Articles by mgedwards

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress

Last Saturday we toured Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon.  The fortress is not really much of a fortress but rather functions as a walled city.  The fortress has neither a central palace, manor, armory, nor a stockade.  It encircles a large area about twenty square kilometers 5.7 x 4.6 kilometers), enclosing Suwon’s town center.  At the southern axis of the fortress rises Paldalmun, the southern gate, and to the north is its twin, Janganmun.  To the west, the fortress wall climbs Mount Paldal and overlooks the city, capped by Seojangdae, a beautiful pagoda.  Much of the fortress wall remains intact, although it has obviously been rebuilt and portions of the wall have given way to major street arterials.  31 major landmarks cling to various sections of the fortress wall.  The UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the more picturesque historical sites in Korea, and it is more impressive than its somewhat obscure reputation would suggest.
 
Hwaseong Fortress is not ancient.  Its construction dates back to the early years of the United States of America, when Joseon Dynasty King Jeongjo (1776-1800) built the fortress between 1794 and 1796 in honor of his father, Sado Seja.  King Jeongjo, a victim of court intrigue who was sentenced to death by his father under false pretenses, fled the royal court in Seoul.  He returned to the capital and assumed the throne upon the death of his father and built the fortress as an act of penance to appease his father’s soul.  While it is a shame that hundreds of Koreans labored to fulfill King Jeongjo’s gesture of filial piety, Korea gained an architectural masterpiece.  If you in Seoul and have an opportunity to visit the fortress, I highly recommend seeing it.  Good, historical day trips out of Seoul are limited, but the Hwaseong Fortress is one of them.
 
We parked not far from Paldalmun and ate lunch at a takgalbi restaurant.  Takgalbi is a spicy chicken, cabbage, and deok (sticky rice) dish fried on a grill and served with rice.  It is absolutely delicious–it is my favorite Korean dish.  My son doesn’t eat spicy food, so I went to Lotteria, a Korean fast food restaurant, and bought him a "bulgogi burger" kid’s meal.  He devoured it while my wife and I shared the takgalbi.  Afterwards, we climbed along the fortress wall up to the top of Mount Paldal.  The photos I posted a couple days ago show snapshots of our ascent.  We walked along the ramparts and surveyed several gates and monuments along the route.  We followed the fortress on foot for about a kilometer until we came upon a shuttle shaped like a dragon that whisked us along about four kilometers of the fortress, past Jangan to Dongjangdae, a pavilion to the northeast.  The way that the fortress wall wound around Suwon, up and down Mount Paldal in a broken, asymetrical circle reminded me of a diminuitive version of the Great Wall of China.

No, the other restroom

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous, so we ventured out to explore a little more of Korea.  We drove to Suwon, a city about one hour southwest of Seoul.  The urban sprawl of Greater Seoul has expanded so far afield that Suwon is now an exurb of the Seoul megapolis.  Many Suwon residents make the long, long commute to Seoul for work.  A friend of mine who lives in Suwon commutes each weekday by subway to his workplace in downtown Seoul. 
 
We spent the day touring Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I’ll tell you more about our trip to Suwon tomorrow, but tonight let me tell you about something really funny that happened at Hwaseong Fortress.  My son needed to go potty, and my wife took him for a restroom break.  A couple minutes later, I went into the men’s restroom.  I heard my son’s voice chirp from a bathroom stall.  I asked my wife, "What are you doing in the men’s restroom?"
 
My wife answered, "What do you mean?  This is the women’s restroom." 
 
I smiled.  "Um, honey…this is the men’s restroom."  I was right.  I couldn’t see my wife or son, but I imagined my wife’s face turning red.  She asked, worried, "Is there anyone else out there?" 
 
I answered, "Oh, just the ajuma (older woman) mopping the floor."  Just moments before, an elderly female janitor entered the men’s restroom to mop the floor.  She didn’t seem to mind in the least that I was present. 
 
Here I was in the men’s restroom, outnumbered by two women.  Thank goodness I wasn’t using the facilities at the time!  My wife claims she didn’t read the signs correctly.  You can judge for yourself from the photo below of the offending bathroom whether the restroom is clearly marked as a men’s restroom.  Note the conspicuous lack of privacy, something all too common in Korean restroom design.  My wife was a really good sport after it happened, especially for allowing me to blog about it.  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to immortalize this humorous event.
 
For the Shutterbugs:  I posted some photos from our trip to Suwon in a new photo album for your viewing pleasure.

Our next destination

I found out this morning where World Adventurers will be heading in 2007.  Drum roll, please…
 
 
Paraguay is located in the heart of Latin America, nestled between Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia.  It was the fourth choice on our bid list.  Our family is very, very happy with our next assignment.  The job is excellent, and Asuncion is a great place for families.  Now I have to dig out my Spanish books and start brushing up on my Spanish.  We will leave Korea in February 2007, return to the United States for four months of relaxation and training, and then we’re off to Paraguay in June 2007.