#Turista a Gongju

[wheresanne]

Things to do in Gongju in One Day

A peaceful place to see historic remains of Korean architecture is in Gongju.

Gongju-si (공주시) is a historic city best known for the Gongju Gongsanseong Fortress, a long stone fortress wall located up on a hill. Gongju is located about 90 minutes south of the Korean capital city Seoul and an hour north of Daejeon city.

Also, Gongju 공주 translates to “princess” in Korean!

I’ve visited Gongju a few times. One time was for a nice warm chestnut latte on a rainy day, another time was during an autumn evening, and most recently on a hot June day.

Here are some of the best things you can do in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea in a few hours on a one day trip.

What is the History of Gongju?

Long ago, Gongju was called Gomanaru as well as Ungjin, based on the Chinese characters. Ungjin became the capital of Baekje Kingdom from A.D. 474 to 539 when Hanseong (present-day Seoul) fell at the hands of the Goguryeo Kingdom.

Today, Gongju is best known for the Gonsanseong Fortress, chestnuts, Tombs of King Muryeong, and is small enough to enjoy and explore in a day trip.

First, you may want to know how to get to the Gongju Bus Terminal if you need to use Korea’s well-connected public transportation.

How to get to Gongju from Daejeon?

I went from Daejeon city’s Seonambu Bus Terminal (대전 서남부 시외버스터미널) to the Gongju Bus Terminal in the Singwan-dong neighborhood. (Daejeon has so many bus terminals, I wasn’t sure which one is the best.) There’s also Gongju Station (공부역) if the train station is convenient for you.

In November 2019, I went from 대전 서남부 시외버스터미널 to 공주 버스터미널 at 10:40 a.m. I couldn’t reserve the ticket online, you had to buy it at the bus terminal. On the way back to Daejeon, I took the 4:28 p.m. bus for about 4,300 Korean Won (~$4 USD).

Travel in Korea Tip: To navigate practically anywhere in Korea, you can use Naver Maps or Kakao Maps (the app or website). Or you can use Korail’s website to see train time schedules if your local train station goes to Gongju Station (공주역). Or look on the T-Money TxBus website.

I have also driven a car from Daejeon to Gongju. There’s free parking near all of these destinations in Gongju.

Gongju Gongsanseong Fortress (공산성)

Start your adventure in Gongju by visiting the Gongju Gongsanseong Fortress (공산성).

This fortress wall is the historic landmark of Gongju city and recently recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Historic Site. The stone wall wraps up and around the top of the hill. You absolutely should not skip it.

According to Gongju’s website, “the Gongsanseong Fortress gained recognition for its value as an ancient fortress of Baekje Kingdom that was built during the Ungjin period (475~538).” 

The well-built wall foundations show the Baekje’s civil engineering technology at that time and later had advancement through cultural exchanges with ancient China and Japan.

A significant part of the fortress wall was rebuilt after the Joseon Dynasty.

There are a few routes with stairs or pathways to walk on the wall. There’s enough space for wheelchairs or for elders to walk, so you don’t have to worry about falling (but you should still be cautious).

The fortress also looks really stunning in the evening, where the pathways and walls are lit up. When I visited this fortress at nighttime, the admission was actually free because it was already late.

Across the street are some Korean-style hanok (한욱) roof cafes, hotels, and restaurants. You should try Gongju’s staple food: the chestnut. These cafes have chestnut-flavored drinks and snacks.

If you’d like to see more places in Gongju, you can also take a Gongju tourist pamphlet at the entrance of the fortress!

The next place you should visit is interesting if you like the history of Korea and want to see the hillside tombs of a historic king. 

Tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju (송산리고분군 무령왕릉)

In Gongju, there are notable hillside tombs of an ancient king from the Baejke Kingdom.

From the fortress, we took the 5-minute bus ride to the King Muryeong Tombs. Today this site is a museum, so you can enter relics of the tombs and see other artifacts found in 1971.

According to the Korean Museum website, the Tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju in 1971 “was truly a watershed moment in the history of Baekje research. Approximately 4,600 artifacts were recovered during the excavation, highlighted by four gold crown ornaments that are now considered to be the representative artifacts of the tomb.”

Throughout the site of the tombs, there are stone guardian creatures which used to protect the tombs.

“This tomb guardian (진묘수), inspired by an imaginary creature...originally intended to guard tombs against evil forces, but they gradually acquired the function of guiding the spirits of the dead safely to the underworld. The details of this stone guardian attest to the outstanding artistic sensibility of Baekje people.”

Next to the site of the tombs, there are also the Bakseri Park, Arts Culture Performing Arts Venue (공주문예회관), and the local Ungjin Library. I hope to visit the Performing Arts Venue to hear Live music next time I visit Gongju.

The next unique destination might be seen while passing through the local cities or traveling from Daejeon to Gongju.

Seokjangri Museum in Gongju (석장리박울관)

Ancient history lovers should visit this unique site and museum.

This museum has a Paleolithic man's living exhibition field and excavated archaeological site (유적 발굴지). More than 3,000 pieces of chipped stone tools have been found, and now are on display at the museum.

“공주시 석장리박물관은 1964년 남한 최초로 발굴 조사되어 중국 최초 북경원인 발굴유적지인 주구점 유적박물관, 일본 최초 구석기유적인 군마현 이와주꾸 선사박물관 등과 어깨를 겨루는 우리나라 최초 구석기 전문 박물관으로 지난 97년도부터 143억을 투입하여 부지 16,303평, 전시관 620평 및 선사공원, 주차장 등 부대시설을 갖추고 있다.”

You can roam around the site and look at these Paleolithic man’s exhibition huts and fields.

I randomly found it (during Typhoon Lingling 2019) while driving on the highway from Daejeon to Gongju. The admission cost me 1,300 won to enter, and I think only an hour here is enough time.

Seokjangri Museum address: 990 Geumbyeok-ro, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do 충청남도 공주시 금벽로 990

If you enjoy hiking or seeing nature, the next destination is known as the second National Park of Korea and the largest mountain in the Daejeon area.

Gyeryongsan National Park (계룡산)

Traveling to Gongju from Daejeon? Then you will likely pass through part of the Gyeryongsan National Park.

Gyeryongsan is an 845m tall mountain in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. It became the second park to be labeled as a National Park in Korea. It lies at the boundaries of surrounding cities Gongju, Gyeryong, Nonsan, and Daejeon.

This National Park was my first real hiking experience in Korea. I was really impressed with the number of delicious restaurants with tens of Korean side dishes offered all located on the bottom at the Daejeon entrance.

The name “Gyeryongsan” is a bit awkward to pronounce, but it means “chicken dragon mountain” due to its ridgeline.

If you have a favorite spot in Gongju, you can share it below. Thanks for reading!