Today dawned bright and sunny, so, as I had been thinking about for a few days, I caught a bus over to Jinju to visit the fortress there (some signs say "castle" but, while it is military fotification, it certainly isn't a castle).
According to the tourist pamphlet I was handed with a ticket in exchange for my 1,000 won entrance fee (less than $1), the fortress was "constructed to protect the region from foreign invaders" and was given an upgrade in 1379 when the mud walls were replaced with stone ones.
In 1592 a Korean General (Kim Si-min) won a victory there against a 30,000 strong Japanese army with his 3,800 men. Not too long after, stung by the defeat and disgrace, the Japanese returned with 100,000 men and laid waste to the place, killing more than 70,000 soldiers, officials, and civilians. The parts of the fortress that weren't destroyed then were finished off during the Japanese occupation and the Korean war.
The fortress was restored in 1972.
It is a nice place to stroll around for a few hours, especially on a cool sunny day.
The pic of the rocky area (find guy jumping) between the fortress wall and the river is where, during the Japanese invasion, a Korean female entertainer threw herself into the river--along with a Japanese General--thereby earning herself a memorable place in Korean history. The spot's name was changed from 'dangerous rock' to 'righteous rock'.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment