As the semester draws ever near its conclusion, I realized that there were still a few things I really wanted to do in Korea before going home.  One of these was to visit a palace.  Having been the capital for 600 years Seoul has a number of them, and all look very impressive.  Yet Seoul's a long way from Sinchang, and you sometimes aren't going to feel like riding the train for 2 and a half hours to get there.  Not to mention fighting the crowds that inevitably will be found in the country's most populous city.  For a convenient alternative I highly recommend Suwon, which is only an hour and 20 minutes or so from SCH. 

Why Suwon?  Because it's home to a very interesting and beautiful place known as Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO world heritage site.  Inside the fortress is a temporary palace that was inhabited by a former king after he'd passed the crown on to his son.  He lived there with his mother as well, and the structure stands today as an enduring legacy of the Joseon Dynasty.  Not only is the palace itself pretty neat to explore, but there are also performances of two sorts - the changing of the guard and a traditional martial arts demonstration.  I arrived at the wrong time for the changing of the guard, but luckily the martial arts show was just beginning upon my arrival.

Old meets the new: a Christian church across the plaza from Hwaseong Palace.

The main gate of the palace, which is closed during the martial arts show.  Note the weapon racks in front of it.

Performers dressed as Joseon warriors emerge from the palace with royal standards.

Banners used as spears!

This was of particular interest to me because of an interest in Asian armed fighting styles - like Japan's kendo, for instance.  I'd been able to see Chinese and Japanese styles in film and other media before but never Korean.  What I found was that the Korean styles bear similarities to both Chinese and Japanese.  This is not to say that they are just a melding of those other cultures' martial arts, far from it.  Simply that each culture influences the others, perhaps - since Korean civilization does in fact go back farther in recorded history than Japan.

What do I mean by elements of both?  The use of polearms (spears, Asian-style halberds, etc.) is something I've seen a bit more in Chinese traditional martial arts.  All of the swords used during the demonstration were much more of the curved style blade used so expertly in Japan.  To my eyes they were very similar yet not quite identical to katana, the traditional samurai weapon of choice.  Those observations aside the demonstration consisted of the use of swords (single and dual wielding), spears, halberds, archery (rapid firing and crossbows to boot) and then mixed unit combat.  I was very impressed by the level of skill the performers displayed, and especially the speed with which the archers released their shots - on target no less.  It was also nice but anachronisitc to see that not all of the warriors were men - there were at least two ladies out there too!

I'm pretty sure this is a woman; she displayed great skill using two blades simultaneously.

When the show ends you can get pictures of and with the performers.  At the same time the palace gate opens and at last you can set foot inside and begin exploring the grounds.  When I first entered the interior I was curious about the wooden plank pathways that lead from one area to another.  Then I realized that the courtesans, attendants and royal residents would likely be wearing cloth or leather shoes that could get dirty very easily.  Not only would that be unbecoming in the court, but it would track dirt inside - a big no-no in Korea.  In homes and some restaurants and rooms you are expected to remove your shoes so that this does not happen.  Soldiers would presumably walk on the dirt then, since they would be wearing boots while on duty.  Additionally you can see that the grounds were fairly open; a good number of people, but there's so much area inside that you get a much more private feeling once you get away from them a bit.

Three layers of Korean society - a roof from Hwaseong Palace, a giant golden Buddha, and a communications tower.

Royal guards stand before the entrance to the palace's inner sanctum.

A eunuch reading in his private quarters.

A structure in the trees near the fortress wall.

It's good to be the King!

This is the hall in which the royal residents would hold feasts and court.

At first a lot of the palace looked similar to all the other parts, and I though that finding one's way around without a map would be difficult.  However in the Joseon days Chinese characters were the script of choice and signs at different gates identify the grounds' different areas.  It's interesting to see just how small individual rooms were in those days - barely enough space for a dresser and a sleeping mat.  A few rooms are open with displays in them - mostly servants or court officers preparing for their duties.  In the royal hall the former king is present at a feast, with servants attentively waiting; his mother is attended at the other end of the hall.  Lastly there was also an area in which the soldiers were housed - according to the indentification plaques they would have been cavalry.  Traditional armor is on display there, and is quite similar to that worn by the martial arts performers.

You really get a feel for how big the place actually is when you just explore the grounds to try and see everything there.  Just when you think you've returned to your starting point you see a new pathway to take, and more places to go see.  At the same time those pathways are narrow more often than not, and rooms are (as mentioned) very small.  This gets the most out of the space the palace is built on, though the area before the royal hall is much more wide open.  Fitting, as I'd imagine great processions, assemblies and performances would have been held there.

There's really nothing like these sorts of places in America - at the same time as we were still loyal colonies of the British Empire, places like Hwaseong were standing as the homes of the Joseon royal family.  Perhaps the best part of visiting palaces and similar sites in Korea is how inexpensive it is to do so.  All of them have an entrance fee to help pay for the upkeep of the structures, but this is incredibly afforable.  Hwaseong Palace's entrance fee was only 1,500 won - about $1.50!  For that you get as much time as you want to take in the palace - which was the location for a Korean historical drama (most of which are set during the Joseon dynasty) - plus the performances.  You can't visit Korea and not see a palace, I think - the Joseon dynasty had a powerful influence on modern Korean culture, and many of its structures still stand today.  It'd be a shame to miss out on that during your visit when they're so cheap to see. 

When I went to Suwon I also had another landmark I needed to see.  One I've mentioned in my video blog a few times and more often to friends and family.  The one place I absolutely could not leave Korea without visiting...

A very redundant sign at Mr. Toilet House.

That would be none other than Haewoojae (or Haewooso, according to pretty much every Korean I've talked to), AKA Mr. Toilet House.  I found an image of this incredibly bizzare structure online before departing for my study abroad experience and knew instantly that I needed to find it.  Yes, it's really a house that is shaped like a toilet.  What was this place?  Why is it shaped like a toilet?  These questions plagued my mind before I finally visited this past Saturday and at long last discovered just what Mr. Toilet House is.

A word of warning to those who would visit the place: it's hard to find.  Supposedly you can take the bus there, but the difficulties I had in Suwon with the bus system made this very hard to accomplish.  In fact it was so confusing that I just took a taxi there, and even the taxi driver had a hard time at first: he had to look at the flyer from tourist information for a full three minutes before he understood what I was looking for.  Mr. Toilet House is tucked away behind a high school and down a side street.  Nothing much is back there except... well, a toilet shaped house.  So what's inside?  It's a museum about the house's late owner and former Suwon mayor Shim JaeDeok.  And toilets.

An early public toilet in Suwon.

One of Suwon's beautiful public toilets.

Communist propaganda or toilet magazine?  You decide.

An award given to Mr. Shim by the government in thanks for his efforts.



Shim Jae Deok's nameplate as mayor of Suwon.



A letter of thanks from the Turkish embassy in Seoul.

Just like the building, the story behind it is kind of odd.  Shim Jae Deok is said to have been born in an outhouse and that really helped influence his future direction.  He came to believe that all people have a right to clean and safe sanitation, and that specifically to him meant public toilets.  As part of Suwon's hosting of matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup he promoted the construction of a number of beautiful public toilets for visitors to use.  They all have different themes too - the Dream Toilet, toilets inside traditional looking structures and even one with statues of insects outside it. 

Furthermore he worked hard to promote this ideal overseas, founding the World Toilet Association in Seoul.  This organziation helps to construct safe public toilets in needy places like Africa and southeast Asia, and has held two summits thus far.  First in Korea (the founding nation) and most recently in China.  The museum at Mr. Toilet House showcases the results of these efforts in addition to information about the man himself.  Perhaps most odd is that he actually lived in the house until his death a few years ago.  There's a room on the bottom floor that doubles as living quarters and bathroom, which my pictures will illustrate to a degree.

The large button on the left is the key to privacy in the small living quarters.  Press it and...

Voila!  You have the window frosted so that you can use the bathroom in prvacy.  Flip the switch again and..

It's clear and you can see your guests in the living room!  The standee is Mr. Shim Jae Deok, the house's late owner.

So there it is: the building shaped like a toilet.  It's certainly one of the most bizzare things I've found in Korea, though the story behind it makes a deal of sense after all.  Hard to find but worth the journey.  There are many Joseon buildings remaining in Korea to see - there's only one house shaped like a toilet.