Hwaseong Fortress

The builders

The fortress used brick, cranes and paid workers

Hwaseong Fortress was built from 1794 to 1796 to designs by the architect Chŏng Yagyong. The influence of Silhak, meaning practical learning, brought brick and efficient pulleys and cranes. The workers were paid by the government.

A new capital

King Jeongjo may have planned to move the capital to Suwon

King Jeongjo apparently built the fortress to prepare for a move of the capital from Seoul to Suwon. He believed Suwon could grow into a new and prosperous capital, and exempted people who moved there from taxes for ten years.

The beacon

The beacon tower has five chimneys for five signals

The beacon tower has five chimneys that make different signals with smoke or fire. One lit signaled peace, two meant the enemy had been spotted, three warned that the enemy was approaching, four meant the enemy was in the city, and five meant fighting had begun.

five chimneyson the beacon tower, each lit for a different signal

The records

A ten-volume record of the building helped the rebuild of 1970

A white paper, the Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe, was published in 1801. It has ten volumes, from blueprints to the wages of workers. It proved invaluable for the reconstruction in 1970, after the fortress was severely damaged during the Korean War.

The father

The fortress was built to house and honor Crown Prince Sado

King Jeongjo built the fortress to house and honor the remains of his biological father, Crown Prince Sado. Sado had been executed by being locked in a rice chest by his father, King Yeongjo. UNESCO designated the fortress a World Heritage Site in 1997.