Woljeonggyo Bridge
월정교
Free and open late, which makes it the easiest night stop in Gyeongju. The exhibition inside the gate towers covers the restoration itself.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 월정교
- Address
- 274 Gyo-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do
- Opening hours
- 09:00–22:00
- Time needed
- 30 min
- Opened
- 2018 · The 2018 date is the completion of a reconstruction; the original bridge is 8th century. The deck was rebuilt in 2013 and the gate towers afterwards.
History
The bridge is known by name from the Samguk Sagi, which records that in the nineteenth year of King Gyeongdeok of Unified Silla, two bridges — Woljeonggyo and Chunyanggyo — were laid over the Muncheon south of the palace. It was lost during the Joseon period.
What to see
The bridge deck
Rebuilt between 2008 and 2018 on the excavated abutments, wing walls and four boat-shaped piers, which put the original at about 60 m. Burnt timber and roof-tile fragments found between the piers are why the deck was restored as a roofed gallery rather than an open span.
The gate towers
Two-storey towers at each end of the bridge. The deck was finished in 2013 and the towers came afterwards, completing the restoration in 2018.
The exhibition upstairs
The upper floor of the gate towers holds a film on the restoration and a display of the excavated finds — easy to walk past if you only cross the bridge.
The stepping stones
Laid in the riverbed in front of the bridge so it can be seen head-on — the photograph is taken from here, not from the deck.
The bridge deck selected
Nearby
Gyeongju Wonjo Kongguk
A sixty-year-old shop near the front gate of Daereungwon, serving warm soybean soup topped with black sesame, honey and a glutinous-rice doughnut.
Cheomseongdae Observatory
Small, free and always open. It takes ten minutes, so plan it as the link between Daereungwon and Donggung rather than a destination of its own.
Gyeongju National Museum
The national museum of Silla. Four of the six gold crowns excavated from the tombs in central Gyeongju are administered here, as is the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok. After Daereungwon and Cheomseongdae — the tombs and the sky — it is the natural place to come and see what was inside the tombs.
Hwangnam Milmyeon
A milmyeon house on Hwangnidan-gil. Milmyeon began as displaced northerners' wheat-flour substitute for naengmyeon and took hold first in Busan.
Frequently asked questions
Is Woljeonggyo free?
Yes, and so is the parking. The Woljeonggyo public car park at Gyo-dong 153-5 has no charge.
Stories about this place
- Gyeongju in a Day on Foot: Daereungwon to Woljeonggyo
A walking day that starts at the Daereungwon tomb park, crosses to Gyeongju National Museum and Donggung and Wolji, and ends at the lit Woljeonggyo bridge. The seven stops add up to 5.1 km in a straight line, and one time decides the whole order: the museum stops admitting at 17:30.
- Five Places to Visit Around Hwangnidan-gil, Gyeongju: Daereungwon, Cheomseongdae, Donggung and Wolji, Woljeonggyo
Five sites a few minutes' walk from Hwangnidan-gil. All five stay open into the night, and only the two that sell tickets have a deadline.
Nearby Food
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