I considered myself as a countryside lover. After a few days of exploring Seoul city, I planned a last-minute trip to visit Suwon. Initially I was considering between Suwon and Nami Island, Chuncheon, Gangwon Province (since I saw many people took nice pictures at Nami Island, it is famous because it was the place where it filmed the classic drama <<Winter Sonata>> I didn’t even watch one episode. Opps..
After seeking my friend’s advice, I have chosen SUWON as my one-day trip.
What’s Special in SUWON?
SUWON is the largest city in Gyeonggi-do province, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hwaseong Fortress or Suwon Hwaseong is a late 18th-century historic fortress surrounding the centre of Suwon.
According to Wikipedia, King Jeongjo apparently built Hwaseong Fortress to prepare for a move of the capital from Seoul to Suwon. The king wanted to leave the factional strife of the court to carry out reforms and believed that Suwon had the potential to grow into a new and prosperous capital.
How to get to Suwon by Public Transport ?
1st Option:
I took a Subway line from Seoul station to Suwon Station which is also the most economical way to there. It took about 1 hour to arrive to Suwon.
2nd Option:
Alternatively, you may go for another option by taking Nooriro train (arrive in 30 minutes), travel non stop from Seoul Station to Suwon Station.
3rd Option:
If you plan to reach to Suwon in the fastest way, the most expensive way is by taking the KTX.
More fares details, click here
How to get to Hwaseong Fortress at the centre of Suwon?
Once you have arrived at Suwon station, first thing is to look for Suwon Tourism Center and get some information about Suwon and which bus number to take to Hwaseong Fortress. The staff at the tourism center are able to communicate well in English language.
The tourism center is located near exit #4 of Suwon station, it takes less than 3 minutes walking distance from exit #4. If you are not sure how to go there, try asking help at the counter of Suwon station.
Walking around the City Walls of Hwaseong Fortress
Before start walking up to the city wall, let’s explore the downtown and morning market.
Hwaseong Fortress combines both traditional Eastern & Western architecture styles and it has in total of 4 gates: “Hwaseomun” (west gate), “Janganmun” (north), “Paldalmun,” (south) and Changnyongmun (east). And among the four gates, Janganmun and Paldalmun gates are the larger one.
It circles right around the city and it takes about 2-3 hours just to walk around. I stopped in the halfway and checked out a few nice cafés:
Eventually, I chose this artistic cafe:
1-2 people: 1,000 won / 3-4 people: 2,000 won
Here came to the end of my Suwon 1-day tour. I was happy and enjoyed my ME time in Suwon. It was worth walking around the city and got to enjoy the beautiful scenes along the way.
I hope I will be back in South Korea soon ~ miss the skincare shopping though hahaha. Next upcoming post: Continue my Seoul trip – Day 5 – Day 8
More pictures:
Instagram: @thetravellersu
Other Destinations: click here
Say, you got a nice article post. Much thanks again. Really Cool. Birgitta Beau Virgel