Gyerim

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Gyerim

Korean name

Hangul	계림
Hanja	鷄林
Revised Romanization	Gyerim
McCune-Reischauer	Kyerim

The Gyerim is a small woodland in Gyeongju National Park, Gyeongju, South Korea. The name literally means "chicken forest." The grove lies near the old site of the Silla kingdom palace in central Gyeongju. Nearby landmarks include the Banwolseong fortress, Cheomseongdae, the Gyeongju National Museum, and the Royal Tombs Complex.

The original name of Gyerim was Sirim 始林. However, according to the Samguk Sagi, a 12th century Korean history, Sirim was the site where the child Kim Alji, founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was discovered. Found in a golden box accompanied by a rooster, he was adopted by the royal family. His descendants became the later kings of Silla and the forest where he was found was renamed Gyerim, "chicken forest". The Samguk Yusa, a 13th century miscellanae of tales relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, gives a different origin of the term Gyerim. According to that text, the founder of Silla, Bak Hyeokgeose, was born at a stream called Gyejeong 鷄井, "chicken well", and that his future consort was born from a dragon that came to earth at another place called Gyeryongseo 鷄龍瑞, and for this reason the area was renamed Gyerim.

Based upon the legends of Silla's founding, Gyerim also became a sobriquet for that state. The earliest recorded reference we have of Gyerim being used to designate Silla is from the Chinese histories. The Old History of Tang 舊唐書 records that in 663 Tang Gaozong designated Silla as Gyerim Territory Area Command (Hangul: 계림도독부 Hanja :鷄林州都督府) and Silla's King Munmu the Gyerimju dodok, Commander-in-chief of Gyerim Territory. The early eighth century Silla scholar Kim Daemun authored a no longer extant book of tales of Silla entitled Gyerim japjeon 鷄林雜傳.

Gyerim also appears in the title of the early 12th century Chinese work Gyerim Yusa (鷄林類事), which provides one of the earliest sources of information on the pronunciation of the native Korean language.