Suwon is easily one of my favorite cities in Korea. Second maybe only to Buyeo. As of writing this blog, I've visited Suwon about 13 times. My favorite fact about Suwon is it was founded by King Jeongjo in the 18th century so he could have somewhere to stay closer to his father's gravesite in Osan. His father had died unjustly in prison and Jeongjo mourned his death. He designed the city after Seoul. King Jeongjo is now buried with his father in Osan. I have visited that site as well and will post about it later.
Suwon is most famous for its almost entirely intact fortress that surrounds a large area in Suwon. I first visited Suwon in October 2021 to visit this fortress. There isn't a subway stop next to the fortress sadly, so I had to ride my bike about a mile or more to the first gate closest to the subway station, Paldalmun. I didn't complain too much though since the entire city is scenic and full of towering buildings.
I didn't know at the time that the fortress was entirely intact so that first trip I just visited a couple of the fortress gates, the temporary palace, and the Korean Folk village (in Yongin city). I first started at Paldalmun gate furthest south, made my way to the temporary palace, visited the fortress museum, and then rode up to hwahongmun gate furthest north. Below is a picture of the temporary palace.
After seeing a good part of the fortress and palace, I rode to the Korean folk village in a neighboring city. I didn't know at the time that there was a subway stop by the Korean folk village, so needless to say it was quite a ride. Below are some pictures I took along the way. Once again, I didn't complain too much because of how beautiful the city is.
I also found a nice place to eat outside the fortress for lunch. It was a place that served primarily spicy food. I didn't really know that before going in but the red dishes on the pictures should have given it away. All in all I really enjoyed it though. But it did give me a bit of an upset stomach. I also found out at this restaurant that at some places the kimchi is self serve. Luckily the owner was kind enough to help me figure this out despite the communication barriers.
I first visited Gwanggyo lake park on a later trip after I had gotten my car. I had almost gone there on my first trip, but because I was on bike and short on daylight, I had to forgo it for the Folk Village. The thing that impresses me most about the lake park is that it has two reservoirs side by side. The eastern most lake is more of an outdoorsy lake and the west lake is more ritzy with plenty of food, cafes, and shopping.
The last part of Suwon I'll mention is Hyowon park. This is another part of suwon I visited much later on a Sunday evening. It's a small park but it is gorgeous. It's a park designed after a Chinese style garden.
As mentioned, I have been to suwon many times. It has many fun places to see, it's nearby where I live, and I expect I'll be there many more times in the future.
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