Suncheon Castle
Constructed in 1597 as part of Japan's extended invasion of Korea by Generals Ukita Hideie and Todo Takatora, Suncheon Castle was massive and sprawled from the top of a low ridgeline facing the sea to encompass an interior harbor actually within the outer walls of the fortification. The outer walls encompassed some 120,000 square meters. Subject to a massive assault in 1598 by joint army and navy elements, Konishi Yukinaga and his men held out long enough for a relief force to arrive and drive away the Ming besiegers. The death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi meant the end of the war and the Japanese withdrew from Suncheon and all of Korea soon thereafter, leading to the penultimate Battle of Noryang. We’ve now visited Suncheon Waeseong twice, in the spring of 2010 and more recently in the summer of 2024, so you’ll see older, brownish pics mixed in with the newer, much greener, photos.
(click to view enlarged pictures)
Contemporary Artist's Rendition of Suncheon Waeseong
This illustration, posted at Suncheon, was copied from a scroll painted in 1598 by a Ming Chinese witness to the siege, and bears out some of the more distinguishing features of this castle; the large interior, the moat, and internal harbor.
Interior Harbor and Moat with Gate Complex in the Background
This small, marshy pond is all that remains of the internal harbor and moat of Suncheon Waeseng, it's opening to the sea long since silted shut. You can just make out the reconstructed castle's Second Gate Complex in the background a little ways up the hill. The reconstruction of Suncheon Castle is stunning, equaling similar efforts in Japan itself, and really provides the visitor an idea of what these waeseong really looked like. Unfortunately, we found in our more recent visit that much of the area is overgrown with vegetation, making it a bit harder to imagine.
The land reclamation to the east has slowly erased the inner harbor of Suncheon Castle. Now little standing water remains at all, and the entire site is terribly overgrown, making it harder to visualize than it was on our first visit.
Interior Gate Complex to 2nd Lower Bailey
The only parts of Suncheon that have been reconstructed are those within the castle's harbor/moat structure. That being the case, the first gate a visitor encounters would actually have been one of the internal gates to the castle's second defensive ring or bailey. Again, the quality of reconstruction really must be admired. Further up the hill, closer to the inner bailey, you can start to see where original (darker) stone meets the lighter reconstructed material. As well, the reconstructed elements have been cemented in place along the top to preserve the work, something you can be sure was not done by the original Japanese occupants.
Interior Gate Complexes to Upper Baileys
This is the view as one starts to climb the low ridge upon which Suncheon's tenshu sits. The slope is fairly gentle, but the entire approach to these two gates would be under fire from the next two interior baileys, both of higher elevation. There are two intermediate gates (#2 and 3) before the final entrance the central bailey or hon maru.
Upper Baileys
These are the two upper baileys. Positioned to offer protective fire against any force attacking the main gate complex, the walls are high and mostly appear to be original masonry. As always, you should imagine such walls topped by wood and plaster battlements with lots of loopholes for defenders armed with bows and arquebuses.
Gate to the Inner Bailey
This is the final gate complex leading into the inner bailey of Suncheon Waeseong. The construction essentially forces an attacker up and around a U-shaped entryway, prohibiting his view of what lay in wait around each corner.
Looking Back at the Gate to the Inner Bailey
This view is from inside the innermost bailey and really brings out the way an attacking force would be funneled into narrow channels the farther into the castle they progressed.
Reconstructed Tenshu at Suncheon
Fairly small considering the size of the castle itself, the ridge upon which Suncheon's upper baileys is built is fairly narrow, perhaps a contributing factor explaining such a small tenshu base for the castle's donjon.
View from Suncheon's Tenshu
Looking down into the lower baileys from atop the tenshu, you can clearly make out the successive rings of defense--arranged vertically as well as horizontally--characteristic of Japanese castles.
A couple more pics looking down into the lower baileys of the castle today.
Tough to visualize so have included this spliced photo to give some idea just how large a castle Suncheon was.
View Out to "Sea" from Atop Suncheon's Tenshu
From this view atop the reconstructed tenshu, you can now make out nothing but reclaimed land for nearly as far as the eye can see. When it was built in 1597 however, all the brown dirt beyond the treeline would have been littoral. This is in part what made Suncheon such an inviting target for a joint land-sea attack in 1598 as it's inner baileys fell easily within range of Admiral Yi's cannon. The Battle of Noryang—the last of the Imjin War—played out here in a successful attempt to allow Konishi Yukinaga to escape the naval blockade of Suncheon Castle.
As you can see, the reclaimed land has been put to largely industrial use. I’ve pieced together this composite picture to give some idea of Suncheon’s place in the closing days of the Imjin War. Konishi Yukinaga would have been able to see the 1598 Battle of Noryang—fought to secure his escape—from this vantage point.
Corner Fan-Tail Construction
Again, the quality of reconstruction work done at Suncheon is nothing short of phenomenal, setting a very high bar for ongoing restoration work at historical sites elsewhere across the country.
Side View of the Three Successive Inner Baileys
The careful convergence of old with new at Suncheon provides a rare experience for anyone interested in visiting Imjin War sites. This pic, taken from the gate leading down to the lower baileys clearly shows the tiered wedding cake style of Japanese castle construction. It also gives some indication just how difficult an obstacle the Ming Expeditionary Army and Joseon Navy faced in 1598.