Visiting Suwon

I traveled thirty minutes south of Seoul by train three weekends ago, to visit a satellite city and the castle located in the middle of it. I have been to around a dozen Korean cities beforehand, but somehow I was surprised by how similar this one was to Seoul, Yeosu, Jeju-si, Mokpo, and the rest. Like always, the main streets were a hyperstimulating riot of pc bang, cafe, restaurant, and cell phone storefronts. Just out of the city center were the identical apartment blocks, their even rows evoking tombstones.



The one unusual feature of Suwon was that the city center was encircled by the remains of a fortress constructed about three hundred years ago. If you look closely on the left, you can see the green ring of grass and castle wall dividing the low-rise apartment buildings.



The fortress itself was great to see, quiet and cool because of the trees that had grown up around it.



This was a fantastic public restroom, one of many in Korea. I won't go in to too much detail, but the lighting and decorations made it look nicer than many apartments that I've stayed in. It even had a name, Azalea Flower Restroom.

While I have been too busy to do much sightseeing on this trip to Korea, traveling to Suwon reassured me that, for better or for worse, I haven't missed much. Put simply, all of the populated areas in Korea look very similar.