Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and Korean Folk Village, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do - Day 4 in South Korea

We had an early start for the day, it rained very hard yesterday and we only explored around Jukjeon in the afternoon.

After we had breakfast, our host's father took us via his taxi to Suwon to see Suwon Hwaseong (Suwon Fortress).

Hwaseong Fortress was built during the 18th century by King Jeonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in honor of his father. The fortress surrounds the center of Suwon and has been  registered as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO last 1997. I am not Korean history savvy, and unfortunately, did not have time to research about it so I only know very limited about what the Fortress symbolizes.

Website: ehs.suwon.ne.kr
Operating Hours: Summer season 09:00-18:00; Winter season 09:00-17:00
Admission: Individual – Adults 1,000 won / Youth 700 won / Children 500 won
Directions: Suwon Station (Seoul Subway Line 1)

Dongjangdae - Eastern Command Post

The fortress has four main gates: South Gate (팔달문/Paldalmun), East Gate (창룡문/Changryongmun), West Gate (화서문/Hwaseomun) and North Gate (장안문/Janganmun). It would be a  day trip to go around all these gates all of the structures of the fortress.

We started off at the North Gate which is the largest of the existing main gates.

Dongbukgongshimdon - Northeastern Watchtower

In the past, Hwaseong was designed to protect the king's temporary palace and the whole village from the enemies. Even though the main purpose of the fortress was for security of the royalties, I was still awed with the very delicate and precise architecture of all of the structures in the area.

Janganmun - North Gate

It was actually quite confusing where to go next as the area was very large however we just followed some Japanese tourists.

Amazing design - however, in the past,  these were used for signals by the warriors for enemy attacks

Walking further, our feet took us to the Northern Secret Gate and to the North East Pavilion wherein there is  a pavilion that overlooks a beautiful pond named Yongyeon. I did not miss to take a picture of the scenery presented before my eyes. I was just amazed on how pretty it was! I could definitely imagine some Korean royalty strolling around the place.

Yeongyeon Pond

Nearby the pavilion and the pond stands Hwahongmun, which I believe is also a pavilion. A stream is also following underneath it. Me and my friend stayed here for awhile to appreciate the view.

Some children's artwork near Hwahongmun

We were also in time to see the Team MUYE24KI's performance. They demonstrated the 24 martial art moves and you can see them every Tuesday - Saturdays. There were lots of people, specifically students who were on a field trip when we arrived so it was very very crowded.

We have also arrived at Hwaseong Haenggung accidentally. Hwaseong Haenggung is the largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty. It was a temporary palace for King Jeongjo during his royal pilgrimage to his father's tomb. There are lots of Haenggung or palaces around Hwaseong but this is the largest and most notable as this is the largest Haenggung in Korea.

The entrance to the palace

This place was also a drama location for DaeJangGeum

Afterwards, we decided to go to Paldalmun already and our stomachs were already rumbling and we wanted to look for a decent place to eat.

The way to Paldalmun was quite interesting. There were lots of restaurants and cool hotels with awesome exteriors.

It was certainly a fun walk however, when we got to Paldalmun, it was going under renovation! Nobody told us that :( It was quite disappointing as I was looking forward to see it.

Anyway, good thing there is a huge marketplace surrounding Paldalmun so the trip there did not go to waste. There were lot of cheap finds and lots of shops were on sale as well. My friend went on a splurge on buying cosmetics.

Paldalmun market is quite famous around Suwon for cheap clothes, cosmetics and other merchandises. I have seen lots of items on my Christmas wishlist!

Big discounts at Nature Republic

After our quick shopping (window shopping for me), we decided to head to Korean Folk Village (한국 민속촌/Hanguk Minsokchon) We went back to the Janganmun by foot! I did not know yet that the bus we saw around Paldalmun would take us to Suwon station. Anyway, it was still good time as we were able to explore the town and the people were very nice. I was starting to like Suwon already.

The tourist information center of Suwon

We arrived at Suwon Station ten minutes before 2:30 PM. Just beside the station, you will find the Tourist Information Center wherein you could inquire about different tourist spots in Suwon and also you could get a free bus shuttle ride to the Korean Folk Village. The first bus ride in the afternoon was 2:30 PM so we were just on time for that. The ride took almost forty minutes.

Website: www.koreanfolk.co.kr/folk/english/index.htm
Operating Hours: 09:00 AM, closing time depends on the month you will be visiting
Admission: Individual – Adults 15,000 won / Youth 12,000 won / Children 10,00 won
Directions: Suwon Station (Seoul Subway Line 1) - take the Free Shuttle or Bus 10-5 or 37

Schedule of folk performances

There were perfomances held inside the folk village and schedule is posted near the entrance. However, we were very hungry this time so we decided to skip watching the traditional wedding and just had a late lunch instead. The folk village closes by 6PM for October so we did not really have much time.

The only decent eatery inside - of course expect that the food are expensive

I was very hungry that time because we have arrived quite late at the Folk Village. Me and my friend got some Bibimbap and Sundubu.

The egg was quite... small

Yummy Sundubu! I finished this all by myself!

Inside the Folk Village, you would be able to see the different customs and lifestyle of the past Korean generations.

Traditional Korean pots

Cotton weaving

The folk village has been used to shoot Daejanggeum as well

I did not expect that the area was quite large. This could have been a drama set for some historical drama (which I found later was true.) The whole area looks like a traditional Korean neighborhood, I think around 20-30 houses are there that presents different Korean traditional aspects of living such as architecture, housing, family, livelihood, and past time.

You can also try a hand with traditional Korean games - there are few available around the area.

Tohu - Korean traditional game

I was told that this folk village was built for tourists so you can't say the experience was really authentic (yup - no Korean actually lived on the houses). Anyway, we were planning to go another folk village at Andong in Gyeongju.

this was how they "cut" heads off long time ago

Traditional Korean device for punishment

One thing that I really liked about the Folk Village in Yongin was that there were lots of trees. And yes, because it was autumn, it presented more areas for photo ops!

I totally recommend checking out this area for people who are into nature photography. The scenery was just breath taking! I think I did not do enough justice with these pictures! You have to see the view with your own eyes.

The Folk Village has their own amusement park for kids as well. This has a separate admission fee, so of course we did not dare go inside given that the folk village was already closing as well when we arrived here.

We went back to Suwon using the employees' bus! hahaha. We did not know that the last bus for tourist stopped by 5PM and we got out around 6PM. Anyway, no one noticed or reprimanded us for that so I guess it was okay.

Given the opportunity, I would go back again to Suwon Hwaseong and the Folk Village (because we were not able to catch any folk performance when we went). If it did not rain the other day, we could have spent one whole day on both places. Anyway it was still a very fantastic experience overall nonetheless and I could not wait to go back here! I recommend going here during autumn but spring would be nice too. We were very tired when we got home and I was really satisfied because it was a very productive day for us. We will be going to Everland the next day, hoping for good weather.

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips