Spring Time at Hwaseong

Yesterday, I went with some of the international students to Hwaseong fortress in Suwon. I went to the fortress last December, but because it was icy and cold, parts of the fortress were closed. We were only able to see a small part of the fortress last December, so I was excited to explore the entire site here in the Spring.

Hwaseong is one of UNESCO sites here in Korea. It was built after the Japanese invasion in the late 1500's as an emergency capital. It was also built because it would be the place where the Japanese would have to pass in order to get to Seoul. It is 19 miles south of Seoul. The fortress was built to be the size of a small city. The wall is about 3.5 miles long in circumference. It was built on a hill, with half the fortress ascending up to the top with a watch tower, and the other half descending down to the area where a small city was built. Today, a large part of the city of Suwon is still within these walls.

Joining me to tour the fortress were Amanda, Heather, Ali, Alison, Will, Charlie, and Carlos. They are all first semester students, so they were as excited as I was to explore the fortress. It was great to go see such an important historical site in Korean history with such an enthusiastic group. We walked from the subway station to one of the entrances to the wall. Because the wall is so long, there are several admission locations.

While trying to find the entrance (the station was about a mile from the fortress), the boys decided to split away in search of the fortress. This befuddled me and the other girls, I'm not sure why they thought that going in the opposite direction of both the fortress and the rest of the group would help all of us find it faster. The girls and I just shrugged this off as "boys being boys" and made our way towards Hwaseong.

We found the fortress, but not the boys. We spent the next hour walking along the wall while calling the boys every ten minutes or so trying to locate their position. They found the wall, but they were about ten minutes ahead of us (not sure how that happened, one of those mysteries that will never be solved). We eventually met up at the Southern post (which was a pagoda overlooking a small stream). We spent the rest of the time together, exploring more of the wall as well as the small palace in the center of the fortress.

It was a great day, warm and sunny with the trees blossoming just enough for it to be beautiful. Hwaseong is one of those places that is so expansive and so rich in history that I could visit several times. I am hoping to go back to Hwaseong later this year, because there is still more to see.