Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Korea

Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Korea
The wall of Hwaseong Fortress follows the topography as it winds its way to the top of Mt. Paldalsan.
Seojangdae Fort can be seen at the top left in the mist.




Left: Seojangdae Fort is at the top of Mt. Paldalsan.
The children in yellow are kindergartners on a field trip. They are climbing up the steps to the Arrow Launching Platform.
Every man in Korea needs to serve three years in the military. Part of their service can be done at many of the historical sites throughout Korea. The man at the right is a soldier in the traditional dress of that time.


Hwaseong Fortress
Hwaseong Fortress was built by King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800) as an act of loyalty towards his father and to restore the honor of his father who had been murdered. He also wanted to strengthen the authority of his monarchy which had been weakened by the same factional hostility. Jeongjo moved his father's tomb to Mt. Hwasan in the small town of Suwon in 1789. He then moved Suwon to nearby Mt. Paldalsan and creating a new well-planned town. To protect its inhabitants, construction was started in 1794 on a massive fortress. The construction was completed in 1796..
The fortress was designed by Jeong Yakyong (1762-1836), one of the greatest Confucian Silhak (School of Practical Learning) scholars. He used the scientific knowledge of his and other silhak thinkers. His plan made use of the topography of the area. Many new materials were used in the construction including brick. A pulley crane was designed for the first time to raise materials. Many modern architectural and engineering techniques were also used for the first time. The planning allowed for commerce, manufacturing, and defense of the town to coexist. Many new architectural feature were added that had not been seen before in Korean fortresses. It was equipped with assorted defense facilities such as command posts, five observation towers (gongsimdon), battlements, secret gates and arrow-launching platforms. Openings in the walls were designed for the use of rifles or arrows and there was a major use of cannons. There are four gates with two larger gates having two story pavilions on stone structures and are shielded by a semi-circular wall of brick.
The fortress took 700,00 man-days. Efforts were made to improve labor conditions. Workers were paid while most projects in the past had been done with compulsory labor.
Hwaseong Fortress was partly burnt down during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, but renovation works in the 1970s restored it to its former glory.
In 1997 Hwaseong Fortress was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site