SUWON HWASEONG FORTRESS IN WINTER

   
     The gates and walls I saw on our way back from Everland Resort to Suwon made me want to go back and take a closer look. So after three weeks, I was successful in dragging my husband to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.

     This area was surrounded by 5.7 kilometers of stone walls and has four gates, the Janganmun (north gate), Hwaseomun (western gate), Changnyongmun (eastern gate) and the Paldalmun (southern gate) and has towers used for different purposes. The fortress was influenced by both Eastern and Western architecture.  It was built before the end of 18th century when King Jeongjo tried to move the capital from Seoul to Suwon to get away from the ugly memories of his father, Prince Sado's death caused by his grandfather King Yeongjo. The Crown Prince was locked in a rice chest for eight days until he died. King Jeongjo moved his father's tomb to Suwon and built these walls to protect it. Now, it's in the list of UNESCO's world heritage sites.

Dongbuk Gangnu

     We didn't have a tiny hint that this is going to be another mountain hike but it's worth all the leg muscle cramps we got. We started trekking from the Janganmun and the first pavilion we saw is the Dongbuk Gangnu in the northeast of the fortress on a slightly elevated terrain which was used for resting.
     That was just the beginning of a long, tiring hike up the mountain. We followed the wall, taking 2-minute breaks each time we're out of breath and finally reached the highest part (or so we thought). There's another pavilion, a tower, some benches and a nice view of Suwon.

      Not far is the Seoammun(Western Secret Gate), which provided secret access to the fortress, and the Filial Piety Bell. The bell was hung by the people of Suwon for visitors to ring to wish them well. Guests should ring it thrice- first as a symbol of gratitude to his parents and to wish them good health, second ring for his family's health and harmony and third for the realization of his dreams. We didn't get to strike the bell that day because the ticket booth was closed and a minimal fee needs to be paid to do this.

Seoammun

Filial Piety Bell

     A few more walks took us to the Unesco marker and a small gate. Inside is a pit stop if you need to go or get some ramyun 

UNESCO stone marker

(noodles). Then to another gate which leads to the Southwestern Pavilion or Seonamgangnu that served as a resting place for the soldiers and doubled as a watch tower because of its strategically high location. There's this small area just before the gate. I apologize for forgetting 

what it was and for not taking pictures since it didn't trigger my

gate going to the convenience store

interest because of it's not-so-tidy grounds but it has some sort of a marker with Hangul scriptures. If you want to check it out, it's a bit hidden behind some trees on the left before the gate to the southwestern pavilion.

gate and muddy trail to Seonamgangnu

     We dared to take a different route back and went down a muddy trail. We were led to another road and a shrine but it's closed and no one else was checking it out that time. After the shrine is a view of the Hwaseong  Haenggung on the right side of the road.
     Hwaseong  Haenggung is a temporary shelter where the king
used to rest or retire from a war. This is the biggest among the temporary palaces built in South Korea. The king stayed here at the time of Wonghaeng (his long journey) and this is where his mother's 60th birthday was celebrated. 

Hwaseong Haenggung

     The last stop we made was at the bronze statue of King Jeongjo. He is one of the prominent kings of Joseon Dynasty. The statue is huge and very detailed but what caught my attention were his shoes! I don't know, maybe it's a girl thing. Behind the statue is an amazing gallery of the ancient life of South Koreans etched on the granite walls as you walk towards the exit.

King Jeongjo's Statue

gallery behind the statue

     Suwon Hwaseong Fortress is one of the foreign tourists' favorite cultural tourist spots. We haven't explored the whole fortress yet because of our limited travel time and I still have a lot of other reasons to go back, so I'm sure we'll visit it again on my next visit this fall.

 HOW TO GET THERE
Subway Line 1, Suwon station (exit 2)
take bus #2, 7, 7-2, 8 or 13 to Jongno 4-geori

OPERATING HOURS
Summer- 9am to 6pm
Winter  - 9am to 5pm