Gyeongsangbuk-do historical timeline

This province was the base of the kingdom that unified Korea, and the centre of gravity of the country for a millennium.

Silla

Founded by tradition in 57 BC at Gyeongju, Silla grew from a small statelet into one of the Three Kingdoms, distinguished by an aristocracy organised into a rigid bone rank system, a remarkable goldworking tradition, and unusually for the period three reigning queens.

Unification

Allied with Tang China, Silla destroyed Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, then turned on its ally and pushed Tang forces off the peninsula by 676. Unified Silla ruled most of Korea for the next 250 years from Gyeongju, which grew to perhaps a million people and was one of the largest cities in the world, with Arab and Persian traders recorded there.

Decline and Goryeo

Aristocratic infighting broke the kingdom apart in the tenth century, and the capital moved north. Gyeongju became a provincial town, which is precisely why so much of its archaeology survives — nobody built over it.

Joseon

The province became the intellectual heart of Korean Neo-Confucianism, with academies at Andong and Yeongju and a scholar-official class that dominated the state.

The Imjin war

Japanese armies landed in 1592 and drove north through this province, and the passes and fortresses along the Nakdong were fought over repeatedly. Temples were burned — Bulguksa’s wooden halls among them, which is why what stands today is a later reconstruction on the original Silla stonework — and Korean potters were carried off to Japan, where they founded ceramic traditions that continue.

Modern

Heavy industry from the 1960s at Pohang and Gumi, and a long period of political dominance by figures from this province.