Dongnaeeupseong Fortress

In April 1592, Dongnae Fortress was among the very first places hit by the Japanese army after it landed at Busan. What survives today along the Maansan ridge, Dongnaeeupseong, is the much larger walled town rebuilt in 1731. Walking the wall path between the restored North Gate and command posts, you look down over today's Dongnae district. The fortress is a textbook example of a pyeongsanseong, a walled town that combines a hill fort with a lowland settlement.

History: the first gate against invasion

The earliest written record is a repair of Dongnae's walls in 1021, noted in the History of Goryeo. In 1387 the fortress was substantially rebuilt to fend off Japanese pirates. In the Joseon era Dongnae was a key post for diplomacy and defence facing Japan, governed by a high-ranking magistrate. When the Imjin War broke out, Dongnae and Busanjin were the first targets; magistrate Song Sang-hyeon led soldiers, officials and townspeople in the Siege of Dongnae. Left neglected after the war, the fortress was greatly enlarged in 1731 by magistrate Jeong Eon-seop, with more than 50,000 people recorded as mobilised. During Japanese colonial rule the lowland walls were demolished for town planning, leaving only the hillside sections.

What to see

• North Gate and its ongseong: A semicircular outer wall shields the restored gate, showing how late-Joseon gates were defended.
• Command posts: The east, west and north command posts stand restored on the ridge, giving the commanders' view over the town.
• Insaengmun Gate: A small gate in the northern wall, also restored.
• The wall path: It follows Maansan and is lit at night, a favourite evening walk for locals.

In 1731 every gate had its own name: Jihuiru in the east, Simseongru in the west, Muuru in the south and Eunillu at the hidden gate. The all-important South Gate had wing walls stretching out on either side, while the other three gates were shielded by ongseong. The walls are described as roughly 1.5–3 m high and 2.4 m wide at the top; where they had collapsed, the surviving foundations allowed restoration along the original line.

Good to know

• Circumference: Sources differ on the length of the 1731 walls: about 3.8 km or 2.7 km. There were east, west, south and north gates plus Insaengmun and a hidden gate, each with a named gate tower.
• War from underground: Excavations since 1979 uncovered weapons and human remains from the 1592 battle; some are displayed inside Suan Station on Busan Metro Line 4.
• Protection: The site has been a Busan Metropolitan City Monument since 1972.
• Restoration: Busan began restoring the fortress in 1979, and more than 20 excavations up to 2022 identified the facilities inside the walls. A Dongnaeeupseong History Festival with history programmes and traditional games is now held here.

Nearby

• Bokcheon Museum: In Bokcheon-dong, where the walls run, showing finds from the local ancient tombs and Dongnae's earlier past.
• Chungnyeolsa Shrine: Honours Song Sang-hyeon and others who died defending the fortress; it sits by the southern end of the walls.
• Geumjeongsan: The national park north of Dongnae, easy to combine in a half-day.

Tripto tips

• Fees and hours: Free. The visitor facilities open 09:00–18:00 and close on Mondays.
• Getting there: Start with the exhibition in Suan Station, then walk up towards Bokcheon-dong; the story flows naturally from there.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for the walk linking the North Gate and the command posts.
• When to go: Around sunset, when the wall lights come on. Some sections are steep dirt paths, so wear comfortable shoes.