Visiting Jinjuseong Fortress & Chokseongnu
on Oct. 26, 2019
This place is located in southern province called Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. It was my first time to visit this city. It looked similar to Gyeongju-si to me. Small, quiet, peaceful, countrylike, old, etc. This place was nominated as one of the 50 tourist attractions in Korea by CNN.
Entrance fee is \2,000/adult (less than US$2), \1,000/teens. Jinjuseong had been a mud-made fortress but rebuilt in 1379. It blocked Japanese invasions many times.
Although it had been used to block enemies as a fortress, now it looks like a well-made park.
Walking up the stairs, we could see the river, Namgang. It was a beautiful autumn day.
I took a photo on Seojang-dae. I guess it means it is located in westside and it was used to watch and command to soldiers by a commander. There is the river, Namgang. As I watched Namgang, it reminded me of a poem, which I learned at high school and almost forgot. It says, "Namgang flows.."
As a fortress that used to be, some canons are exhibited.
And there is a monument for Independence Movement on March 1st, 1919.
At a square, we could watch Samulnori, a Korean traditional percussion quartet. It holds on Saturdays. The sound was very big, so I wondered how my daughters were feeling and thinking about this. Unlike my worry, they enjoyed themselves, even they couldn't take off their eyes. The play was very exciting and sometimes, players showed a kind of circus thing like spinning plate on the sticks.
On a side of the square, we could try Tteok, a kind of rice cake, and tea. Tteok was delicious and tea was flavory. My baby daughter was satisfied with the tea even though it was her first time to drink and of course she really liked Tteok. It was very chewy and sweet.
Another part of the Jinjuseong, a book festival was being held. A storyteller, who seemed like a teenage girl, was telling a fairy-tale story about Jinju-si. Because we didn't have enough time to listen to the story, I felt sorry for my daughters.
Near Chokseongnu, there were many photo zone.
This is the very Chokseongnu.
Chokseongnu used to be a commanding place. There were Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592-1598. In July 1593, Japanese won the 2nd battle at this place and they held a party. Non gae, who was Gisaeng similar to Geisha, hugged the Japanese commander and jumped off to the river.
It was open to people. We could walk on taking off shoes. My daughters loved this place although I shouted them not to run.
Even they lay on the floor. OMG. I couldn't get their thought. What a kid!
At the entrance door to Chokseongnu, there were Hanbok, Korean traditional costumes, for trying.
Again, it was a very beautiful autumn day. The sky was so blue and it was cool.
When we returned to near Seojangdae, there was a pseudo tree. It said it is a post box sending a letter a year later. I didn't try it. We had to hurry because we planned to visit Yeosu, another city in Jeollanam-do province to watch annual fireworks.
Maybe next posting will be the fireworks in Yeosu.
