Gyeongju Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
102 Wonhwa-ro, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do
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Gyeongju Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond (formerly known as Anapji) was the site of the Crown Prince's East Palace and a detached royal pleasure garden of the Silla kingdom. After Silla's fall, wild geese and ducks flocked here, giving it the name Anapji (Goose-Duck Pond). In the 1980s, a pottery shard inscribed with 'Wolji' (Moon-Reflected Pond) was found, and historical records note that King Munmu dug a great pond in 674 and created three islands and twelve mountain peaks around it, planting rare flowers and trees and raising exotic birds and animals. The site was renamed Donggung Palace and Wolji in 2011. A 1975 dredging excavation identified 26 building sites and remains of a covered walkway. Three pavilion-style buildings and the pond were restored in 1980. Over 30,000 artifacts were recovered, including bricks inscribed with the date 680 confirming the site's construction under King Munmu. The complex is one of Gyeongju's most famous nighttime attractions.