Suwon Hwaseong Fortress Bolsters Tourism with Diverse, High-Quality Services

2007 marks the 10th anniversary of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Suwon City is focusing administrative efforts on promoting Suwon Hwaseong, developing diverse tourism products to position the fortress as a world-class cultural heritage tourism destination, and improving services to increase visitor numbers.

According to the city, visitor numbers to Suwon Hwaseong reached 1.028 million in 2006, a 115% increase from 895,356 visitors in 2005. Revenue also surged 166%, rising from approximately 413.99 million won in 2005 to approximately 687.44 million won in 2006.

In response, the city plans to implement various measures to enhance tourism services.

A system has been established allowing visitors to pay admission fees and parking charges by credit card, which began operating on the 1st of this month. The Hwaseong Promotional Center will open in March, featuring major events, tourist destinations, Eight Scenic Spots of Suwon, cultural heritage and fortress information, and future visions in its basement levels 1 and 2.

Notably, the city plans to operate a 3D stereoscopic theater within the promotional center on a paid basis to increase revenue. Visitors wear 3D glasses to view content in which a Hwaseong character explains the fortress's construction background, process, and major facilities to children, which is expected to prove popular.

On the 3rd of this month, the ordinance establishing the Suwon Hwaseong Support Foundation was finalized, stipulating that an operating foundation will professionally manage ticketing, restroom operations, and park management.

Going forward, the newly established Suwon Hwaseong Operating Foundation is expected to professionally handle personnel management, maintenance of leased facilities, and other operations, providing high-quality services to tourists.

Additionally, the city is planning weekend accommodation experience programs. Once the plaza in front of the Hwaseong Business Office is completed, the city plans to add mounted martial arts performances to the "24-Military Skills" performances currently held on weekends, and is preparing diverse performances and reenactments of royal processions.

The city also plans to produce and sell miniature replicas of major cultural heritage sites at Suwon Hwaseong as experiential tourism products, currently manufacturing a model of the "Seojangdae" observation tower.

An official from the Hwaseong Business Office stated, "We are creating a 'Seojangdae' model as an experiential tourism product for Hwaseong, and if the response is positive, we plan to produce other major cultural heritage sites like Paldalmun Gate as a series." The official added, "We initially planned to install lodging facilities within the행궁 palace complex, but have modified our plan to purchase and operate a building in front of the Hwaseong Business Office, while conducting programs within the Haenggung palace."

The city expects 1.5 million visitors to Hwaseong in 2007 and projects revenue of 900 million won.

As part of cultural heritage restoration efforts, the city plans to complete the Jangamu Gate fortress wall connection project in April. The city also plans to resume construction of "Seojangdae," the representative cultural heritage site and Historic Site No. 3 of Suwon Hwaseong, in February, complete it by March to enhance cultural value and utilize it as a tourism resource.

Additionally, the city will invest 670 million won to install CCTV and unmanned security systems throughout the fortress from February to September to safely preserve the precious cultural heritage, transmit it to future generations, and utilize it as a tourist destination.

The city plans to invest 230 million won in applying dancheong (traditional Korean decorative coloring) to Hwaseong's Dongjangdae (East Observation Tower) and Jangamun Gate, and install bird netting to ensure meticulous cultural heritage preservation and management.