Two couples sat on a blanket under the Seoporu sentry post, enjoying a snack. We had no language in common, but the welcome they called to me was unmistakable. The shaded spot was a break from the Korean summer sun. One woman peeled a small yellow melon. The flesh was sweet, mild, and refreshing. I washed it down with cool water and reflected on how many soldiers must have enjoyed similar moments of respite on this very spot in the more than two centuries since Hwaseong Fortress had been built.
Though not medieval, Hwawsong looks so to my Western vision. Distinctly Korean, it entices the eye with its solid stone and brick, its steep tile roofs, and its lavish woodwork painted with fanciful designs in greens, blues, reds, and ochers. Virtually every foot of this patch of history in a bustling modern city is open to the curious tread of visitors.
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the fortress still surrounds central Suwon, capital of the Gyeonggi-do Provence of northwestern South Korea. From Incheon or Seoul, a rail journey to explore this national treasure is a pleasant, leisurely day trip.
Fragrant evergreens blanket the southwestern slopes and often offer the illusion of going back in time. In many sections, it is easy to stroll along outside the three-and-a-half-mile wall, out of sight of any modern artifact or structure. Modern convenience is near at hand, though, offering shops, restaurants, and restrooms whenever a visitor needs a break.
Though no longer functional, the spaces for the charcoal braziers of the original ondol (under the floor) heat can be seen in their niches beneath living areas. Wooden cannon ports, some fastened open, some closed, frame eye-pleasing views. Four secret gates invite thoughts of intrigue. A miniature train, bedecked like a dragon, whimsically carries passengers along the roads circling the fortress.
The beacon tower, in the eastern section, looks like nothing so much as a massive bakery, with its five enormous chimneys. From these, the status of the fortress was announced with fire by night and smoke by day. One fire signified peace, two an enemy in sight, three an approaching enemy, four an enemy at the gates, and five an active battle.
The aptly-named Banghwasuryujeong, or “Pavilion for Enjoying Flowers and Willows,” overlooks a lush garden and reflecting pond, restful to the eye. It presents perhaps a more natural spot for a snack than a stone floor beneath Seoporu. My mind returns to Seoporu most often, though, both for the spontaneous cross-cultural hospitality, and for the nearby pagoda housing the enormous, elaborate bronze Bell of Filial Piety. It is rung in Korean style, struck on the outside with a horizontally-suspended wooden mallet. I followed tradition, striking it thrice: once each (as I was told by the woman in the information booth) for my ancestors, my family, and my own dreams. That last sound still reverberates with a dream to some day return.
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