Jinjuseong Fortress

Jinjuseong occupies a bluff over the Nam River in the middle of Jinju, its stone wall running along the cliff edge and round the landward side, with gates, a command post and several pavilions inside. The best of them is Chokseongnu, a large open pavilion on the rock directly above the water, rebuilt after damage in the twentieth century and counted among the finer river pavilions in the south. Within the walls are the Jinju National Museum, which concentrates on the sixteenth-century invasions and the sieges the fortress endured, a shrine to Non Gae, the kisaeng of the local legend who is said to have taken an enemy commander into the river with her from a rock below the pavilion, and a small pond and grounds. The walls, first of earth, were rebuilt in stone between 1377 and 1380, and the site has been Historic Site No. 118 since 1963. The fortress is also the setting of the Jinju lantern festival each October, when thousands of lit paper figures are floated on the river - the city's largest event by far.

The main sights

• Chokseongnu - the pavilion on the cliff over the river.
• The wall and gates - the circuit round the bluff.
• The national museum - inside the walls, on the sieges.
• Uiam rock and the Non Gae shrine - below and beside the pavilion.

When to go

October for the lantern festival, which fills the city and needs booking ahead. April to June is pleasant and far quieter. Evenings are lit year round.

Good to know

Much of the wall and most of the buildings are twentieth-century restoration. Ticketed, with the museum charged separately. During the festival the fortress is extremely crowded and moving through it is slow.

Nearby

Namgang riverside paths run below; Jinyangho lake is west of the city.

Key facts