Suwon Hwaseong {Fortress Wall}

Last weekend, Matt and I had the opportunity to go to the Suwon Hwaseong {The Fortress Wall} and Hwaseong Haenggung {Palace}. Tickets to the fortress, the palace, and the Suwon culture center are only 3,000 won per person! 

The fortress wall was built between July of 1795 and January of 1796. King Jeongjo, the 22nd Joseom dynasty ruler, moved the capital from Seoul to Suwon in 1794. The Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1997. 

This place is huge. Matt and I were not expecting it to be so big! We only made it about a quarter way around before we stopped for the day. We will definitely be going back to see the rest of the fortress. 

{Suwon Hwaseomun gate} 

{The ceiling of one of the buildings} 

{Bukporu - Northern Sentry Post- This is one of 5 sentry posts at the fortress, and it was used as vantage points to spot an approaching enemy.} 

{If you want a good workout just climb up these stairs three or four times, which we did because we kept getting lost.} 

{Seobukgangnu- Northwestern Pavilion} 

{I love this picture because you can see how far the fortress goes!} 

{More stairs. This is the point where I sat down and had a little pout.} 

{But I made it to the top and the view was wonderful. -You can see me sitting to the side still in my pout.} 

{After my pout} 

{More ceilings} 

{Map of the fortress- we started at the blue pin and ended at the red. You can see how large it is from this picture.} 

If you are in the area, I would really suggest doing this. Matt and I can't wait to go back and explore the other part of the fortress, but we will probably wait till it gets a tad cooler. If you are going to go, I would suggest tennis shoes and comfy clothes. There are a lot of stairs and you will be walking a lot... but it is worth it {and that's coming from someone that hates walking}. 

And because you endured all these pictures and commentary- I'll show you my full pout: 

And there you go.

*Note: All information for this post was received through the signs and brochure given at the fortress and palace.