who were defending the country in the battle to expel the Tang army, was beyond imagination.
It is the practice of the so-called 'noblesse oblige', a moral duty corresponding to high social status.
And that too, by sacrificing the most precious and crucial asset a human being possesses: life.

---From "Chapter 3: What Did Silla Dream of? In Search of the House of the Dead"