National Heritage |
World Cultural Heritage |
| - Hwaseong - |
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Preface
The fortress is the shining accomplishment of a
sagacious king who led a political and cultural renaissance
with the counsel of young scholars seeking institutional
reforms and practical application of academic theories.
"Oh! Sadness! How can I ever put into words what
happened that day? The sky and the earth seemed to come
together; the sun seemed to be losing light, and everything
went dark." So said Lady Hyegyeong, a princess
of the 18th century Joseon dynasty, in her tearful memoirs.
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She said she had no desire to linger in this world
for even one more second after the terrifying filicide.
"I desperately wanted to kill myself; I looked
for something sharp, but found nothing. " In her
autobiographical account, Hanjungnok (Reminiscences
in Retirement), a masterpiece of court literature and
an invaluable historical record, Lady Hyegyeong recalls
the death of her husband, Prince Sado, in what is undisputably
the most bizarre incident in the five-century history
of the Joseon royal court. One hot summer day in 1762,
King Yeongjo ordered the crown prince to commit suicide,
accusing him of undermining morality in the royal household
and plotting a rebellion. When the poor prince's repeated
efforts to kill himself failed, the enraged king ordered
his son to climb into a large wooden rice chest and
locked it up himself.
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The 27-year-old prince died of hunger in the rice chest
eight days later. In her memoirs, a vivid account of
her personal ordeal as well as a veritable political
testimony, Lady Hyegyeong contends that the fateful
incident was motivated by the rampant factional strife
in court and a personality conflict between the dogmatic
reigning king his introverted son and heir apparent.
Despite deep chagrin and a professed desire to end her
life, Lady Hyegyeong lived on and lent support her son
who had been left vulnerable by his father's tragic
death. She explained that she could not double the sorrow
of her little son by following her husband to death.
"And, even more important than that, I was deeply
concerned how the Grand Heir would do without me as
the future King." The Grand Heir, who was not yet
ten, grew up into a wise monarch. Endowed with the posthumous
title of Jeongjo, he was an able administrator of state
affairs and a staunch patron of science and the arts,
helping the nation embark on its modernization process.
Stigmatized by the traumatic childhood experience surrounding
his father's death and the imperfect legitimacy of his
authority, Jeongjo is also recognized for his extraordinary
filial devotion. He reinstated his father's title of
crown prince in 1777, the year after he came to the
throne succeeding his grandfather, Yeongjo. In 1789,
When his royal authority had gained a solid base and
the nation prospered under his rule, Jeongjo ordered
his father's tomb be moved from the eastern suburbs
of Seoul to Mt. Hwasan, about 8km form the present city
of Suwon, which was commended as the most auspicious
site in the country. The old Suwon Magistracy was upgraded
to a separate capital and a beautiful fortress was constructed
around the booming new town, named Hwaseong, meaning
"Brilliant Fortress."
Embracing the busy downtown area of the present Suwon-si,
capital of Gyeonggi-do, some 30km south of Seoul, Hwaseong
Fortress embodies Jeongjo's devotion to his ill-fated
father and his ideals for a modern administrative and
commercial center with stalwart defense. The 5.74Km
wall, fortified with various military facilities, is
the shining accomplishment of a sagacious king who led
a political and cultural renaissance with the counsel
of young scholars seeking institutional reforms and
practical application of academic theories. To stroll
along the fortress is to share the aspirations of an
ancient king who use admirable academic and artistic
expertise to build a city of fresh conception, ensuring
that the industrial activities of its residents are
protected from external invasions. For those who are
inclined to historical romance, the King's tragic childhood
experience and his lauded affection for his parents
adds a rueful color to the excursion along the fortress,
parapeted with crenels and merlons and highlighted by
lofty watch towers and secret gates leading down to
dark labyrinths. Hwaseong Fortress stretches over changing
terrain from high mountain ridges overlooking a crowded
urban center to flatland park with well-tended lawn
to a bustling marketplace surrounded by a densely populated
neighborhood. The fortress looks remarkably different
from most other ancient town walls and military fortifications
scattered around Korea. It stands out not only for its
diverse functions but the aesthetic novelty and technical
innovation involved in its planning and construction
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| Defense of a Separate Capital |
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Hwaseong Fortress was constructed over two and a half
years from 1794 to 1796, according to a design by Jeong
Yak-yong. A young intellectual who would later lead
the school of "Pragmatic Studies," or silhak,
Jeong was then working for the royal library, Gyujanggak,
established by Jeongjo to encourage academic research.
In designing the fortress and planning its construction,
Jeong broadly employed the scientific knowledge of his
fellow silhak, thinkers. Based on a study of ancient
fortresses of Korea, China and Japan, he worked out
a marvelous plan for a military stronghold taking full
advantage of the topography of the area and making up
for the deficiencies of earlier facilities. Suwon and
its surrounding areas with its rich produce, human resources
and easy access to both Seoul and China across the Yellow
Sea, had been a point of strategic interest since the
Three Kingdoms period. Jeongjo apparently planned to
build up Suwon as a prosperous city by boosting commercial
and manufacturing activities. And, as many historians
assume, he probably dreamed of moving the capital there
to be near the tomb of his beloved father and carry
out political reforms away from the faction-minded courtiers
in the capital.
In any case, Jeongjo ordered the removal of the residents
around Mt. Hwasan to the present downtown section of
Suwon-si at the expense of 100,000 ryang of gold (one
ryang equals 37.5 grams)from the national treasury.
The residents were exempted from all taxes for 10 years
thereafter and the urban infrastructure including administrative,
industrial and education facilities were newly built.
Three years later, the king ordered the old Suwon Magistracy
to be promoted to a separate capital and appointed Chae
Je-gong, a respected statesman who had previously served
as the chief state minister, its first magistrate. The
construction of Hwaseong Fortress began in the second
month of 1794 under royal decree. Strategically, the
fortress was a clear departure from the convention of
building simple walls surrounding cities and towns and
separate fortresses in nearby mountains for the evacuation
of residents in times of war. It is equipped with assorted
defense facilities such as command posts, observation
towers, battlements, secret gates and arrow-launching
platforms built along ramparts with crenellated parapets.
It has four major gates in the four cardinal directions
which served as town gates. The construction cost 870,000
nyang(the Joseon unit of currency), 1,500 sacks of rice
and 700,000 man-days. The workers, mobilized from across
the country, were all paid from the national treasury,
which was also a novel policy considering that most
government projects had previously been undertaken with
compulsory labor. The King personally visited the construction
site to direct the work on various occasions and when
the fortress was completed in the ninth month of 1796,
he was greatly impressed but feared it was too opulent.
He invited a number of officials and engineers who had
worked on the construction to the palace and commended
them, granting various presents.
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Major Facilities
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Hwaseong Fortress attests to the Joseon leaders's heightened
awareness of the need for efficient military strongholds
in the wake of the devastating Hideyoshi invasions of
1592-1598, which left much of the peninsula in rubble.
In his war memoirs, Jingbirok(A Record for Penitence
and Warning), Yu Seong-yong the war-time prime minister
who led both the government and the military of Joseon
during the seven-year conflict, deplored that the front
defense lines had collapsed so quickly, causing enormous
loss of human lives and property, because the military
was poorly prepared with few useful defense facilities.
He pointed out that town walls and fortresses needed
protruding battlements and chemises, among other facilities,
to efficiently repel the invading troops. Enclosing
an area of 130 hectares, Hwaseong Fortress originally
had 48 facilities along its perimeter. They included
four major gates, five secret gates, two floodgates,
three observation towers, two command posts, two arrow
shooting platforms, five battlements, five sentry towers,
four corner towers, one beacon tower, four guard posts,
nine bastions and two bunkers. Seven of them have been
lost in floods and wars and left out of the recent renovation.
They include one floodgate, one observation tower, two
secret gates, two guard post and two bunkers. The four
major gates stand in the four cardinal directions: Janganmun
in the north, Paldalmun in the South, Changnyongmun
in the east and Hwaseomun in the west. The two larger
gates, Janganmun and Paldalmun, resemble Seoul's main
gates, Namdaemun(South Gate)and Dongdaemun(East Gate),
in the shape of the roof and the decorative details
of stone and woodwork showing the most refined style
of the time. The two gates are of similar design and
size but Janganmun is more important today because it
is the original gate while Paldalmun was burnt down
in 1950 during the Korean War and reconstructed in 1975.
Both gates have an imposing two-story wooden pavilion
standing on top of a stone structure with an arched
entrance, which is shielded by a semicircular chemise
built of brick and flanked by gate guard platforms on
either side. The chemise also has an arched entrance
in the center and a single-story pavilion-shaped wooden
superstructure. The chemise is connected to the gate
guard platforms with parapet walks with crenels and
merlons. There are five machicolations over the arched
entrance. Janganmun, linked to the main road leading
to Seoul, may be the best point to start a tour along
the fortress. Walking counterclockwise to the west from
this gate, the first structure encountered across the
traffic road is a gate guard platform, which rises higher
than the rampart. About 1km from here past a park with
well-tended lawn are two sentry towers that are pavilion-like
buildings standing on protruding battlements. Hwaseomun,
the west gate with a single-story wooden superstructure,
looks smaller and simpler than Janganmun and Paldalmun.
But an observation tower standing nearby is worthy of
attention for its unique appearance. The fortress originally
had three observation towers named Gongsimdon, meaning
"tower with empty interior," one to the northwest,
one to the south and one to the northeast. The southern
tower was removed as Suwon-si expanded in modern times.
The two remaining towers are among the most distinctive
structures among all facilities of the fortress. Built
of stone and brick and topped by a pavilion-type wooden
superstructure, the three-story towers have gun embrasures
arranged alternately to serve the purposes of observing
enemy movements and firing arms. They have wooden floor,
spiral ladders and banquettes on the wall inside. The
southwestern stretch of the fortress, from Hwaseomun
to Paldalmun, meanders along the ridges of Mt. Paldalsan
overlooking lush wood and beyond to downtown Suwon-si,
which is today a busy administrative and commercial
center with a population of 800,000. Among the structures
here are two corner towers, three sentry towers, a command
post, an arrow launching platform and two secret gates.
From here past Paldalmun and market and then across
a stream, the rampart runs to another comer tower, more
sentry towers and beacon tower. The brick-built beacon
tower has five mounds for making different signals with
fire or smoke: one for peace time; two when the enemy
has been spotted; three when the enemy is approaching;
four when the enemy has made its way into the city;
and five when combat has stared. Past another sentry
tower from here is the east gate named Changnyongmun
and an arrow-launching platform. The the northeastern
observation tower looms high over the rampart. The eastern
command post stands nearby, which is connected to a
secret gate. then past another sentry tower and another
secret gate, there is the most beautiful section of
the fortress, surrounded by a picturesque landscape.
The northeastern corner tower is an exquisite L-shaped
pavilion with an ornate roof, which stands on a hill
with beautiful willow trees overlooking a lotus pond
with an artificial islet. Not far from this pavilion
is located the northern floodgate, a stone bridge with
seven arched sluices topped by an elegant open pavilion
and brick-built parapets. Nangnamheon is the only pavilion
remaining of the detached palace built by Jeongjo as
the administrative headquarters of the separate capital.
The king stayed at the palace when he was visiting Hwaseong
to pay homage at his father's grave. He also held banquets
and ordered the civil service examinations to be conducted
here. All other palace structures were destroyed during
the Korean War. A reconstruction project is under way
with completion scheduled for 2002.
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| Political and Social Background |
The stone rampart, roughly an oval shape
extending to north and south but meandering due to the
changing topography, is some 4-6 meters in height, growing
higher on flatland and lower on mountain ridges. In most
sections, the ground level is much higher inside the rampart
than outside, a plan to make it difficult for enemy troops
to approach. The crenellated parapets, some 1.2 meters
high on the average, are built either of stone or brick.
Hwaseong fortress, representing the ideals of an erudite
king who worked for a political and cultural renaissance,
was also a product of Joseon society which was going through
changes in various areas in the 17th to the 18th century.
In the circles of nobility, or Yangban, political power
came to be monopolized by a small number of families,
so many who did not belong to these select few lineages
actually lost their noble status. In the countryside,
poor peasants were being forced to abandon their farms
and the number of landless vagrants was increasing due
to the emergence of rich peasants practising enlarged
scale farming. In urban areas, too, various changes were
taking place as wholesale merchants amassed wealth by
controlling trade and handicraft production, while small
merchants faced ruin and prices soared
As the social ills arising from these phenomena grew increasingly
explicit, the members of Joseon society's educated class
were required to make serious reflection on the situation.
Their response is embodied in the scholarship and thought
which is known today as "Pragmatic Studies,"
or Silhak. The birth of this school, therefore, connoted
censure of those who held political power and an intent
to bring about changes in the political and social order.
Of course there were government officials who worked to
effect reforms, but the chief critics were those who were
not permitted to participate in the political process.
Many of these progressive thinkers were from the political
faction called Namin, or the Southerners, who had long
been excluded from important government positions.
The major concern of these scholars was to illuminate
the history and contemporary working of political, economical
and social institutions. First preparing the ground through
painstaking scholarly inquiries, they proceeded to elaborate
their visions of how an idea society might be achieved.
They did not limit their concern to social sciences such
as politics and economics but extended their intellectual
pursuits to almost all branches of learning including
Chinese classical studies, historiography, geography,
natural science and agriculture. Although the subjects
of study were divers, the common point of departure was
always the actual manifestation of things. The realities
with which they were concerned were precisely those confronting
their society at the time, so their thought inevitably
had a nationalistic thrust.
The influence of these scholars in achieving a new understanding
of their own native land and its history was felt in government
circles as well. This was particularly the case during
the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo, when silhak studies
were at their height. Both these kings adopted a policy
of impartiality according equal favor to men of all factional
colors in official appointments. Particularly, Jeongjo
established a research library and institute in the palace,
called Gyujanggak, and assigned scholars to prepare a
large number of works for practical application in the
administration of the country. Under his reign, many important
books were compiled on various subjects including criminal
code , state ceremonies, foreign relation, taxation, military
strategy and martial arts.
These pragmatic thinkers, particularly those who traveled
to Qing china, advocated commercial and manufacturing
activities. They argued that the making and trading of
goods ought to be pursed by people of all social classes,
including yangban, and that a new model bureaucratic structure
must be created around an core of professional public
servants recruited through educational opportunities open
to all. They took the position that the well-being of
the people could be achieved through abolishing the social
status system. It was also these silhak thinkers who initially
took an interest in Catholicism, which was introduced
to Korea through European Jesuit missionaries residing
in Ming China. During Jeongjo's reign, the first stirring
of belief developed into a strong current, especially
among scholars of the Namin faction. Jeong Yak-yong(1762-1836),
the principal designer of Hwaseong Fortress, came from
a family of early Catholic converts. Recognized as the
greatest silhak scholar, Jeong applied the institutional
approach in the most comprehensive fashion and wrote numerous
important book while living in banishment and later in
forced retirement as a result the Catholic persecution
in 1801. Jeongjo designated Catholicism heresy but while
he remained on the throne, a course of tacit tolerance
of the faith was followed and there was no sever persecution.
But when Jeongjo died in 1800 and his grandmother, Queen
Dowager Kim, became regent for the new king, Seonjo, cruel
suppression ensued immediately.
In designing Hwaseong Fortress, Jeong extensively applied
the opinions of his fellow silhak scholars. One notable
example is the use of bricks, which had been suggested
by Park Ji-won(1737-1805), another pioneer of the school
and a well-known writer. In Yeolha Ilgi(jehol Diary),
a record of his journey to Beijing as a member of a Korean
diplomatic mission in 1780, Park described aspects of
contemporary Chinese life in comparison with poor conditions
in Korea. He asserted, among other things, that the weak
points of the traditional Korean house built of wood and
mud, which was difficult to build but easy to destroy,
could be amended by using bricks. Jeong also devised equipment
such as cranes and pulleys, which proved useful in conveying
the enormous quantity of construction materials used including
stone. metal and timber. He insisted that the devices
could greatly reduce the energy needed to lift heavy things
and that there was no danger of dropping them "By
using eight wheels, for example, we can generate 25 times
as much as the energy we put in," he said. "So
we will be able to save much of the pain of the workers
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| White Paper on Construction |
Construction of Hwaseong Fortress led to
another monumental achievement without a precedent: publication
of a white paper on the entire project, A 10-volume work
printed with metal type, "Hwaseong Seong-yeokuigwe"(Records
of Hwaseong Fortress Construction) was published in 1800,
shortly after Jeongjo died. The book was a decisive source
of information for rehabilitation of the fortress, seriously
damaged during the Korean War, which was carried out in
the 1970s under the order of Park Jeong-hui, an army general
who became president.
The first volume contains an introduction comprising the
construction schedule, a list of supervisors with name
and rank, and architectural plans accompanied by drawings
of details. The main contents, in six volumes, include
related official documents, royal instructions, proceedings
of court conferences, rosters of workers and regulations
for wages, names and quantities of the material used to
build individual structures, and revenues and expenditures.
Three volumes of supplements concern the construction
of the detached palace including descriptions of each
structure, relevant records and documents.
According to the white paper, the manpower was divided
largely into bureaucrats performing the roles of supervisors,
treasurers, bookkeepers and warehouse keepers, engineers
and technicians, and simple laborers. A total of 1,856
skilled workers were employed on 22 different jobs. They
included 662 masons, 235 carpenters, 295 gilders, 150
bricklayers, 83 metalworkers, 46 painters, 48 lacquerers,
36 carvers and eight turners, Of these skilled workers,
1,101 came from Seoul and the rest from various provinces
across the country.
The record days that, in principle, construction material
was procured by the government but limited amounts sere
purchased from private suppliers when the need arose.
Materials required for the construction included 195,241
blocks of stone, another 800 stone plates used for Ondol
heated floor, 9,686 pieces of ordinary timber, 14,212
pieces of wood used exclusively for rafters, 2,300 sheets
of pine board, 695,000 bricks, 2,900 Geun(one Geun equals
600 grams) of steel plates, 530,000 roof tiles and 86,000
bags of lime. Various advanced equipment, including cranes,
pulleys, levers, wheeled carts and sleighs, were used
to convey the construction materials, reducing the pain
of the workers and cutting back the construction period
to a remarkable extent. The expenditures break down into
320,000 nyang spent on the purchase of construction material,
300,000 nyang for wages, 220,000 nyang for transportation
of construction materials, and 90,000 nyang for other
expenses. Most of the expenditures for construction materials
was spent on quarrying and transporting stone. Miscellaneous
expenses include 12,000 nyang spent on buying land in
the adjacent areas and removing private houses. Some 8,000
nyang was spent of prizes for the workers and medical
care for them.
These tremendous resources, including manpower and material,
were supplied without great difficulties so the project
was completed in a considerably short period. The massive
project proceeded smoothly owing to the economic and social
stability that characterized Joseon society at this time.
The project provided jobs and boosted the economy around
the new city. It also represented the changing system
of employment. Corvee labor was the primary source of
manpower for most earlier construction projects undertaken
by the government. But construction workers began to be
paid wages from the late 18th century. Hwaseong Fortress
served as an exemplary case of this modernizing process.
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| Legacy of filial Piety |
Jeongjo was one of the most able and accomplished
monarchs of the Joseon dynasty, but his reign is often
associated primarily with his affection for his parents
and artifacts related to his filial devotion. As filial
piety was a primary virtue, as much prized as loyalty
to the king, in traditional Korean society, Hwaseong Fortress
served as a moral inspiration for the people though it
had a tragic overtone due to the intensity and pathos
characterizing Jeongjo's love for his parents.
The annals of Jeongjo and some literary writings dating
from his reign depict week-long festivities held at the
newly built city of Hwaseong in the second lunar month
of 1795, when construction of the fortress was still under
way. Jeongjo ordered to festivities to celebrate the 60th
birthday of his mother. He also ordered the court artists
to paint the scenes of the birthday celebration as well
as the procession of the royal entourage to Hwaseong and
the memorial rites for Prince Sado observed at his grave.
The painting were mounted in an eight-fold screen which
is now kept at the National Museum in Seoul.
Lady Hyegyeong herself described the feast in her memoirs
written in 1802. She wrote: "In the spring of Eulmyo
year(1795), the late king(Jeongjo) took me to the Prince's
tomb and together we paid our respects. Afterwards he
held a great feast at Bongsu Pavilion to which he invited
male and female relatives and civil and military officials
as well, giving them the chance to enjoy themselves drinking
and eating until the small hours of the morning. The aged
were offered drink at Nangnam Pavilion and the poor were
given rice at Sinpung Pavilion. Joyful spirits and the
sounds of merriment filled the air from Hwaseong to the
capital. All this was but to express filial affection
for this old mother. Who among the officials and subjects
of the entire nation did not admire him and sing his praise?"
The princess was immensely proud of her son and at the
same time appreciated his love for her. She wrote about
Jeongjo's personality, his academic accomplishments and
his love for his parents, as following (Translation from
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong by JaHyun Kim Haboush):
"The late king was extraordinarily endowed. He had
a beautiful and dignified face, an exceptional carriage,
and a magnificent physique. He learned to speak and to
read at a very early age. From childhood, he was diligent
and hard-working; except when he slept and ate, he was
seldom without a book in his hand. His accomplishments
were superior to those of the wise rulers of old. There
was nothing he did not know. Of all the rulers since the
sage kings of antiquity, there was none to equal the late
king in scholarship or composition, in sagacious virtue,
or in wise administration.
"The late king had an innately filial nature. In
his later years his filial attentions grew even more thorough
and careful, and he served me as though he could not do
enough. When he made excursions, even within the city,
in recognition of his mother's anxious concern, he repeatedly
dispatched messengers bearing notes and greetings. Trips
to his father's tomb took days, but, considering my nervousness,
he stopped his entourage on the road every two hours to
send me his messages. Where can I go now for even one
letter from him? Ah! Sadness!"
!" On the day Prince Sado was ordered to enter a
rice chest, Jeongjo, a Child not yet ten, lay prostrate
behind his father, begging the enraged Yeongjo for his
father's life until he was physically removed from the
scene. He grieved like and adult and his sad bearing and
piteous cries moved all who were present. Two years after
Prince Sado's death, Yeongjo issued a decree making the
Grand Heir a posthumously adopted son of Prince Hyojang,
the deceased older brother of Prince Sado. The decree
was to sever the legal relationship of the future king
with his father who was condemned for a crime. But it
further deepened the sorrow and grudge of Jeongjo for
his parents.
After he moved his father's tomb to Mt. Hwasan, Jeongjo
built a Buddhist temple named Yongjusa(Dragon Bead Temple)
near the tomb and designated it as the tutelary temple
for his father. He had his own portrait hung in a pavilion
beside his father's tomb to symbolize his wish to be always
there. Though he made a wise and able monarch, Jeongjo
apparently did not enjoy being on the throne. He said
to his mother, "I have occupied the throne not because
I coveted it but because I had to do for the nation. In
the coming Gapja year(1804), my son will reach his fifteenth
year, and I will be able to abdicate the throne to him.
I will then be able to fulfill my greatest wishes. I will
retire to Hwaseong with Your Ladyship to the task of rendering
to Prince Sado the supreme honors that I could not grant
from the throne."
Through his son, Jeongjo wished to honor his condemned
father with the title of a posthumous king and his mother
the title of a queen. But he died suddenly in 1800 for
a mysterious reason, without seeing his lifelong wishes
realized by his son, Seonjo. |
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