Lee Byung-hee's 100th Birth Anniversary ② Building Suwon's Future, Reviving Its Past

In the early 1960s, Suwon was a city within Gyeonggi Province, yet it was not the center of the province itself.

The appearance of Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon's representative landmark, was also different from today. Through the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, the fortress walls and facilities were damaged in many places, while the areas surrounding the fortress walls were rapidly urbanizing.

This was before Suwon had fully established both identities that characterize it today: 'administrative center city' and 'historic and cultural city.'

Following Lee Byung-hee's political footsteps reveals a moment where two different eras intersect.

One was bringing the Gyeonggi Provincial Government from Seoul to Suwon.

Even after Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were separated in 1946, the Provincial Government remained in Seoul. Suwon and Incheon competed over the location of the relocated provincial office. At the time, Incheon was Gyeonggi Province's representative city with its harbor and industrial base, while Suwon emphasized its geographic centrality and transportation infrastructure.

Attracting the Provincial Government was not simply about relocating one administrative agency. Civil servants and related institutions would follow, and roads, residential areas, and commercial districts would be formed. Most importantly, it carried the symbolism of becoming 'Gyeonggi Province's central city.'

The competition between Suwon and Incheon escalated into a bid that became a matter of regional pride. Coincidentally, at the center of this competition were two politicians who were classmates at the Korean Military Academy's 8th class. Lee Byung-hee from Suwon and Yu Seung-won from Incheon each threw themselves into the bid to attract the Provincial Government, intensifying the rivalry.

A famous anecdote about Lee Byung-hee emerged from this process. He reportedly shaved his head and visited Park Chung-hee, Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, to press for the Provincial Government's relocation to Suwon. It is said that Lee reportedly pleaded to Chairman Park: "Sir, if I cannot move the Provincial Government here, I will die." This demonstrates just how much he staked his political fortune on attracting the Provincial Government.

Did his efforts pay off? It did not take long for the conclusion to be reached.

In December 1963, the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction passed legislation changing the location of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government to Suwon.

In October the following year, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Provincial Government building was held beneath Paldal Mountain, and in June 1967, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government relocated from Seoul to Suwon.

It was a turning point in which Suwon rose to become the substantive center of Gyeonggi's administration.

With the Provincial Government's arrival, related agencies and people moved to Suwon. Surrounding roads, residential areas, and commercial districts changed as well. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government building, situated beneath Paldal Mountain, became a space symbolizing Suwon and Gyeonggi Province for more than half a century thereafter.

If the relocation of the Provincial Government gave Suwon the appearance of an administrative city, the 1970s saw a different direction taken.

It was about recovering Suwon's identity.

Hwaseong Fortress was begun by King Jeongjo in 1794 and completed in 1796, but it was severely damaged over the 20th century. Through the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, some facilities were destroyed or lost, and fortress walls were crumbling in many places.

The 1970s in the Republic of Korea was an era of development. It was a time when building roads and factories and constructing new buildings took priority over preserving the old.

In such times, plans to undertake a large-scale restoration of Hwaseong Fortress took concrete shape.

In 1973, Lee Byung-hee, who was the First Deputy Prime Minister at the time, promoted a plan to restore and rehabilitate cultural heritage related to King Jeongjo, including Hwaseong Fortress, Yung and Geonreung Royal Tombs, and Yongju Temple, at the national level.

According to recollections of Im Su-bok, who was in charge of implementation at the time, Lee Byung-hee had plans drawn up to rehabilitate cultural heritage related to King Jeongjo along with the fortress walls. Through this process, the 'Hwasan Great Filial Piety Comprehensive Plan' was created, and upon receiving presidential approval, it was formalized as a national-level project.

In 1974, Gyeonggi Province formulated the 'Suwon Fortress Wall Restoration and Purification Plan,' and the following year, the groundbreaking ceremony for the restoration and purification project was held at Jangan Gate. Subsequently, a large-scale restoration project to revive the fortress walls and major facilities continued until 1979.

An important basis for the restoration was the 'Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe' (Hwaseong Construction Records) left from King Jeongjo's era. Because detailed records were kept of the construction process, materials, workforce, and construction methods during the fortress's original construction, damaged facilities could be restored to closely resemble their original form.

The restoration that began in the 1970s continued through subsequent generations. Further restoration and rehabilitation work continued, and the Hwaseong Haenggung (Royal Temporary Palace) was also restored to its appearance through the efforts of citizens and Suwon.

And in 1997, Hwaseong Fortress was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Hwaseong Fortress. Opening the future and embracing the past.

The Provincial Government was relocated from Seoul, placing Suwon at the center of administration, and crumbling fortress walls were revived, allowing Suwon to reclaim its origins.

While building a new Suwon, the old Suwon was preserved.

In the blueprint of the city that Lee Byung-hee envisioned, the future and the past existed together.