Hwaseong Haenggung Palace

A haenggung is a palace a king used when travelling, and the one at Suwon is the largest built in the Joseon period - around six hundred rooms at its height, put up in the 1790s when King Jeongjo constructed the fortress city of Hwaseong. His purpose was personal as much as political: his father, Crown Prince Sado, had been executed by his own father in 1762, shut into a rice chest, and Jeongjo moved the tomb to Hwaseong and came regularly to perform rites, staying here. The most documented visit is 1795, when he brought his mother for her sixtieth birthday and the whole eight-day event was recorded in an illustrated register that has let the buildings and ceremonies be reconstructed in detail. Most of the complex was destroyed in the twentieth century and rebuilt from the 1990s using those records. Martial arts demonstrations and changing-of-the-guard re-enactments run on set days in the courtyard.

What you actually see

• The reconstructed halls - courtyards rebuilt from the 1795 records.
• The main hall - Bongsudang, where the birthday rites were held.
• The re-enactments - guard and martial arts displays on set days.
• The fortress context - the walls of Hwaseong around the town.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Check the schedule for demonstrations, which run on set days and are the liveliest part. Closed on Mondays.

Honest expectations

Almost everything standing is post-1990s reconstruction, though unusually well documented. It is a courtyard complex rather than a grand palace. Combined tickets with the fortress are better value.

Nearby

The Hwaseong fortress wall circuit starts at the gates; Suwon's Haenggung-dong cafés are alongside.