Korea
Travel and Visit Beautiful Korea Today!

Written by: Debbie Salcedo
 

Title: "Royal Tour of Seoul"
About: Travel and Tourism Korea

Mist shrouded pine trees along the mountain slopes… Images of armed troops of soldiers marching up along the steep trails winding towards the fortified castle walls. Walls that bear witness to history, valor and pride. And no, this isn’t England that I’m talking about.

While Korea has mostly been stereotyped by Kimchi and red-shirted soccer enthusiasts, what most people don’t know however is that this Hermit Kingdom has castles that are just steeped in over five thousand years of history and has borne witness to turbulence and intense national pride.

One of the things many visitors enjoy experiencing are the castles that dot the Korean countryside. Although most castles lie in ruins these days, there are many fine examples, several of which can be found within a short distance of Seoul, the capital city and primary entry point to the Korean peninsula.
 

     
For a country with a history of over 900 invasions, it is small wonder that the Korean people turned to building forts and castles to protect its people in times of trouble.
Initial fortresses dated approximately at 2BC were primitively built with mud and timber. Later on however, castles evolved into more sophisticated architecture as new building technologies and weaponry became available.

Korean castles are styled differently from their European counterparts. Most castles in Korea were built simply as high stone walls, without the multi-storied towers as seen in European examples. Circular shaped entryways to primary gates is another distinct modification done by the Koreans to their castle designs. Although Korea's castles don't necessarily have the vertical impressiveness European structures may enjoy, they make up for this in sheer size and for many, the natural beauty of their mountain top locations.

There are three castle sites visitors to Seoul should not fail to visit:

Namhansanseong or the Namhan Mountain Fortress and is located just outside of Seoul. Originally built as an earthen fortress about 2,000 years ago, the fortress was used as a major military site during the olden times. It was rebuilt several times with the last one in 1624 which was prompted by the threat and eventual invasion of the Manchu army. From this fortress, King Injo and a few thousand soldiers and Buddhist warrior monks held off an invading force of 130,000 men for 45 days during the Manchu invasion of 1636. Part of the fortress was later burned by invading Japanese forces in 1907. In addition, the walls still bear scars and pockmarks sustained from bullets during the Korean War Era.

Another site well worth visiting is the Hwaseong Castle in Suwon. Located just south of Seoul and accessible via the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, Hwaseong is considered to be one of the best-preserved castles of Korea and was declared a UNESCO World Cultural site in 1998. Hwaseong was finished during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in 1796. The fortress wall stretches for 5.74 kilometers and was built with both stone and brick. The castle was built to accommodate not only traditional weapons like arrows and spears, but also guns and cannons. Hwaseong has also seen much chaos and war, much of which culminated in the burning of a huge part of the fortress during the Japanese invasion in the early 1900’s and partial destruction in the Korean War. Most of the fortress has since been renovated.

The last castle can be found within Seoul itself. In 1394, the King Taejo of the Joseon dynasty moved his kingdom's capital to Seoul. In the same year, he began a massive construction project involving two to three hundred thousand workers to build a wall around the new capital. Following years of re-construction and re-styling of the castle walls, a series of striking gates were constructed to allow entry to the city.

Although most of the city walls were destroyed during the Japanese Colonial Period, several of the gates still remain. In the heart of Seoul's downtown shopping district, the massive Dongdaemun (or East) gate still remains. As can be seen in the other Korean castles, Dongdaemun has the semicircle wall that was used to entrap enemies who try to force open the gate. Reaching above the gate is the imposing, but colorful gate structure.

 

Visit beautiful Korea today!