Poseokjeong Pavilion Site, Gyeongju

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.1

Category

유적지

Era

통일신라시대

Designated year

1963

Location

경주시, 경상북도— 경북 경주시 배동 454-3번지

Coordinates

35.807241, 129.212833

Poseokjeong, located to the west of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, was probably built as an entertainment venue for Silla kings and aristocrats sometime during the late 9th century. All that remains today, however, are the stone foundations of a winding canal which historians believe is related with the facility where a renowned Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi (307-365) played with his friends. They believe that the canal was used for a drinking game in which participants were required to complete their poem before a wine-filled vessel floating along it arrived before them. The 22m-long channel was designed to have many curves so that the speed of the wine cups would vary greatly according to their shapes and the amount of wine they contained. Similar drinking games are known to have been played in ancient China and Japan, too, although few such sites have been found.

Location