The Gyerim is a small

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

in Gyeongju National Park,

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The name literally means "rooster forest." The grove lies near the old site of the

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

kingdom palace in central Gyeongju. Nearby landmarks include the

Banwolseong Wolseong Palace Site, Gyeongju (慶州月城, literally “Half Moon Fortress”), also commonly known as Wolseong Palace, was the royal palace compound of the Korean Silla monarchy at their capital in Gyeongju during the Silla and Unified Silla ...

fortress,

Cheomseongdae Cheomseongdae ( ko, 첨성대; Hanja: , ) is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed in the 7th century in th ...

, the

Gyeongju National Museum The Gyeongju National Museum is a museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Its holdings are largely devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, of which Gyeongju was the capital. The museum is located immediately adjacent to the ...

, and the Royal Tombs Complex.Gyeongju Gyerim
at

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Group, Doosan Donga (두산동아). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (동아원색세계대백과사전), which comprises 30 volumes and ...

History

The original name of Gyerim was Sirim (시림, 始林). However, according to the

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

, a 12th-century Korean history, Sirim was the site where the child Kim Alji, founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was discovered. Found in a golden box accompanied by a rooster, he was adopted by the royal family. His descendants became the later kings of Silla and the forest where he was found was renamed ''Gyerim'', "Rooster Forest." The '' Samgungnyusa'', a 13th-century miscellanea of tales relating to the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

, gives a different origin of the term Gyerim. According to that text, the founder of Silla, Hyeokgeose, was born at a stream called Gyejeong (계정, 鷄井), "rooster well," and that his future consort was born from a dragon that came to earth at another place called Gyeryongseo (계룡서, 鷄龍瑞), and for this reason the area was renamed Gyerim.Gyerim
at Britannica Korea However, it is presumed that Gim's ''Legend related to Gye(계,鷄)'' was mixed with the legend of state's founder. Because, The source of these records is a comprehensive record of verbal legends in the 13th century written by Buddhist monks. There is a difference of more than 1000 years from the time when the incident occurred. In the Samguk Sagi, a more reliable history book, ''Legend related to Gye(계,鷄)'' is mentioned only in

Gim Al-ji Gim Alji(Kim Alti) (, 金閼智; 65–?) was a historical figure in Korean history. His descendants formed the Gim royal clan of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His legendary birth is said to have occurred during the reign of Silla's f ...

's part, but not in Hyeokgeose's part. Based upon the legends of Silla's founding, Gyerim also became a sobriquet for that state. The earliest recorded reference we have of Gyerim being used to designate Silla is from the Chinese histories. The ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingd ...

'' records that in 663

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...

designated Silla the

Gyerim Territory Area Command The Gyerim Territory Area Command was a proposed autonomous administration to be established in Silla territory by the Tang dynasty. In the place of Baekje and Goguryeo, the Tang created the Protectorate General to Pacify the East, Ungjin Commande ...

() and

Munmu of Silla Munmu of Silla (626–681; reigned 661–681) was the 30th king of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He is usually considered to have been the first ruler of the Unified Silla period. Munmu was the son of King Muyeol and Munmyeong, who was the young ...

as its commander-in-chief. The early eighth-century Sillan scholar Kim Dae-mun authored a no longer extant book of tales of Silla entitled ''Gyerim japjeon'' (). Gyerim also appears in the title of the early twelfth-century Chinese work ''

Gyerim yusa The ''Jilin leishi'' was a Chinese book about Korea written in 1103–1104 by Sūn Mù (孫穆), an officer of the Chinese Song dynasty embassy to Goryeo. The original work is lost, but fragments reproduced in later Chinese works provide vital in ...

'', which provides one of the earliest sources of information on the pronunciation of the native Korean language.

Historical landmark

Being considered a holy place, a monument commemorating the birth legend of Kim Alji was built in 1803 by the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

.Gyeongju Gyerim
Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea ''Gyerim'' has been designated as historical landmark #19 from the Korean government since January, 1963. The grounds cover 7,300 m² and has a dense forest of old oak,

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

zelkova ''Zelkova'' (from Georgian ''dzelkva'', 'stone pillar') is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs (''Z. sicula'') to large ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

, Japanese clovers, scarlet maple and Japanese pagoda trees.

Gallery

File:Kim Alji.jpg, Painting depicting the discovery of Kim Alji File:Gyerim.JPG, Gyerim forest File:Korea-Gyeongju-Gyerim Forest-Monument-01.jpg, Gyerim Forest Monument

References

External links

Gyeongju National Park introduction
Korea National Park Service {{coord, 35.8675, N, 129.2230, E, source:wikidata, display=title Geography of North Gyeongsang Province Gyeongju Historic Sites of South Korea Forests of South Korea Tourist attractions in Gyeongju

History

Historical landmark

Gallery

See also

References

External links