Paldalmun

This is the southern gate of the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, ‘Paldalmun’. The name ‘Paldal’ has the interesting meaning of “being open to all directions”.
The Paldalmun was built in order to protect the Hwaseong Fortress. It had a semicircle shaped Ongseong standing on the outside, and had a device that allowed soldiers to dump hot water on enemies climbing the wall.

When the Hwaseong Fortress was being constructed, there was a policy which required people involved in the construction to engrave their names on the building. It was to give pride to those working for the construction of the fortress. Their names were engraved on the buildings, and the outer stone wall of the Paldalmun. You can check the engraved names and numbers of the people who built the gate.

As a representative palace gate of the second half of the Joseon Dynasty, the Paldalmun has been designated a National Treasure No.402.