Hwaseong Fortress, South Korea

hwaseong fortress, suwon, south korea
hwaseong fortress, suwon, south korea
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hwaseong fortress, suwon, south korea
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hwaseong fortress, suwon, south korea
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Hwaseong Fortress

 

Built at the time of the Joseon Dynasty (from 1392 to 1910), the Hwaseong fortress was built by

King Chungjo who wanted to construct at the Paldal-san base a new capital near where the tomb of

his father is located in Hwa-san. The plan for the fortress was designed by Dasan Chong Yag-young. Because its shape looked like a spring willow leaf, the fortress was called Yukyoung, literally “willow leaf city”.

Costs of construction amounted to eight hundred thousand ryang of gold and needed over seven hundred thousand workers almost two years to finish making it from the period of 1794 to 1796.

During the colonial period of the Japanese (from 1910 to 1945) and the Korean War (from 1950 to

1953), Hwaseong Fortress underwent serious structural damage and several areas were burned.

The government of Korean spent over thirty two billion won in 1975-79 to restore fortress to its former glory.

The grounds surrounding Hwaseong Fortress is maintained carefully by the State. Volunteers dressed in period costume can be seen all around the fortress, re-enacting roles of protectors and guards of the fortress. UNESCO selected the Hwaseong in 1997 as a World Cultural Heritage site because of its distinction as a highly technical and scientific early military fortress.