28 October 2016
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| When you see this large temple like structure, you are in the right place |
It was my first time to visit Korea and I was really happy that I was able to go outside of Seoul to visit Hwaseong Fortress. This is the wall surrounding the centre of Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
The site was designated as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO in 1997 so I think this is a place that is worth visiting for its view and history.
While searching the net, I found out that this was built by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to house and honor the remains of his father Prince Sado (1794 to 1796). I was so excited that I finally get to visit an ancient place where it is almost 300 years old.
From Seoul, it is 30 kilometres (19 mi) south and enclosing much of central Suwon which includes King Jeongjo's palace Haenggung. I searched a lot in the net on how to go to the Hwaseong fortress so that we can get there safely and enjoy the whole experience.
WHAT TO PREPARE BEFORE
1. Physical strength (Make sure you have enough sleep the day before) as you will be walking whole enjoying the view of Suwon.
2. Wear rubber shoes
3. T-money card for transportation
4. Camera or phone for photos
Whenever you are visiting Seoul, you should familiarize yourself with the All Stop train. I highly recommend downloading the Jihachul/ Subway train app on your phone.
You can use this even without an internet connection. You just have to input the train station from where you are and the train station you are going to.
Now let's get started:
HOW TO GET THERE
1. Enter the train station you are currently in, in our case it was Hongik University
and the destination is Suwon station.
This is an important tip because it is not indicated in the train app. We had to figure this ourselves since I have been taking note of the stations while riding it and we noticed that we were in the wrong direction upon checking the order of the trains stations in the app.
You must see the name of the Suwon station to be sure that the train is headed there like as seen above.
1. Enter the train station you are currently in, in our case it was Hongik University
and the destination is Suwon station.
2. Just to be sure, you must get off at Guro station and transfer to another train in the opposite direction (going to Suwon), usually the Line 1 train will go all the way to Incheon which is the opposite direction. After Guro, the next station must be JANGAM and you're all set. You will have to pass all 12 stations before arriving at Suwon station.
This is an important tip because it is not indicated in the train app. We had to figure this ourselves since I have been taking note of the stations while riding it and we noticed that we were in the wrong direction upon checking the order of the trains stations in the app.
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| Beautiful view from the train |
3. When you arrive at Suwon station, get off. Take Exit 4 until you see this below
4. Walk straight ahead for less than a minute and you will see a waiting shed for buses. You are in the right exit if you see Novotel building on your left.
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| Just upon exit of the station, on your left is a Tourist Information Centre where you can ask for information and get a map of the Hwaseong from the guide. The Korean guide we talked to can speak good English that can be easily understood |
5. Ride buses with numbers 11, 13, 36, or 39 going to Paldalmun bus stop. I counted it and it is the 5th bus stop where you get off as also said by the good tourist information guy. It was a 10 minute bus ride.
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| The excited me sitting at the bus |
The screen above tells you the bus stop in different languages, Korean, English, and Japanese. Just pay attention to it when the bus arrives at a bus stop.
Upon entering the bus, you can pay by either tapping your T-money card here as you can see above or drop your cash payment (you have to ask the dirver in korean how much is the fare) in the box beside it. So I recommend highly that you bring a T-money card, you can just tap and you're good to go.
Upon entering the bus, you can pay by either tapping your T-money card here as you can see above or drop your cash payment (you have to ask the dirver in korean how much is the fare) in the box beside it. So I recommend highly that you bring a T-money card, you can just tap and you're good to go.
When you get off at the 5th bus stop, remember to tap your T-money card located at the right and left sensors.
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| Bus exit |
6. When you get off this bus stop, walk to the left for just a minute or so until you reach a pedestrian lane.
Just across this shop where they sells socks is a pedestrian lane.
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| A lot of socks where we bought our socks |
But we arrived just in time for lunch so we saw this Korean restaurant and decided to eat here. I looked closely at the poster and saw that this place was featured on SBS news. I can read Hangul but I can't understand the words. I highly recommend this place for an authentic Korean home meal experience. I have eaten in Korean restaurants before but this is the best so far. I posted about it here.
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| There was a nearby park |
A steep start to the fortress
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| The road is steep that is why stairs are built on the left side. |
Since this is one of the UNESCO sites, it is a beautiful and picturesque. The place is well maintained. The rocks of the pathway and trees gives a good ambiance.
The wall is 5.74 kilometres (3.57 mi) in length and varies between 4 to 6 metres (13–20 ft), originally enclosing 1.3 square kilometres (0.5 sq mi) of land.
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| From this point, it was still a long walk to the peak |
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| Our admission was free on that day! |
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| Exercise equipment |
When
you reach this peak,you will get a beautiful view of Suwon. I felt
relaxed with the view and the air seems to be nicer here. We also burned
some calories with walking with some sightseeing and picture taking.
And that was a very nice day trip to Hwaseong Fortress! Hope you can come here too when you visit South Korea. Thanks for reading my blog post!
