Travel Diary: Hwaseong Fortress

When you say South Korea, Seoul is usually the first city that comes to mind. In fact to a lot of tourists, it’s the ONLY city that comes to mind. But just like any other country, South Korea has a lot of hidden gems aside from its capital that are worth discovering. One of which is the province of Gyeonggi-do. Located 40 minutes away from the Incheon Airport, this charming province that surrounds Seoul was our first destination. Gyeonggi-do has a lot of interesting places to visit like DMZ (De-militarized zone), Korean folk village, royal tombs, museums, spas, K-drama film sites,  theme parks and more. Unfortunately though, we only had a little less than 2 days in the area so we weren’t able to visit all of them. We were, however, able to visit its number one must-see tourist destination (number one at least for me)–the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. You guys should know by now how much of a sucker for historical and heritage sites I am so it should come as no surprise that this is my favorite out of all the places we visited in Gyeonggi-do.

This 6-meter high, 5.7-kilometer long fortress was built during the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty from 1794-1796 by King Jeongjo. It is said that he constructed this fortress because he planned to move the capital from Seoul to Suwon. The king wanted to escape the factional strife of Seoul palace life and the bad memories the city holds for him. You see King Jeongjo’s father, Prince Sado, was murdered by his grandfather in Seoul after learning about Prince Sado’s mental illness and careless killings. Since Prince Sado’s tomb is at Hwaseong, King Jeongjo built this fortress not only for defensive purposes and to form a new political basis for reform but also to honor his father’s tomb. The King stayed in a temporary palace here whenever he did memorial services for his father. The fortress was designed to protect this temporary palace plus Suwon’s village from foreign invaders. Most of its defensive features like floodgates, observation towers, command posts, arrow launcher towers, firearm bastions, angle towers, secret gates, beacon towers, bastions and bunkers are still intact. Its distinctive features include its four main gates–Paldalmun Gate (South), Janganmun Gate (North), Hwaseomun Gate (West) and Changnyongmun Gate (East). If I’m not mistaken, this photo shows the Janganmun gate, which is the the largest gate in South Korea.

Scroll down the photos below to see the rest of this masterpiece. The Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1997 for its unique blend of Eastern and Western military architecture. I don’t know much about military architecture but personally, I love how this fortress isn’t all gray stone walls. It’s got colorful details here and there too!

Cotton On fedora | She Inside pleated romper | Marks & Spencer inner slip dress | SM Accessories ear cuff and bracelets | Prada bag | Tonic sandals 

Special thanks to AirAsia Zest and KTO!

38 Responses to “Travel Diary: Hwaseong Fortress”
  1. Chantel :)

    How i wish, i have time to travel like you!! You visited alot of places… :)

    Reply
  2. Clariss

    You look like an angel in that dress! Actually your face always look like an angel. I actually think that you’re an actual angel. You were a God given gift to me, coz you have inspired me so much (okay it’s getting cheesy and embarrassing na i’ll stop hihi) who took your outfit shots anyways? It’s sooooo good!!!!

    Reply
    • Camille Co

      Haha! Aww thanks Clariss! Whoever is with me takes my photos. Pat took these :)

      Reply
  3. maebs

    love the history why Hwaseong Fortress was created. :) food, fashion, travel, and history you nailed it ate cams. :)

    Reply
  5. Katrin Tuano

    History 101 by Professor Camille Co! How’s that sound? Haha Korea has such a rich culture, can’t wait to visit it after Japan and Spain. Oh Camille, you always bring out the wanderlust in me Haha plus, your outfit matches your background again! How do you do it? Hehe Amazebells!! *u*

    Reply
    • Camille Co

      Thank you Katrin! I got lucky I guess! :) Your bucket list is getting longer!

      Reply
    • Camille Co

      I want to visit Korea again! That’s how much I enjoyed :)

      Reply
  11. Ericka Garcia

    Omg. Korea is so beautiful! I hope I can visit that country too, aside from Japan! :-) Did you visit the DMZ? :-)

    Love,
    Ericka Garcia

    Reply
  12. Anne

    Aaaah! You are seriously making my travel bucket list longer than ever Cams. LOL. But I guess it is for the better. After all, I’m a travel junkie and all I need to do now is to save, save, save so I could travel, travel, travel. I really love your travel diaries. I’m a sucker for historical places too and as I’ve said before, the charm of old cities and places attract me. Oh Korea, when will I see you? I love that second to the last photo. You look so regal. It’s a good juxtaposition of ancient days and modern fashion. So cool!

    https://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com/

    Reply
    • Camille Co

      Thanks Anne! :) The longer the list, the more inspired you’ll get! :)

      Reply
  18. EldenThunder

    Wooowowow! Your History101 miss Cams works so well! I really love seeing you traveling different places, I also got a chance to see your funny and dare videos of you traveling from youtube hahaha LOL I always wanted to travel also but i think i’m still young and independent for now but still keep inspiring me! hahahaha(required?) I want to go to those palces that you’ve been to. XOXO

    Reply
    • Camille Co

      Thank you Elden! :) Don’t worry, you’ve got plenty more years ahead of you for traveling! :)

      Reply
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