Hwaseomun Gate

This gate with its elegant octagonal roof is the Hwaseomun. Unlike the Paldalmun Gate or the Janganmun Gate, it does not have a separate gate for the semicircular Ongseong, a defensive wall structure, but is open to its side. The Hwaseomun Gate is also famous for being built with the most advanced machinery of the time, such as the Geojunggi and the Hwalcha.

The Geojunggi was a machine used to pick up heavy objects, and was invented by the scholar Jeong Yakyong, who had produced the inventions by studying Chinese and Western books. It implemented a pulley system, and enabled a person who can lift an object of 24kg to lift 25 objects weighing 60kg each.

When the Fortress was built, other machines such as the Gupan, Seolma, Dongcha, and Nokro, and so on were used to facilitate carrying and lifting stone blocks.