Another day another travel story! Now I travel much more than I did it before. And it is not because of the corona. It is because of my schedule and weather.... and of course, laziness ^^ But get ready, I plan to catch up with it! Last Saturday I went on a day trip with my friends, and I want to share with you my travel story. And our first destination is Seosan City which is located in South Chungcheong Province.
About Seosan City
The population is about 170,000 people. There is only one university Hanseo that is a private university. Do you know Korean singer Rain?! Seosan is his hometown. So that is one more reason to visit that city.
Haemieupseong Fortress
One of the main attractions here is Haemieupseong Fortress which represents Joseon Dynasty architecture. Unlike many other fortresses in Korea, Haemieupseong Fortress was built on a flat plain area. The construction of the fortress was completed in 1491. The fortress was protecting the city from Japanese pirates. The South gates of the fortress are original and they were saved until our days.
The total territory square is about 200,000 m2.
There is a dungeon and a territory where prisoners were tortured.
Another sad history that happened here is execution of Catholics during the French Invasion in 1866. More than 1,000 Catholics were killed here at that time.
A well-known admiral Yi Sun-sin worked as a military officer for soldiers in the 12th year of King Seonjo (1579) for 10 months here.
Today, Haemieupseong Fortress is a place where people can take a walk, try different traditional games and food. When I visited the fortress, there was a local market where people were selling a lot of different stuff.
Besides it, some Korean movies and dramas were filmed here.
Another amazing thing is nature. Here a lot of different trees which are hundreds of years old.
Haemieupseong Fortress Festival
I have been here a couple of years ago too, just before the Coronavirus pandemic. I visited the fortress to participate in the festival which takes a place every year. A couple of years ago it was a super huge and amazing festival. And the fortress was super crowded.
The Seosan government tries to save history. So, everyone can learn about its history, culture, life during the Joseon dynasty. Visitors can take a part in different cultural activities, try traditional food, watch performances, etc.
After the fortress, I went to the local market... But I didn't take many photos there. However, my day trip didn't finish there. &There are 2 more spots about which I will tell you next time!*