Suwon

UNESCO World Heritage · Hwaseong Fortress, inscribed 1997

King Jeongjo built Hwaseong between 1794 and 1796 around a new town for his father's tomb. Jeong Yak-yong worked on the design, and cranes and pulleys of the scholar's own devising lifted the stone. The walls run 5.7 kilometres around the old town, with four great gates, watchtowers and a floodgate where the stream passes under the wall.

The walls are open and free at any hour. Inside them stands Hwaseong Haenggung, the largest of the royal travel palaces, where the king stayed on his visits.

What to see

• Hwaseong Fortress walls 수원화성

  Open at all hours. Free.

• Hwaseong Haenggung 화성행궁

  09:00⁠–⁠18:00 (Daily)

  Open every day.

  Adults KRW 2,000; youth and soldiers KRW 1,500; children KRW 1,000. Free in hanbok and on the last Wednesday of the month.

• Suwon Hwaseong Museum 수원화성박물관

  09:00⁠–⁠18:00 (Closed Mon)

  Closed Mondays (the next day when Monday is a holiday).

  Adults KRW 2,000; youth and soldiers KRW 1,000; children and seniors free.

A day to follow

1. 10:00
   Hwaseong Haenggung

   The travel palace first, while it is quiet.

2. 11:30
   Hwaseong Museum

   The model of the fortress and the story of how it was built.

3. 13:00
   Lunch in the old town

   Inside the walls, near the palace.

4. 14:30
   Walk the walls

   Paldalmun to Hwaseomun, Janganmun and Banghwasuryujeong, the pavilion over the pond.

5. 17:00
   Hwahongmun at dusk

   The seven-arched floodgate as the lights come on.

Times in this plan are a suggestion, not a measured schedule.

Getting there

Suwon Station is on subway Line 1 and on Korail lines from Seoul Station; express trains are quicker than the subway.

Korail timetables and tickets

Sources

• Suwon City — Hwaseong Haenggung (Korean)Checked 2026-⁠11-⁠10
• Suwon City — Suwon Hwaseong Museum (Korean)Checked 2026-⁠11-⁠10
• K-Trip Tips — Suwon Hwaseong (Korea Tourism Organization data, Korean)Checked 2026-⁠11-⁠10