The City of Gyeongju is catching the eyes of its citizens and tourists on replacing the tourist information signboards with the new boards that tell stories as well.

The installation of the new signboards has been carried out with the theme, "Story-bound Tourism in Gyeongju." The new signboards are now in places at the eight following historic sites: Daereungwon(the Royal Cemetery), Dong-gung(East Palace) and Wolji(pond), Oreung(Five Tombs), Poseokjeong(Pavilion of Stone Abalone), the Tomb of Shilla's General Kim Yushin, King Muyeol's Tomb, Seokguram Grotto, the Gameunsa Temple Site.

These new signboards are the products of the collaboration of Korea's No.1 cartoonist Hyunsay Lee with the City. The stories have been extracted from Lee's simplified yet attractive accounts of the history of Shilla.

The stories and their historic sites are as follows: the legend of Park Hyeokgeose and the Foundation of Shilla at Oreung; the story of King Taejong Muyeol and Queen Munmyeong at King Muyeol's Tomb; the story of Hwarang ("Flower Boys" or an elite group of boys) and the Five Commandments at the Tomb of Shilla's General Kim Yushin; the tale of King Munmu and a magic bamboo pipe called "Manpashikjeok" at the Gameunsa Temple Site; the anecdote of Kim Daesung at Seokguram Grotto.

In the accompanying guide maps, tourists will find intriguing a "Painting of the Ancient Capital of Shilla" exhibited at Daereungwon(the Royal Cemetery), King Muyeol's Tomb, and Poseokjeong(Pavilion of Stone Abalone) that are in the old Gyeongju area. The painting was produced on commission by the artist Jaegun Lee for the Silla Arts and Science Museum located in Folk Craft Village. It will enable the tourists to fathom the ancient capital of 1000 years at a glance.

At Daereungwon(the Royal Cemetery), the luxuriant culture of Shilla can be seen on the photos of the golden crowns, a painting of a flying horse called "Cheonmado", and the silk saddles displayed under the title "Shilla, the Nation of Gold."

At the Anapji whose name was changed into Dong-gung(East Palace) and Wolji( pond) in July this year, you will see a Juryong-gu(a 14-sided die) that was excavated from Wolji, as indicated in the downtown guide map for the tourists on foot.

A City Govenment official says, "In order to help tourists have better understanding of Gyeongju, we will discover diverse stories behind the historic and cultural sites. And by developing the narratives for Hyangga(ancient folktales), anecdotes, parables, myths, and the stories of Hwarang, and Hwabaek, we shall let them feel the spirit of the 2000-year-old city. To this purpose, we shall check on the effectiveness of the signboards for tourism's sake and make sure that the installation of the signboards meet the standards for the global city of culture."