Temporary Palace at Namhansanseong Fortress

Joseon had travelling palaces at several fortresses, but only this one was built to take over the functions of the capital outright. Alongside the government halls it has buildings to house the tablets of the royal ancestors and the altars of state — the two things that made a Korean capital a capital. Nowhere else has them. That tells you what the court expected of Namhansanseong: not a refuge to wait in but a seat to govern from, for as long as the war lasted. Excavation from 1999 has reconstructed the upper palace and the shrine, and turned up a quantity of material including roof tiles of exceptional size. The fortress around it was never taken by an enemy, which makes the surrender of 1636 a stranger and sadder thing than it first appears.

Original Text

Visiting

Opening hours

[Namhansanseong Fortress] Open 24 hr [Temporary Palace at Namhansanseong Fortress] Summer season (April-October) 10:00-18:00 / Winter season (November-March) 10:00-17:00

Admission

[Namhansanseong Fortress] Free<br> [Temporary Palace at Namhansanseong Fortress] Adults 2,000 won / Teenagers 1,000 won

Parking

Available

Information

+82-31-8008-5155

Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Historic Site · 사적