Namdojinseong (남도 진성)
An interesting find on the extreme southern coast of Jindo Island. This is only the second jinseong, or naval fortress, we’ve visited thus far, as there don’t appear to be many left in decent condition. Namdojinseong would have served as the shore garrison for a naval unit during the Joseon Period (1392-1897). Constructed in 1438, the fortress remained in use—and benefited from infrastructure improvements—through the early 20th Century. Positioned along the southern coast of Jindo, its location makes perfect sense and the restoration work there is coming along nicely. Worth visiting today if you’re in the area…will be even nicer when the work is completely done.
One of the distinctive characteristics of Namdojinseong is the two bridges over the moat on the south and east sides of the fortress. They’d only be filled during high tide as the bay is only a few paces behind where I stood to get this shot. First time I’d run across a moat used in Korean Fortress construction. The historical markers point out the stone bridges (there are two of them) crossing the moat are from the end of the Joseon Period. The older one shown here was built in 1870…quite young by Korean standards!
A view of the moat protecting the only gate. Probably doubled as drainage for the area, but remains flat enough—dead even with sea level—until well beyond the fortress, meaning it would have filled with each rising tide. The second stone bridge is just visible above.
The fortress walls have been beautifully restored thus far, including at least two turrets projecting out from the gracefully curving masonry.
The gatehouse has a partially enclosed outer wall. The partial crenellations around the gate—and not extended along the entire wall—are interesting. Will need to look into that!
A view through the main gate of Namdojinseong. You can see the headquarters buildings inside.
A better view from just inside the gate highlights—once again—the attention Korean fortress designers paid to water management. At the time of its use, most of the grassy areas would have housed barracks for the naval crews and fortress guards as well as necessary storehouses for food and other necessities. The piles of dirt before the buildings—and metal connex—are indicative of ongoing and extensive restoration work at the site.
A look back at the gate. A simple, yet elegant design.
Likely the headquarters or administrative building for the fortress. The collection of buildings inside Namdojinseong have been beautifully restored. Sorry if the picture seems canted a bit…the fortress slopes upward from the gate and this shot was taken from the side.
A section of the eastern wall has yet to be restored. I strongly suspect its to allow continued access by dump trucks and earth movers. The pile of stone is there on the left ready for when the fortress wall can be made whole again.
The southern wall, however, has been nicely preserved and shows typically Late Joseon innovations such as this turret. A wooden structure with ceramic tile roof would have graced the top of this projection facilitating the positioning of a guard post. Important in this case as the view would have been toward the harbor and whatever ships were tied up there.
The moat leads directly to this bay, seen here at low tide. The mud flats characterize much of the Korean coastline, subject to the tides, a factor that has always complicated littoral operations around the peninsula.
Another view of the harbor at Namdojinseong. The sea is visible beyond the far hill masses. Not all that long ago, really, this bay would have been filled with naval vessels.