About Su-won Hwaseong

World Cultural Heritage Family

❑Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon-si
Hwaseong Fortress was constructed as an act of filial devotion by Jeongjo, the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910), and to strengthen his power, eradicate party conflict, and fortify the southern area of the capital. Construction was started along Mt.

Paldalsan in January 1794 and completed in September 1796 under the supervision of Chae Jae-gong, a former minister and the magistrate of Yeongjungchubu County. During construction, equipment such as the Geojunggi, a type of traditional Korean crane, and potters’ wheels were developed and used to transport and assemble large stones.
The fortress suffered partial damage during Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War, but most of its original features have been restored with the help of the Hwaseong Seongyeokuigwe, the construction archive published in 1801 after the fortress was completed.
The fortress sprawls over both flat and hilly terrain, something seldom seen in neighboring China and Japan. It is designed to serve political and commercial as well as military functions and is a fine example of oriental fortresses.

Construction of Hwaseong Fortress

❑ Historical background
King Jeongjo built a new city called Suwon Hwaseong palace, and Hwaseong Fortress by mobilizing all the national resources for his act of filial devotion to his father, Sadoseja, who had died at the hands of Yeongjo, the 21st king of the Joseon Dynasty and King Jeongjo's grandfather.

❑ Supply of goods
To construct Hwaseong Fortress, stones, bricks, and wood were needed, so new roads were built before construction to make it easier to transport such materials. In addition, a new type of cart was invented, major materials were standardized, and new standards were prepared for loading carts with goods. All this was possible thanks to the influence of Silhak, or practical learning, a new school of thought gaining ground at the time.

❑ Geojunggi
Yagyong Jeong devised this equipment for safer and easier fortress construction. Considering the level of technology at the time, the reason why it only took two and a half years to complete the construction with comparatively low costs was that from the planning stage, the management and wisdom of Silhak scholars like Bangye Hyeongwon Yu and Dasan Yagyong Jeong were utilized, while various traditional appliances from a coolie rack to Geojunggi, a type of a crane, were used.

Historical meaning of Hwaseong Fortress

❑ The city of Silhak
The new town, Suwon, which was developed by King Jeongjo as planned, was greatly influenced by Silhak, a new type of education in the 18th century. Silhak was practical learning that could help improve the life of the people, agriculture, business, and science. Thanks to equipment developed under the influence of Silhak, during construction of the Hwaseong Fortress labor and material costs were saved and the construction period was shortened.

❑ The Hwaseong Fortress for the people
King Jeongjo's concern for the people can be seen through the Fortress. He changed the design so as not to destroy houses of the people, paid for their labor, provided medicine, and suspended construction when the weather became too hot or wages were not paid.

❑ Features of the facilities in the Hwaseong Fortress
Ongseongs (small fortresses) were built for each of four main gates (Paldalmun, Janganmun, Changnyongmun, and Hwaseomun) to protect them and Chi also projected from its walls to repel enemies. Ammun (secret gates) were installed in key spots in case of emergencies, Sumun (floodgates) were built in the south and north, and two Jangdae (command posts) were constructed in the east and the west. Poru (sentry towers) were set up to house canons and Bongdon (beacon towers) was installed on the walls.

❑ Realization of the system of using real names
In the Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe (Archives of the Construction of Hwaseong Fortress) discussion process, public documents, opinions and orders from the king, name of construction participants, days to work, location and features of each facility, and costs are presented in detail. Pictures were used for the parts that could not be explained clearly in writing.