happy suwon.

Two weekends ago (Sunday, May 10), I went to Suwon with Emily. We wanted to take a daytrip and we also wanted to be outside because the forecast was gorgeous. We decided to go to Suwon since we had heard there was an old fortress there (hwaseong). We took the subway because it was cheaper than the bus. However, it turned out to take a lot longer than we thought (especially since we got on a train that suddenly ended and the driver kicked us out by saying, “Mistake! Mistake!”).

Eventually, we made it to Suwon and were quite impressed with the city itself. It was a lot bigger than we had both imagined. The city seemed clean and had a good vibe. We stopped at a tourist information booth where we got directions to the nearest bus stop. We caught a bus to the south gate of the fortress called “Paldalmun.” After eating a quick lunch, we headed to the wall. This old fortress is enclosed by a wall that is about 5.75km long. The first part was all uphill and with the warmer-than-usual weather, we were quite sweaty by the top we reached the top. The view, however, was great. Something I really love about Korea is juxtaposition of the old, traditional styles with the modern high rise apartments and buildings. Suwon is a perfect example of the dichotomy.

We walked around the entire wall and decided to walk back to the station instead of catching the bus. It was a bit long, but we saw some cool stuff, including a Goodwill thrift store (the first we’ve seen in Korea), a completely run-down hotel called “New Arirang Hotel” (how ironic), and a colorful, cartoon-like fire station. We took the subway back to Incheon. It was still a long ride, but we didn’t get turned around again.