The Hwasong Fortress.

There are a lot of interesting cultural sights in Korea associated with the various dynasties that have rule here over the years. The Chosun dynasty was responsible for building the fortress in Suwon that is called Hwasong. We are fortunately located quite close to this Korean National Treasure.

Perhaps the most impressive single component of the fortress is the South Gate. Unfortunately this is also the one component that you can't get into or even up close to. It is surrounded by a very busy traffic circle. About two blocks from this gate the real wall begins, rising sharply up a hillside. With the kids along, it took about 10 minutes to work our way to the first major plateu. There are several pagoda like structures along this length of the wall.

Continuing upward bring you past more fortifications and near the top an impressive command post that nowdays commands a great view of Suwon. Just before the command center there is an example of a large Korean style bell. It is probably 5 feet tall. There is a large log hanging from two ropes. To ring the bell requires a person to pull the log back and then push it towards the bell. It's not that easy to do...K.W. at nine years old was just able to manage a decent ring.

Once past the command post the wall proceeds down the mountain again towards the west gate. The west gate is pretty interesting and on weekends they have a "guard" standing there in traditional Korean military color guard dress. It's colorful and well worth the photo opportunity. From the west gate to the north gate requires a trip past the water gate - that lets the Suwon stream flow through. It's a pretty site now, but must be really nice when the early summer monsoons bring more water cascading through.

The north gate is a lot like the very impressive south gate, excepts that you can walk through this one. It is also in the middle of a traffic circle, but there are metal bridges over the road that allow access. The wall from the north to the east gast is quite short. It does, however go past one defense tower that is among the most popular with the kids. They were able to explore it one of the Sunday's that we wondered around the area. Near this tower is the archery range we mentioned on the archery page. This area must be a popular place for sledding in the winter. The east gate is a lot like the west gate. The only other really interesting place on the wall between the east and south gates is the signal tower. It has five becon chimney that were used to communicate battle conditions day or night when the fortress was active.

The southern water gate has been lost over time in the only section of the wall that hasn't been restored, and it seems unlikely it ever will be rebuilt as to do so would require razing the major downtown market. Still, there is a lot of the wall that has been restored - and work continues right now. It's really a treasure and there's no surprise that it was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.