Gyeongju

Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang province of Goryeo kingdom. In 940, the founder of Goryeo, King Taejo, changed the city's name to "Gyeongju",which literally means "Congratulatory district". In 987, as Goryeo adopted a system of having three additional capitals in politically important provinces outside Songdo (nowadays Kaesong), Gyeongju was designated as "Donggyeong" ("East Capital"). However, that title was removed in 1012, the 3rd year of King Hyeongjong, due to political rivalries at that time,though Gyeongju was later made the seat of Yeongnam Province. It had jurisdiction over a wide area, including much of east-central Yeongnam, although this area was greatly reduced in the 13th century.

The economy of the city is centred around fishing and agriculture.

As the capital of Silla, commerce and trading in Gyeongju developed early on. Samguk Sagi has records on the establishment of Gyeongdosi (capital area market) in March, 490 during King Soji's reign, and Dongsi (East Market) in 509, during King Jijeung's reign.