I owe thanks to my friend Meghan for inviting me to Suwon!

About an hour south of Seoul, Suwon is the eighth-largest city in South Korea with over a million people living in the city. Suwon was named by King Taejong in 1413, although the area has had several older names and was populated since ancient tribal times.

Hwaseong Fortress was King Jeongjo’s attempt to make Suwon the nation’s capital, and was originally built from Jan. 1794 to Sept. 1796. This place was built to be the capital, and the scale almost makes it difficult to comprehend. 41 facilities / buildings (34 of which have been restored) were originally built within the fortress, and the walls of the fortress total almost 6 kilometers (over 3.5 miles). UNESCO designated this fortress as a World Cultural Heritage in 1997, which “catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.”

My goal certainly wasn’t to see the entire fortress – just to get a taste of it. A good thing too – I would’ve bitten off much more than I could chew! Getting to Paldal-mum took some time, mainly from trying to figure out the buses. There’s lots of them, but thankfully most of the bus stops list each buses route – with the important stops in English. One could probably take a taxi from the subway / train station, but the bus system can just as fast.

After arriving at the Paldal-mun bus stop (quite a few buses go this way, including 8, 13, 36, 38, and more), I was a little confused. The Paldal-mun gate is right in front of me – it’s in a roundabout that all traffic goes around – but there’s no light, no crosswalk, no way to see it up close and personal without running across traffic with a limited vision range.

Once traffic slowed down, we safely crossed and got some pictures:

Looking through the gated entrance, into the courtyard and (at a distance) back out at the street.

Looking at the inside of the gate out towards the road. The gate had a small square courtyard – hardly something to throw a big party in, but enough space to hold a few hundred troops for a big surprise in case the enemy made it in.

The ceiling of the gate area – perhaps the powerful dragon is there to either frighten the enemy or encourage the troops.

Looking at a map of the area, we could see where the fortress walls were supposed to be. We just couldn’t see them – where at one point the entire town of Suwon fit inside the fortress, the town has almost absorbed this fortress into the scenery of the city. Amidst a mostly-covered market, we found our way across the street and stream to another area:

The stairs led up to the Southeastern Pavilion, called Dongnamgangnu in Korean. The gangnu was a structure built on an elevated location for surveillance, and could easily be used as a command post in times of war.

Not sure if the faces are smiling or snarling…

The back side of the pavilion, with the fortress wall overlooking the city in the background.

I’m sure the view was quite different back then, though…

After exploring the area a bit more, we headed into the covered market – mainly lots of umbrellas haphazardly set up to keep food cold or people cool.

A few examples of songpyeon – the half-moon-shaped rice cakes commonly eaten on Chuseok (the Korean thanksgiving holiday giving everyone a three-day weekend)

A Buddhist monk prostrating and drumming a moktok (a bell-shaped wooden percussion instrument) in the median of the road. I didn’t get close enough to notice a donation box, but I suspect there wasn’t one.

On our way back to towards the subway station, I noticed the rather odd stone insert on the sidewalk:

Clueless tourist: Hey honey, look at this sign! Wow, arrows pointing both ways – I guess we’re going the right direction… Hey honey? Where were we going again?

Hwaseong Fortress will require a full day – or two – to explore thoroughly. Although it certainly has a lot to see, be prepared to work your way through the inevitable crowds that surround the markets around the area. Staying inside the fortress walls is probably a good idea if you’re looking to avoid the endless markets of fish and vegetable sellers.

Getting there: Take Seoul’s subway line 1 towards Cheonan. Get off at Suwon station and find your way to the street (exits 4, 5 or 6 are the easiest to find). From there, be on the lookout for a number of signs pointing you towards specific buses. You can wait for buses 8, 13, 36, 38, or just spy the signs at the nearest bus stop. There’s English for the important / tourist bus stops on the signs – but the announcement are NOT in English. Count the number of bus stops or keep your eyes peeled.