Korean Folk Village and Suwon Fortress Castle Tour

Highlights

• One-day private tour from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province, Yongin, and Suwon
• Visit the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site – Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
• Visit the Korean Folk Village and experience the historical atmosphere with over 260 traditional houses reminiscent of the late Joseon Dynasty

Minimum travelers 2     Duration 8 hours

Overview

Korea has over 5000-year-old historical monuments and attractions all over the country, and just like its name suggests, this one-day Korean Folk Village and Suwon Fortress Castle Tour focuses on the historical places located in both Suwon and Yongin, two major cities of Korea. In this Korea Suwon Tour Package, you will mainly visit Suwon city of Gyeonggi Province, where the famous fortress castle is located. Suwon is the center city of Gyeonggi Province. It has existed through various forms throughout Korea’s history, growing from a small settlement to become a major industrial and cultural center. It is the only remaining completely walled city in South Korea. The city walls are one of the most popular tourist destinations in Gyeonggi Province.

Description

After a one-and-a-half-hour car ride from Seoul, we will arrive in Suwon, the capital city of Gyeonggi-do Province. In this unique city, you will visit a UNESCO cultural heritage called Suwon Hwaseong (Fortress Castle). This castle was established in 1796 as a temporary palace for Jeong-jo, the 22nd King of the Joseon dynasty. The newly modernized city at that time was circled by the fortress, which had the double purpose of both protection from enemies and the center of commerce. This comparatively recent castle and the fortress were made with techniques harmonizing both Western and Oriental architectural skills, such as, for example, using cranes and bricks (instead of stone and earth). We will start our tour just in front of Suwon Haeng-gung (temporary palace) by watching the martial arts show performed by palace-guarding soldiers with mighty actions, high discipline, and exquisite swordsmanship. Exiting the front gate, we will get on an Eocha (royal cars in a train), painted in a gracious, deep red color. Like a king or a queen, you can parade downtown around the fortress wall. After admiring some gates, observation towers, and flood control gates, we will get off the Eucha in front of Seojang-dae, West Command Post. After a short walk upstairs (that might be a little physical), you will arrive at the Command Building and have an overview of the downtown of Suwon. While walking down the hill path, we will go around the whole palace again and meet the bronze statue of the great king Jeongjo, leader of the Joseon Dynasty Renaissance of Culture and Technique in the late 18th century.

At Suwon Hwaseong Museum, you will learn the history and discover the culture of Suwon Wall Fortress through an exhibition on the construction of Suwon New City and Fortress and the King’s Parade Miniature.

After driving for 30 minutes from Suwon, we will arrive at the Korean Folk Village. At this theme park filled with Korean traditional things and entertainment, you will get the opportunity to observe different kinds of Korean traditional house types, from a luxurious nobleman’s house to a thatched-roof house. In addition, you will enjoy the farmer’s music & dance, people doing acrobatics and walking on a tightrope, and equestrian feats along the way. Furthermore, while walking on the smooth ground among houses and museums or along a beautiful stream, you might encounter some sorts of seasonal fests and events and occasionally be greeted by some characters from the Joseon dynasty, who are dressed as a nobleman, a commoner, a policeman, a beggar, or a Gisaeng (geisha).