So who else, besides me, is none too pleased with this heat spell going on? I know it’s summer and all, but I am always positively sweating buckets, even when I’m standing still. Makes me long for the chill you can only feel atop mountains in the north. Before that, though, let me continue my SoKor series, picking up where I left off in my last post, when we decided to try to walk as far as we could along the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.
(You can check out my first post on the Fortress here.)
As I may have mentioned earlier, the entire fortress wall has a total length of 5.52 kilometers, and it encloses a city. So essentially, when you are walking its walls, on your left is the inner city, and outside, beyond the wall, is another city. 🙂 Cool, eh?
This early, I confess that we only walked around a little more than a half of that length, only because it was already getting so late, and dark, and I don’t think walking around is allowed even at past 7 in the evening. Plus, we had to go back to Myeongdong in Seoul where we were staying, so the trip takes quite a while.
[5:27PM] From the Seojangdae, or the Western Command Post on the summit of Mt. Paldal (the highest point of the fortress wall), we walked down, following the path and the direction indicated by markers and arrows.
The walls were built purely using Seokjae and Jeondol bricks. The path was friendly for those who simply want to walk. You just have to make sure you have comfy footwear, though.
The Fortress, which is said to have been built “scientifically”, is known for its multitude of military facilities that display the brilliance of military minds back in the day, particularly during the reign of King Jeongjo, who initiated the construction of this place. That was in 1794 to 1796.
Around the fortress are built chis, or a chi, which are basically turrets, or protruding sections where defender can take their positions to protect the fortress against attacking enemies. These chis are in placed in regular intervals around the fortress wall, and there are a total of ten chis in its entire length.
The one pictured below is the Seoichi, or the Western Turret II. Those holes are where the troops keep their watch, in case the enemy may be advancing toward the fortress.
A bit further down from the Seoichi is the Seoporu, or the Western Cannon Fort.
Hwaseong Fortress has a total of 5 cannon forts. This is where artillery is positioned. The door was padlocked, though, and when we took a peek inside, it was mostly empty, except for a fire extinguisher in the middle of the floor, and a sign that says CCTV is installed inside, so trespassers are basically screwed once they break in, haha!
As you go down, you can see the City of Suwon spread out in the distance. It looks soooo far, doesn’t it?
[5:41PM] We arrived at the Seobukgangnu, or the Northwestern Pavilion.
A gangnu is a “pavilion-like structure positioned on a relatively high part of the fortress”. This is where the troops take their rest while still being able to keep watch on the surrounding areas. There are a total of 4 pavilions or gangnu in the Fortress.
There were several locals hanging out inside the Pavilion at the time. I distinctly remember a dad playing with his toddler son, a young couple, and two elderly ladies. In order to go inside, you have to take off your shoes.
We spent maybe more than 10 minutes resting inside the Pavilion. The breeze was also refreshing and the view was very good. Like this one, where you can see a glimpse of the bastion beside the Hwaseomun.
And then we resumed our approach to Hwaseomun.
[5:53PM] We arrived at the Hwaseomun.
The Suwon Hwaseomun is the West Gate, and it was designated by the Korean government as Treasure No. 403.
Check out an arch in front of the gate, so it is quite shielded directly from outside. Attackers would have to round the arch to get to the entrance, where the troops will lie in wait. They’d have no chance (well, unless they break the arched wall, haha!)
We stepped down and crossed the street to get to the other side of Hwaseomun.
Hwaseong has a four main gates, and Hwaseomun is one of them. The other three are Janganmun (North Gate), Paldalmun (South Gate), and Changnyongmun (East Gate).
From here, you can look up and see Seojangdae. Yep, just over 30 minutes ago, we were up there.
And maybe it’s because it was close to 6pm already, but the place was relatively quiet and peaceful. Cars were already parked and the houses were starting to turn on their lights, one by one.
[6:04PM] After walking along the fortress wall from Hwaseomun, we came to the Bukporu, or the Northern Sentry Post.
There are five sentry posts at the Fortress, and this wooden structure is one of them. This is another vantage point where sentries keep watch and fire at the enemy when necessary.
And since this is a Fortress, of course it is a given that there should be cannon forts as well. This is the Bukseoporu, or the Northwestern Cannon Fort, located between the Hwaseomun and Janganmun. And yes, the Janganmun is in full view.
[6:19PM] We reached Janganmun, or the North Gate. It features a “hipped-style roof and a semi-circular, reinforced defense position attached to its exterior.” We decided to walk through that semi-circular structure.
Looking back, I am so glad there weren’t a lot of people when we were there, so taking photos was not a battle for position. 🙂
Check out the courtyard within the gate below.
By this time dusk was settling in. We debated between going back down and looking for the exit, but then we saw that the next facility was not too far off, so we can just see how far we can go before the light becomes hopeless.
By this time, the number of other people walking was increasing. It looks like a favorite place for jogging and brisk walking by the young and old alike. Man, if this were in my own town, I’d probably do the same!
[6:37PM] There is also a stream that crosses through the fortress and is said to reach the palace. This structure is the Hwahongmun, or the North Floodgate. The stream did not have a lot of water, maybe because it’s still summer.
We went down to the street level to take photos, when one of the old men hanging around the area told us that we can actually go down to the stream level if we want. We just have to walk around the other side of the gate, scramble down the bank and walk through the floodgates.
Which we did. Because we’re obedient like that.
[6:53PM] We decided to call it a day at the Hwaseong Fortress. We decided to go back to the Janganmun, since that seemed to be the spot where the main roads (and the bus routes pass through) are. Instead of walking along the fortress wall, we walked outside the fortress itself, on the street level.
Can you spot the kitty? (And no, this is not like that “spot the cat on the roof of the Church printed on the ten-peso bill”. I was looking up at the holes on the wall and saw something different, and look! A cat keeping watch! He must’ve been a sentry of the Hwaseong Fortress in his past life.
[7:02PM] We found our way back to Janganmun. And was surprised at how there were more people there than earlier.
Did you notice something? Yep, the ceilings had paintings. 🙂 Mostly of dragons.
We looked for the Tourist Information Center beside the Gate, but it was already closed, so we walked on the street until we got to a bus stop. The list of bus numbers on the stop was sooooo long it overwhelmed us. It was a good thing there was this young lady who looked like she’s in college, and she knew enough English to understand our question. She told us which bus number to wait for, which will bring us to the Suwon Station, where we can take the subway back to Myeongdong.
I think it was already 7:45 when we got to the bus, and past 9 when we arrived in Myeongdong. A packed day – pretty tiring but overall satisfying – and we wrapped it up by taking out fried chicken from Two-Two Chicken.
I don’t know if I will get the opportunity to do a complete circuit of Hwaseong when I go back to South Korea in the future (my list of places to visit is getting longer, and 1N2D is mostly to blame. *sigh*) But I am glad we got to see some of its key points.
I totally understand why this is a National Treasure. And a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Totally.
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