Life in Korea - Chusok 2007
Suwon
For the last day of our Chusok holiday, we all piled in the car and drove to the walled city of Suwon about 1 hour (in Soeul traffic) away. Almost entirely destroyed in the fall of Seoul and subsequent battles to reclaim the city, the wall has since been restored almost completely. Although many cities in Korea originally were walled, Suwon is the only walled city for which the walls have been so fully restored. Seoul, for example, has only portions of the northern and southern walls still standing along with 3 of the original gates. Suwon, however has all of it's gates and all of the encircling wall except the southern most side which is missing for about 3 city blocks.
The walled section of Suwon is officially known as Hwaseong Fortress and was a temporary palace as well as the primary southern defensive post for Seoul. The wall, Fortress and Palace grounds were built in the 1700's. The wall is about 6 kilometers long (approx 4 miles) and we spent about 5 hours walking the whole length of it. The highlight for the kids was that they were allowed to ring the Suwon Fortress Bell (The Bell of Filial Piety). For 1,000 won (about $1) they were allowed to go up together and use the giant mallet to ring the 10 foot tall bronze bell 3 times. As the sign below the bell reads...
"The Bell of Filial Piety makes the tradition of filial piety reverberate in our hearts and expresses the best wishes of the citizens of Suwon for your family and for the nation. We hope you meditate on the meaning of each toll.
1st toll: To show gratitude and respect for your parents
2nd toll: To wish for your family's health and harmony
3rd toll: To wish for the realization of your dreams"
Not sure how much Filial Piety made it my way, but I do know that based on the grins from my kids it was one of the best dollars I ever spent.
