Ungcheon Castle

Jinhae District, Changwon City, about an hour's drive west from Busan, is a town that is home to a naval base where the Jinhae Naval Port Festival, Korea's largest cherry blossom festival, is held every April. Jinhae is also home to a Japanese castle that was built in the 1th century.

Kumagawa Japanese Fortress was built on the peak of Namsan Mountain, 13 meters above sea level, about 184 kilometers from Jinhae city, with the main castle tower and the second and third baileys neatly arranged along the foot of the mountain, and a long walled fortress surrounding it to the south for protection from the mainland. The castle's interior area was 1㎡, and the walls were 7,930-3 meters high, with only the 8-meter-high, 2-700-meter-long walls remaining today.

A castle stretching to the foot of the mountain

It is the largest of the 18 castles built on the southern coast, and was built by Kato Kiyomasa in 1592. It was used as the second base for the Japanese army, where Konishi Yukinaga set up camp from 1593. Kumagawaseong Fortress was also the first castle in Korean history to be staffed by a Catholic priest, Father Axapeardes from Spain, who came to the castle on December 2, 1593 and carried out religious activities, including baptizing people into the Catholic faith, for about a year.

The sea on the south coast can be seen from the castle, but it has now been reclaimed and developed into an industrial complex.