FOMO and Happenchance in Suwon (Hwaseong Fortress and Chicken Street)
Our non-stop flight to Incheon, South Korea landed just after 2:30pm. Walking off the plane, although still indoors, we were instantly blasted by the heat. Although only 89 degrees outside, much lower than Sacramento’s current norm, it is the high humidity that is the instigator – making it feel like 104 degrees.
We had a couple of easy options for getting to our hotel in Suwon from Incheon airport: either the direct airport bus or a taxi/uber. For its ease, we called an uber. The only hiccup was that for some reason it was waiting for us upstairs in Departures, so once we figured that out, we were on our way. Both the bus and taxi are estimated to take about the same amount of time to get to Suwon Station but our driver, donning fancy driving gloves, impressingly shaved at least 10 minutes off that. [K.ride (kakao’s rideshare app for foreigners) charged us ₩ 70,000 ($52) to get to Suwon. The taxi driver quoted us ₩ 120,000 ($89) and the bus is ₩ 13,500 ($10).]
We are spending our first week working in Suwon, located 25
miles south of Seoul (30 minutes by train).
Chris is here because of work he needs to do for Samsung at Suwon
Digital City, their headquarters and home to over 32,000 employees.
The region of Suwon is an ancient community with roots going
back to the 8th century. If you were to
stay in Seoul for more than a few days, you’d probably hear of Suwon - known
for its majestic Hwaseong Fortress (UNESCO Heritage World site) and tranquil
pace of life (compared to Seoul).
While it would come as no surprise to you that the first
thing we did after dropping off our bags was head to Hwaseong Fortress, that
was actually not even on today’s itinerary.
However, I’m just finding out that apparently the workday here goes until
at least 6pm and since I want to see the fortress in the daylight, today would
be our best opportunity.
We had a taxi drop us off at Paldalmun Gate, one of the four main gates to the fortress and a good starting point. It was the only location in Suwon that I have marked on my phone map. I’m testing out a completely different way of traveling (for me) … one where you travel with little research and preparation. Right away I’m struct by the (obvious) fact that I cannot read anything here, so I don’t know what anything says or what it is, and that there aren’t many people bustling about. Staving off our hunger pains, we headed straight up to the pathway along the fortress walls, surrounded by trees with cicadas furiously screaming in unison. I have a picture in my mind of what I’m on a mission to see but I have no idea where it is, other than I assume it is somewhere along these walls.
I’m realizing that the biggest side-effect of lack of planning is FOMO (fear of missing out). Hearing voices off the trail, we notice a sign that points up to the “Western Command Post” and decide to take the detour of ~350 steep steps up. It was definitely a good call and not a site to miss!
At the summit of Mt. Paldal, the Western Command Post is a
good vantage point to see any surrounding enemies – or for us, the entire city of
Suwon and the expanse of the fortress.
August is the hottest month of the year in South Korea causing Chris to drip with sweat. Part reptile, I’m not affected by the heat.
We continued along the walls of Old Suwon hoping to come across my imagined destination, only to see more wall and more gates - Hwaseomun Gate and Janganmun Gate. At this point I realize we’re not going to find what I’m hoping to see, so we decide it’s time to eat. If I had done any research, I would’ve known that continuing to the fourth and last gate, Changnyongmun Gate, would’ve taken us right past what I was looking for. Here is an excellent resource for the area: https://www.koreatodo.com/suwon-hwaseong-fortress
Here is a map of the fortress. The massive walls of Hwaseong Fortress extend for ~6km. We made it more than halfway around the walls.
Looking at his map, Chris suggests we detour to dinner by
walking “along the stream” which is just a little out of our way. It was with this sense of adventure that - by
happenchance - we actually arrive within meters of my intended destination: Banghwasuryujeong
Pavilion (Dongbuk Gangnu) is located along Suwoncheon-ro tributary.
Hwahongmun Gate, I realized in hindsight, is at the
backside of the view I was looking for: Banghwasuryujeong Pavilion. (I’ll have to head back there later this week
for a proper viewing.)
Still on our way to dinner, we look down a street and spy
what can only be Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, located at the center of the
fortress. It is the largest of the “temporary”
palaces built for the king to stay when he traveled or during war times, or in
the case of this palace, when King Jeongjo was on his way to visit his father’s tomb.
Fun (not so fun) Fact: King Jeongjo’s father, Crown Prince
Sado, was never a king because he tragically died when Sado’s own father locked
him up in a rice chest.
At Yeomingak Bell Tower across the street from the palace, I attempted to ring the large, intricate bell. Pulling back and then letting go of the wooden log, I was waiting for the loud reverberating bell tone and instead heard the quiet clinking of the chains stopping the log short of hitting the bell.
How silly of me to think I’d have the honor
of ringing the Yeomingak bell!
If you ask any member of my family they’d probably tell you
that <one of> my most annoying trait is not being forthright about any
detours I plan to take when we are on our way somewhere. For example, today Chris was told that we were
on our way to Suwon’s popular “Chicken Street” to have some of Korea’s infamous
fried chicken and beer, also known as Chi-Maek.
And if you know Chris, then you know not to put anything between his stomach
and food. However, if you also know
Chris, then you know he has a wide-girth of patience for his mother (he must
get that tolerance from his father) – and didn’t even complain once on our long
detour to dinner. Now that dusk was
fast-approaching, our window for sightseeing had closed and it was time for the waylaid purpose of our outing: dinner.
Suwon’s special Chicken Street (technically actually an area, not just a street) has 14 chicken restaurants with more than 30 years of tradition. We found it a bit odd that we were the only ones walking on the street, but we managed to catch a glimpse of a couple quickly disappearing into one of the restaurants. Looking inside the window at the crowded tables (where did all these people come from?!), we decided to eat here, and were directed to one of two remaining tables on the second floor.
Instead of frying chicken in a frying pan, the traditional
restaurants here prefer to fry or roast the chicken in an iron pot.
Again we were struck by happenchance … the restaurant we
chose is coincidentally the famous Yongsung Chicken. They are known for serving up some of the best crispy and flavorful
fried Korean chicken!
Looking at the chicken's nails still attached to the claws, Chris shrugged and took a bite. Our meal of a Half Fried + Half Spicy Chicken served with rice crackers and a side of pickled radish cubes and 2 beers came to 30,000 won (~$22).
Here’s where you’re going to find out another thing about me, which won’t come as a shock to anyone who follows my blogs – I don’t care about food. I’ll never forget my first travel abroad when I was 16. My mom took me on a cruise through Scandinavia to Russia. An older man assigned to our dinner table was incredibly disappointed with me and my lackluster pallet, pointedly and shamefully comparing it to a bland coal miner's diet. Anyway, I am ashamed to say, and it should come as no surprise, that I didn’t devour the plate of chicken parts that were put in front of me.
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