Cheomseongdae

One of the most important monuments in Korea is “Cheomseongdae”. I think the “Cheomseongdae” is the most important monument in Korea since it was built during an important period in Korean history. I was impressed with how people used to live during the reign of Queen ‘SeonDeok’ which was a long time ago. You can think of this monument which was used to observe the stars and sky as one of the key monuments that helped many archeologists understand the era of Silla in Korea.

First of all, Silla is the period during which another important period amongst the ‘Three kingdom Period’. The Three Kingdoms being: ‘Silla’, ‘Goguryeo’, and ‘Backjae’. The three kingdoms fought over the “Han River”, which was a faster transit and easier route to neighboring countries like Japan and China.

As I have mentioned before, Queen Seondeok was the one who made the “Cheomseongdae” Observatory. So, who was Queen Seondeok? Queen Seondeok was the first queen in Korean history. Because of that, many conflicts were happening between the king who was her father, and his servants. Thus, I think Queen Seondeok is quite respectable, not only for being the first-ever queen in Korean history, but also one who has achieved so many things such as building this observatory. It is amazingly special to leave a memorable trace behind you for generations to admire and get inspired by it.

To conclude, I would like to explain a little bit more about the “Cheomseongdae” ‘s aesthetic. The “Cheomseongdae” is nine meters high and is made of around three hundred and sixty-seven stone bricks. At that time, it was quite difficult to build a ladder that high, so people put dirt and stones inside so they can climb up the summit with small ladders to observe the stars. It helped people with so many things back then and was, of course, influenced by Buddhism and the Lunar calendar.

I think the “Cheomseongdae” monument is my favorite monument in the world. It will always be the same, even after centuries to come.

As a Korean person, I am proud of this monument which was listed on UNESCO as a world treasure. I visited it around five times so far in Gyeongju and felt amazed every time. It is surely an important piece of history to always remember.