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The Castles of Korea Preserving 5000 Years of History
Writing: Photographer Choi Jin-youn (photo@cnnphoto.net)
Korea is dotted with the ruins of many castles and it has long been called "the state of castles." This is evidenced by stone castles in high mountains, mud ramparts in lower ones and town castle walls covered with lichen on the plains or coast.
The country has been invaded 930 times, but coped with the raids in the spirit of defense as shown by the placement of the castles; however, their remains have been neglected for a long time. There is no evidence about exactly when castle building started, but people say it was around 2BC. At first they were built with trees as pillars mud ramparts were added until stone castles, which cost a lot in terms of effort and expense, emerged in 3BC.
The stone castles in high mountains were built using the geographical features. For instance people would connect the walls of a valley between two peaks, install a gate and build a watchtower on the highest one. Ondal Castle in Danyang, Chungbuk Province is the best example of Koguryeo (one of Korea's ancient states from 37BC-668AD) building and is located at the top of 400m cliffs at the upper mouth of the Han River.
Mount Seongheung in Yimcheong, Buyeo shows the fortification style in the in Baekje era and its castle looks out over the Geum River and Hwangsan. Samnyeon is considered the best example of the Shilla Dynasty and is located in Boeun, Chungbuk, boasting 20m high walls.
At the end of the Koryo era walls were constructed arouns towns in coastal regions due to a flood of invasions by Japanese pirates. The castle at Suwon, known as Hwaseong, is considered the best example from the Joseon Dynasty and was declared a world cultural heritage in 1998.
The characteristic of castles in Korea differs from those overseas, which were built for the family of the owner. In times of war, the people used the castle to resist raiders. Even though their ruins look trivial, people should recognize that they are precious historical traces and heritage in need of special care.
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