A Walk Around the City Wall: Hanyangdoseong through the Eyes of 19th-Century Literature

WHY VISIT

After the cold winter passes and spring arrives with its budding flowers, many people visit Seoul City Wall. Originally, "Soonseong" referred to the patrols conducted by Joseon soldiers along the fortress walls to defend and manage the Seoul City Wall. In the late Joseon period, however, the term also came to refer to the leisurely activity of springtime visitors walking along the fortress walls to enjoy the scenery. Additionally, Soonseong was a tradition for scholars who traveled to Hanyang to take the state exams and walked around the fortress walls, hoping for success. Here, we have a record of a Soonseong journey left by a scholar over 100 years ago. This writing, which describes his experience of walking the Soonseong path with a light heart after passing the exam, captures the image of the Seoul City Wall as it was in the past. This exhibition aims to follow the journey of Soonseong as documented in the record and reflect on how the tradition has continued to the present day. Today, why not walk along the fortress path in ancestors’ footsteps?