If you want an easy and meaningful day trip from Pyeongtaek, Suwon is one of the best choices. The moment your train rolls into Suwon Station, the giant 18th-century Hwaseong Fortress wall rises above the city, circling the heart of town. Today’s plan is simple and flexible: walk part of the fortress wall, explore Hwaseong Haenggung by day and again at night, and end with sizzling fried chicken on Suwon’s famous “Chicken Street.” Walk the Fortress Wall (Hwaseong Fortress) You can start your walk anywhere. Look for a nearby stairway or ramp leading up to the wall. The full loop is 5.74 km, wrapping around central Suwon with sweeping views of traditional rooftops, apartment clusters, and mountains in the distance. At the northeast corner you’ll reach Banghwasuryujeong Pavilion overlooking Yongyeon Pond. This spot is open 24/7, free, and gorgeous at sunrise, sunset, or night. Many Suwon locals call it “the best anytime photo spot.” A Short Story While You Walk Hwaseong Fortress was such an enormous construction project that it should have taken a decade, but instead it was finished in about 32 months (1794–1796). Two things made this possible: 1. The Uigwe Construction Manual The Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe (1801) recorded every detail of the project. They recorded the plans, tools, budgets, worker lists, and construction methods. Today, visiting Hwaseong feels like stepping inside the pages of a living engineering manual. 2. Science-Based Engineering Practical scholar Jeong Yak-yong developed lifting devices like the geojunggi, a crane using pulleys to raise enormous stones. This is why Hwaseong is often called “the fortress built by science.”If you pay attention to the curves of the wall and how it flows with the terrain, you’ll notice the engineering mindset that shaped every turn. See the Geojunggi Up Close — Suwon Hwaseong Museum After your walk, head to the Suwon Hwaseong Museum, right next to the fortress. In the outdoor yard, you’ll find full-scale reconstructions of the geojunggi, nokro (treadwheel crane), and yuhyeonggeo (siege cart). Looking at these machines in person makes the fortress suddenly feel even smarter and more human. Explore Hwaseong Haenggung (Daytime) Walk downhill from the fortress, and the wide courtyard of Hwaseong Haenggung opens in front of you. This is a palace designed horizontally rather than vertically—long wooden halls, large open yards, and peaceful lines of columns. Bilingual signs explain each building, and you’ll find beautiful photo angles everywhere: roof curves, sunlight through eaves, and views framed by gates. Night at the Haenggung (Seasonal Opening) From May 3 – November 2, 2025, the palace opens again at night: As the sky darkens, lanterns and soft lighting trace the wooden beams and walkways. If you visited earlier in the day, retracing the same path after dark makes Suwon feel like it has two overlapping worlds—one in sunlight and one in warm shadows. History to Carry With You In 1795, King Jeongjo led a famous eight-day royal procession to celebrate his mother Lady Hyegyeong’s 60th birthday and honor his father’s tomb. During this journey, he crossed the Han River on a massive pontoon bridge made by linking boats into a 20-meter-wide, 300-meter-long floating road. That same energy, innovation mixed with ceremony, is still present in the streets and walls you’re walking today. Optional Deep Dive — Where to See the Uigwe Later Back in Seoul, the National Museum of Korea displays royal Uigwe materials. These illustrated manuals show procession diagrams, architectural drawings, budgets, and event planning. If Suwon sparks your curiosity, this is where you can see the original records behind the experience. Dinner on Suwon Chicken Street As evening settles in, walk to Suwon Fried Chicken Street, where the sound of boiling cauldrons nearly calls you inside. The signature style here is: The sweet-savory galbi flavor combined with crispy chicken is simple but unforgettable. 📍 Easy landmark pin (copy and paste the address below into Naver Maps):경기도 수원시 팔달구 정조로800번길 16 A Simple, Perfect Suwon Day Start with wind on the fortress walls, wander through the daylight lines of the Haenggung, return for its lantern-lit night scene, and finish with the warmth of fried chicken. Suwon’s identity—a city of records, engineering, and storytelling—lives quietly in the alleys, ponds, rooftops, and museum courtyards. Next time, try doing the route in reverse, or visit at a different hour. All you need is curiosity and a camera—Suwon will meet you halfway. Quick Transport Tip (From Pyeongtaek) About the “Shared Voices” Initiative South of Seoul volunteers collaborate with Korean public schools to provide students meaningful opportunities to expand their English communication experience while sharing their world views with the international community in Korea. Through guided projects, students in Korean classrooms use digital and creative tools to express themselves in English, building confidence in their communication skills. At the same time, they learn to approach writing with empathy. They participate in guided discussions that consider different perspectives, practicing cultural awareness, and developing a deeper understanding of how their words can connect communities across borders. It’s important to know that schools in South Korea are becoming increasingly diverse, which includes the students who participate in South of Seoul programs like “Shared Voices.” Bonho GuBon Ho Gu is a junior at Jinwee High School. He loves to travel. He also has a deep love for South Korea and looks forward to sharing his recommendations with our international community.

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During a recent bike ride around Suwon, we most likely broke many rules, despite the fact we were making our best effort to go by them. So I’m going to begin this recommendation by stating, I don’t know if we were supposed to be riding our bikes here.  We had avoided going a few places that specifically said no bikes, but the trails we used to access this park didn’t have signs that we noticed. We aren’t saying they weren’t there, we just didn’t notice them. Dogs Allowed Even though we are unsure if bikes are allowed, we are sure dogs are allowed as long as they are on a leash and you pick up after them. BE SURE of those two things.  We saw quite a few owners out walking their little ankle biters so grab your fur baby and head outside. Shaded From the Sun One of the big reasons this park is perfect for you and your dog in the summer is that it is HEAVILY shaded. We were able to avoid direct sun throughout nearly the entire trek. A fact we greatly appreciated after stupidly not bringing water with us. A mistake we hope to never make again, but most likely will endlessly. There are also many napping areas along the way, so you will have plenty of chances to take a rest that are also out of the sun. Ends at a Beautiful Lake Park This particular park is great because it wanders along a ridge all the way to the lake park that we love. That means you can go jump in water features at the end of your long walk (or bike ride as was our case). That’s a lovely end to any outdoor excursion. The pin that we dropped marks the beginning of the series of parks and green spaces that run all the way to the water. There are many different entrances and exits along the way. https://naver.me/FvnJphVI

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Whenever I can be near water or in water I am. It’s always been a big part of my life. In order to get more of it, this last weekend we decided to go checkout one of Suwon’s lakes in the middle of the city. We rented old bikes from the near the palace and road them through the city, along the river, through a park, and down to the waters edge. It was quite the adventure and took about an hour since it was our first trip and we were exploring. I will go into more detail about how to do this entire trip later this week. Suwon’s 원천호수 (lake) has been developed into a stunning park area surrounded by the tall mountainous buildings of a busy vibrant city. Due to our limited time, and our love of getting wet, we chose to visit the section of park that’s covered in water features that you and your children are welcome to play in. An entire hillside and boardwalk of flowing, pooling and shooting water that will delight your inner and/or real child. This is an excellent choice for a picnic and lots of Korean families take advantage of it so you won’t be alone. There might also be live music, event tents, and more happening throughout the summer. This isn’t where you go away to get away from it all, this is where you go to join in the fun of the city and the culture. The park is much bigger than what you see in these pictures. There is a long trail system the snakes along the edge of the lake, so if exorcise is what you want, this is also a great place to get it. As an added bonus, dogs are allowed the park as long as they are leashed and you pick up after them. So grab your friends, your fur babies, or your real babies and go forth to enjoy the summer fun. CLICK HERE for the map and address in MollaKorea.com

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About Futbal In South Korea The Korean Futbal Season runs from February through October. However, the schedule may be adjusted during a pandemic. Cities across South Korea have teams that compete around the country. Most are sponsored by major corporations. Pyeongtaek even has a team that practices out of the Stadium in Bijeon-dong. Getting to the Suwon Soccer Stadium While at work my friend messaged me to see if I wanted to watch a soccer game in Suwon. Since I’ve never had the privilege of watching a live soccer game in a stadium I was all for it.  After work, I jumped on the subway from Songtan to Suwon. Once in Suwon, since I hadn’t had dinner, I thought it would be a good idea to swing by the food court and grab a few snacks.  Being the end of the day, I was delighted to find that the food had all been put on supper sale so I filled my large handbag with rice balls and three kinds of mandu.  After that, I grabbed a taxi to the World Cup Stadium.  (About 9,000 and 1hr 20min).   You Can Bring Your Own Snacks I easily arrived by the 7:30pm start time and opened my handbag for a snack, at which point I realized that buying copious amounts of kimchi mandu and caviar filled rice balls might not have been the best idea.  I was nearly knocked off my feet by the intensity of the smell.  Now, I would have felt less foolish if this had been the first time I had made this mistake, but no, this is a lesson I refuse to learn.     Once inside the stadium our tickets allowed us to basically sit where we wanted, a benefit of the VIP entrance am guessing, but I don’t really know since I had never been before. The stadium doesn’t have a roof, so when the weather became a bit drizzly we raced inside for the complimentary rain poncho which came in an attractive XXXXXL.     As it turned out, despite the less than attractive smell that clawed it’s way out of my handbag, I was supper happy I had purchased mandu in bulk since there weren’t a lot of options for snacks at the stadium.  There was a small snack bar but the selection was minimal.  Thankfully they had drinks and chopsticks. The two things required to make my purse dumplings into something that seemed slightly less weird.      The Futbal Experience Generally I’m not a fan of the stadium experience, but I found soccer in Suwon quite relaxing and fun. The truly excited fans were on each end of the stadium so the noise was enjoyable and not over whelming.  A friend of mine who loves soccer said that seeing a game at this stadium is actually on his bucket list because the US Men’s Team did something really amazing here. I know nothing of this, but maybe somebody reading this does and will find it interesting.     Blue Wings Korean Schedule is here: http://fussball.wettpoint.com/en/matchschedules/200365-schedule.html     Grab Dinner Near Suwon Station After you finish the game, I recommend grabbing dinner near Suwon Station. The area is filled with shopping and delicious restaurants. Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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