Suwon Tourist Attraction

Meet Tae Hun. He is an engineering graduate student whose Mother is a Buddhist. He is kind, slow to react, and incapable of lying- even a white lie is out of his realm. I experienced my first Lunar New Years at his home and we now spend our Sundays together.

Last Sunday, we visited Chosun Dynasty tombs, on the Southern border of Suwon: "Yoong Gun Tomb." To reach Yongju-sa, catch bus 24 in front of Suwon station:

The tombs are the final resting places of King Jongjo (1752-1800) and King Sado (1735-1762). King Sado's father, senile in his old age, was convinced that Sado was going to usurp his throne, so he banished him to a rice chest where he suffocated, at 28 years of age.

King Jungjo did his best to recover his father, Sado's, honor. He visited Gunrung several times a year and cried over his father's demise.

This is where the traditional bowing ceremonies took place, centuries ago. Wine and food were placed on these tables:

On the hill are the graves of King and Queen, surrounded by statues like horses symbolizing defense. I would have liked to take a closer look, but there was a sign warning people not to venture past the rickety brown fence:

As we walked around the grounds, admiring the forest of pine trees, we saw a cloud of smoke rising in the distance. Minutes later, firetrucks and ambulances sounded. People gathered around to watch.

On the long bus ride home, Tae Hun pulled my history book from my bag and read to me from the Korean war chapter.