Haemieupseong Fortress

Most Korean fortresses are mountain refuges; Haemieupseong is an eupseong, a wall built round a working provincial town on flat ground, and it is one of the few that survives more or less whole - about a kilometre and a half of stone wall, a main gate with its arched passage, and inside it the restored government office, jail and a scatter of thatched buildings on open grass. It was built between 1417 and 1421 against Japanese coastal raiding, listed as Historic Site No. 116 in 1963 and restored from 1973. In the nineteenth century it became a place of execution during the persecutions of Korean Catholics, and many died here; an old pagoda tree, a hoehwanamu, in the grounds is associated with those events and the site is now a pilgrimage destination, visited by Pope Francis in 2014. The two histories sit side by side, and the interpretation covers both. Entry is free, the grass inside is open, and a festival with period displays runs in autumn.

What's there

• The town wall and gate - a rare complete eupseong circuit.
• The government office and jail - restored inside the walls.
• The old pagoda tree - tied to the nineteenth-century persecutions.
• The open ground - grass and thatched buildings within.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the autumn festival brings period displays and crowds. Mornings are quiet.

Practical notes

Much inside the walls is reconstruction on excavated foundations. It is a solemn site for Catholic visitors and a park for everyone else, which can feel mismatched.

Nearby

The Seosan rock-carved Buddha triad and Sudeoksa are within a short drive.

Key facts