[Day 5] A walk in Suwon, the last walled city in Korea

굿모닝! Time flies fast and it’s already Day 5 for us! :O
It’s the last day we’ll be in Seoul and we were left with 1 last attraction (Suwon City) to visit before we part for our individual shopping! *grins* 😀

Headed back down Seoul station to purchase a train ticket to Suwon.
 No doubt, you can reach Suwon via subway (takes about 1h15mins), but since we wanted to have MORE time to shop, we decided to get a train ticket(cost 2,700won each) and the ride takes only 40mins instead! 😀

Went to Paris Baguette to have our breakfast since we are ahead of time.
Look at the different types of varities they offered! ❤❤❤
 Simply loves my lattee along with Pororo Cheesecake! (Only PB sells this Pororo cheesecake!)
 FYI, most of the Paris Baguette in Korea is a take-away bakery(smth like our Breadtalk) store, and there’s only a few outlets that offers a small dinning area for the patrons. 🙂

Empty train station on a Sunday morning
Once you exit from Suwon Train station, you will definitely see Suwon Tourist information counter. Do approach them if you need any help! ^^

Known as ‘The City of Filial Piety‘, Suwon(수원) is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do which is 30km southern part away from Seoul City. Many people visit Suwon for its attractions like Hwaseong Fortress, Everland Resort and the Korean Folk Village.

Fact 1: Suwon is the only remaining completely walled city in Korea.

FACT 2: The main industrial employer in Suwon is Samsung! The headquarter and a large factory complex of Samsung Electronics can be found in the city of Suwon.

We took a public bus to the destination (about 5-8mins ride)

Hwaseong Fortress (수원 화성)
11, Haenggung-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do
경기도 수원시 팔달구 행궁로 11 , 장안구, 권선구 일원
Entrance Fee: 1,000won

Hwaseong Fortress was an impressive structure from the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and the official fortress of Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. This fortress was built as a show of the King’s filial piety towards his father Jangheonseja and to build a new pioneer city with its own economic power.
The fortress wall stretches for a total of 5.52km, and has a total of 4 gates facing each of the cardinal directions— Janganmun (north), Paldalmun (south), Changnyongmun (east), and Hwaseomun (west), along with the seven-arch style Sumun gates straddle the point where the nearby stream reaches the palace.

At the same time, Hwaseong Fortress was well-known for its attractions as the entire place was featured in the K-Drama (DaeJangGeum, 大長今) and variety show 2D1N.

You will notice this Zelkova tree(est. 600yrs old) on your right side once upon entering the entrance. (Heard that this tree was planted way before Hwaseong Fortress was even built! :O )
Many people believed that if you tie the note under this tree and make a wish sincerely, it will come true.^^

ㅎ ㅎ ㅎ ㅎ ㅎ

As it was Hwaseong Cultural Festival 2013 during the period we went, the entrance was FREE for all! 😀
(and there’s SBS filming going on at the same time too! :P)
These are the ‘maids servants’ and ‘officials’~

As it is a cultural festival, there are many different varieties of food(local, Suwon food specialities and international) stores being set-up as well.

We skipped the food and started climb up to purchase our ticket for Hwaseong Trolley.
But..only to disappointment as Hwaseong Trolley does NOT Operate on rainy days/snowing season. 😦

So… we decided to climb to the peak of Mt. Paldalsan and tour the entire place…BY FOOT! 😛

What a nice view of the entire Suwon City at the peak of Paldalsan

This is Seonodae, the West Crossbow Platform
 It was built-in an Octagonal shape with steep-stepped, black brick platform directly adjacent to Seojangdae at the crest of Paldalsan, where archers could attack assailants in a wide range of directions.

Seobukgangnu(서북각루) – the Northwestern Pavilion
 This place was used as a ‘resting area’ for the soldiers in the past. But during times of war, this place was used as a command post by troops stationed near Hwaseomun Gate. (cr: here)

Totally love the deign of this view-spot!
 3 different angles for us to view surroundings. Heard that it was tested that your enemies couldn’t see you! HAHA~

Janganmun Gate
 This gate was considered as the main entrance for the King in the past.

Hwahongmun Gate
 This is the Suwon River which cuts across Hwaseong Fortress from the North to the South. Water gates were installed on the north and south walls to allow the river to flow through.

There’s quite a few area within the Hwaseong Fortress where you could find both restaurants and houses of the locals too! =D

Walked past a tent where they are creating lantern(s) with recycled items.

Totally have no idea what those lanterns were for till we saw…
WOW! 😀

While Andy walked down to the river-side to take a better view of the hand-made lanterns, I noticed this…
 I guess the Koreans are really good in creating ideas with recycled items in decorating their country!! 🙂

Saw this along the way

and off we went looking for it..ㅋㅋㅋ~~~

Totally ❤ this Hwaseong Fortress drawing.. ^^

We managed to track back along the river..

passed by Jidong Market(지동시장) as well~
PS: There are a lot of things over in this market for you to explore too! 😀

We decided to head back slightly earlier to Seoul for more shopping instead. 😛

Note to self/Readers:
If you have time to spare, do add in Suwon as part of your itinerary.
This city is more than just a historical site!! It’s really a nice place to walk and enjoy about it. 🙂

Just a short trip down to Suwon, it had actually enlighten me how much Korea had changed since Joseon Dynasty till the present. Thinking back, it’s really amazing  to view these structures (even after reconstructed some of the parts) and how this place was designated as part of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
It’s a pity we didn’t managed to get a taste of Galbi(which is a speciality from Suwon!).
But it’s okay! I will be back to eat that soon! 😀

I’ll be posting a few interesting fact/tips in travelling around Korea this week though.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ~
Shall let you guys have some time to digest my past few entries and re-schedule your itinerary.:P(I know there’s too much place to include for your trip! MUAHAHAHA~)

Stay tune! Don’t say I didn’t tell you guys!
안녕!!

Special Thanks to the following Sponsors that made this trip happen:
– Korea Tourism Organization (Singapore)
– EG Sim Card
Accommodation in Seoul:
– Center Mark Hotel (via Hana Tour)

xoxo,
yyann