Namhansanseong Fortress
| Namhansanseong | |
|---|---|
UNESCO world heritage 
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| The Seojangdae command post |
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| National territory: |
 South Korea
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | (ii) (iv) |
| Reference No .: | 1439 |
| UNESCO region : | Asia and Pacific |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 2014 (session 38) |
| Korean alphabet : | 남한산성 |
| Hanja : | 南 漢 山城 |
| Revised Romanization : | Namhansanseong |
| McCune-Reischauer : | Namhansansŏng |
The fortress Namhansanseong ( Korean 남한산성 , literally "South Han Mountain Fortress") is a Korean mountain fortress located about 15 kilometers southeast of Seoul 480 m above sea level on the Namhansan (mountain on the South Han River ). Most of the fortifications and temples in the fortress date from the 17th century. In 2014 the fortress was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a World Heritage Site .
Early history
Tradition connects the fortress with King Onjo, the founder of the Baekje Kingdom . In 672, a fortress named Chujangseong ( 書 長城 ) was built on the western slope of Namhansan Mountain to protect the Silla Kingdom from the Tang Dynasty . Thereafter the fortress was renamed Ilyangseong ( 日 長城 ). The kings of the Goryeo Empire used the fortress as a defensive outpost for Gwangju , a nearby provincial capital.
Most of the current fort dates from the Joseon Dynasty . Construction began in 1624 when the Manchu threatened the Ming Dynasty . In 1636 the Manchus invaded and Injo had to flee to the fortress with his court and his 13,800 soldiers. Here they were well defended and the king enjoyed the protection of a bodyguard of 3,000 monks. The Manchu were unable to storm the fortress, but after a siege of 45 days the food supplies ran out and the king had to surrender by handing his sons hostage and giving up his allegiance to the Ming Dynasty. The Samjeondo Monument ( 三 田 渡 碑 ) was erected on the southern road from Seoul to Namhansanseong to commemorate this event.
After the Manchu withdrew, Namhanseong remained unchanged until the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon, who enlarged the fortress and built Pongamseong at the northeast corner of the fortress in 1686. Another addition, Hanbongseong, was built in 1693 along the ridge east of the fortress.
The fortress wall
The fortress is surrounded by a wall about eight kilometers long and up to seven meters high, which has several gates. Large parts of the wall, especially in the south, have been restored and can be walked on by visitors. Some parts, especially in the north, continue to fall apart and become overgrown. The masonry ramparts are somewhat reminiscent of the Great Wall of China .
Current condition
The fortress was no longer used and slowly fell into disrepair until 1954 when it was declared a national park and restoration work began.
Originally there were nine temples in the fortress as well as several command posts and watchtowers. Today only the Seojangdae Command Post (西 將 台) and the Changgyeongsa Temple remain. There are some newer temples on the way up to the south gate and the fortress wall.
Injo stayed at the Seojangdae (西 將 台) command post during the siege of 1636. The first floor was added in 1751 and the pavilion was renamed Mumangnu (無 忘 樓) "forgotten tower". This name apparently refers to the unforgettable shame of surrender to the Manchus . Chonggyedang Shrine dates from the same period and was built in honor of Yi Hoe, who was mistakenly executed for his responsibility in building the southern part of Namhansanseong.
Some historically less significant facilities such as Sungnyeoljeon (崇 烈 殿, built in 1638) and Chimgwajeong are associated with the Baekje ruler Onjo. Not far from the western wall stood Songsu-tap (頌 壽 塔), a tower with a metal phoenix on it, built for the 80th birthday of President Rhee Syng-man in 1955. When his government was overthrown by student protests in 1960, the tower was destroyed .
Namhansanseong as a local recreation area
The fortress has now become a popular local recreation area, located around 30 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and easily accessible by subway. Almost the entire area is forested and offers variety for the residents of Seoul, who mostly live in apartment blocks. Inside the fortress walls there are restaurants for visitors and parking spaces. From the metro station "Namhansanseong" line 8 is a few kilometers, you can travel on foot, by taxi or a bus.
World Heritage
Namhansanseong was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites by the World Heritage Committee at its meeting on July 7, 2014 in Doha , Qatar .
The world heritage site consists of two separate areas. These cover a total of 409.06 ha of protection and are surrounded by a shared buffer zone with an area of 853.71 ha.
The reason for the entry states, among other things:
"As a permanently inhabited city that has been the provincial capital for a long period of time, [Namhansanseong] contains evidence of various types of military, civil, and religious buildings within its fortified walls."
The entry was made on the basis of criteria (ii) and (iv).
“(Ii): The Namhansanseong fortification system embodies a synthesis of the art of defense in the Far East at the beginning of the 17th century. It derives from a re-examination of Chinese and Korean standards of urban fortification and from fears raised by new firearms from the west. Namhansanseong marks a turning point in the design of mountain fortresses in Korea, and it in turn influenced the construction of citadels in the region. "
“(Iv): Namhansanseong is an outstanding example of a fortified city. Designed in the 17th century as an emergency capital for the Joseon Dynasty, it was built and then defended by Buddhist soldier monks, who respected traditions that already existed at this point. "
Movies
The 2017 South Korean historical film The Fortress stages the siege of the fortress by the army of the Qing Dynasty in 1636.
Web links
- Namhansanseong Fortress on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Namhansanseong Homepage . Namhansanseong Culture & Tourism Initiative,accessed November 7, 2016(English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Namhansanseong. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed February 2, 2017 .
- ^ Decisions adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session (Doha, 2014) . (PDF 4.2 MB) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , July 7, 2014, accessed on September 12, 2015 .
- ↑ Decision: 38 COM 8B.29. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Namhansanseong. Maps. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed February 3, 2017 .
Heritage: Seokguram Temple and Bulguksa Temple (1995) | Haeinsa Temple - repository of the Tripitaka Koreana (1995) | Jongmyo Shrine (1995) | Changdeokgung Palace (1997) | Hwaseong Fortress (1997) | Gyeongju Historic Sites (2000) | Dolmen sites of Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa (2000) | Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (2009) | Historic Villages of Hahoe and Yangdong (2010) | Namhansanseong Fortress (2014) | Baekje Historic Sites (2015) | Sansa, Buddhist mountain monasteries in Korea (2018) | Seowon (2019)
Natural heritage: Jeju volcanic island and lava tunnel (2007)
Coordinates: 37 ° 28 ′ 40.9 ″ N , 127 ° 11 ′ 3.1 ″ E