Suwon Fortress

On Thursday, May 20th we had an extra day off from school.  I have heard that the principal can choose up to 3 days during the school year that he wants to have off "just because."  This was one of those days for us.  Thus, with the day off for Buddha's birthday, we had a 4-day weekend.   I was supposed to do this amazing white water rafting trip but it got canceled at the last minute.  That though, is another story.  Today I am posting about the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.  

The fortress is the most well-known symbol of Suwon and it was due time that I walked all around it.  To walk fully around the fortress takes about 2 hours.  I did not walk all the way around, but I did walk most of it.  The fortress was built in the late 18th century over two years, from 1794 to 1796 under King Jeongio of the famous Joseon Dynasty.  The fortress walls were built partially in response from the Japanese invasion of Korea in the late 1500's.  The fortress took approximately 700,000 man-hours to build.  It reminded me a lot of the Great Wall of China in its appearance and feel (I had the great opportunity to walk the Great Wall of China in the summer of 2004).  The weather on Thursday was hot and warm and perfect for a nice stroll around the city of Suwon.  It was interesting for me to see that although there are a lot of skyrise apartments in Suwon, there are also tons of small traditional homes.  In my neighborhood (which is not anywhere near the wall -- it took me about 35 mins on bus to get here, the same amount of time it takes me to get to Seoul!) there are few small traditional-style buildings.  

  (more pictures can be seen on my facebook.)