I headed here last Sunday with a couple of friends. I knew nothing about it but needed a good excuse to get out in the good weather and do something cultural.
The fortress was built around the late 1700s and it’s walls run through the city Suwon itself. Apparently it was built to honor the remains of a Prince whose father was buried alive because he refused to commit suicide… not sure how accurate Wikipedia is but the full article can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwaseong_Fortress
I wasn’t expecting the several steps to reach the top, nor did I expect there to be any sort of incline but I have to say, once I got to the top I was really glad I did and realistically it only took about 20-30 minutes..
It was a great time of year to go as there were plenty of great photo opportunities too.
Getting There:
Take the subway to Suwon. There was a tourist information booth just outside of the subway with the leaflet for the fortress. We took a bus (can’t remember the number this time but they told us at the information place) and it was about 4/5 stops away so not impossible to walk on foot on a nice day by any means.
Cailín meets Korea 