Discover Korea #1: Suwon (THE EAST Campaign in Association with Korea Tourism Organization)

During the era of the Three Kingdoms, (under the occupancy of Goguryeo from the end of the 5th century until the United Silla era), Suwon was called ‘Maehol’. During the following United Silla Period (under the rule of King Gyeongdeok-a.d. 757), the city was renamed Suseong-gun, and again renamed Suju during the Goryeo Dynasty. Here, ‘seong,’ ‘gun’ or ‘hol’ are merely geographical suffixes representing the division of administrative districts, and the real meaning of the name lies in the key words ‘su’ and ‘mae’. It seems definite that the word ‘mae’ is phonographically related to the Korean term for ‘water’. In the absence of Korean characters, proper nouns were marked using the sound and meaning of Chinese characters, in a writing method using borrowed terms.
Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
Mt. Gwanggyo
Located in Sanggwanggyo-dong, Suwon City, Mt. Gwanggyo stretches about 2 kilometres north-south between the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) Expressway and the Seoul-Suwon highway. The gentle and secluded ridges of the mountain are thickly wooded in all directions, presenting an ideal place to enjoy a peaceful day’s mountaineering. Mt. Gwanggyo has been considered among the eight scenic spots of Suwon from ancient times. The beauty of the snow piled up on the trees on Mt. Gwanggyosan places it at the top of the eight scenic spots.
The seasoned ribs of Suwon
The smell of grilling ribs attracts the gourmet’s tongue. After seasoning the ribs with various sorts of ingredients, such as sesame oil, garlics, green onions, toasted sesame seeds and peaches, they are then grilled them over a charcoal fire. They are beyond comparison, not only in taste, but also in size. The grilled ribs of Suwon, one of the best foods enbodying the taste of Korea, are very much loved by tourists both from home and abroad. Lee Kwisong opened a restaurant named “Hwachunok” on “the rice store street” in the Yeongdong Market of Suwon in the 1940s. It became famous for it’s unique taste of ribs grilled over charcoal, and has become acknowledged to be a traditional food of Suwon. Presently, twenty five model restaurants are maintaining as part of the reputation of grilled ribs in Suwon. The Grilled Ribs Festival is held annually to celebrate the ‘taste of ribs’ the traditions of Korea. Today, a lot of restaurants are gathered around “the old pine trees area”, as well as the ramp of Gyeongbu Expressway in the East Suwon District.
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