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Korea is home to historic sites, forts, palaces, temples, national parks, valleys,
waterfalls, beaches, lakes, hot springs and cultural villages. Forts, palaces
and castles are major attractions of Korea. Castles and fortresses bear testimony
to a tumultuous history of Korea. The forts and palaces unfold the past. The five
thousand year old history of Korea beckons travelers. Castles and fortresses are
scattered across the Korean countryside. Although most of the castles and forts
lay in ruins, the surviving ones are found in the vicinity of Seoul, the capital
city and ideal gateway to the Korean peninsula. History shows that Korea has survived
almost 900 invasions. The fortresses were built to guard the people against external
invasions. The first fortifications made of mud and timber can be traced back
to around 2B.C. As technology became more advanced, new techniques were applied
in the building of castles. Namhansanseong Fortress in South Korea located
in Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province is a major tourist attraction. You can catch
amazing views of the pine trees beautifying the mountain slopes. You can see the
past unfolding before you with a fleet of soldiers marching up the steep inclines.
Features of Namhansanseong Fortress in South Korea:
- The Fortress prides itself on much military significance.
- It was initially built as an earthen fortress about
2000 years ago.
- The fortress was reconstructed various times before
it was given final shape in 1624. The invasion of the Manchu army hastened the
final process of reconstruction.
- King Injo and a few thousand soldiers and Buddhist
warrior monks resisted an invading army of 130,000 men over 45 days during the
Manchu invasion of 1636.
- A section of the fortress was set ablaze by an invading
Japanese army in 1907.
- Marks of the bullets during the Korean War can be
seen in the fortress walls.
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