Most of the travelers who come to the amazing country of South Korea imagine that they will go on a fascinating journey across the South Korean cities, climb its fantastic skyscrapers, walk across the well-maintained city parks and enjoy the flavor of the traditional dish called kimchi which is loved by many west gourmets. Although most of the main attractions of South Korea are, indeed, parks and viewing platforms, there are many historical architectural monuments that are well-preserved and can be visited today.

One of the most important tourist attractions and also one of the most important historical places of the country is the fortress of Chojijin which is located on the territory of the modern city of Incheon. It was founded in 1655 during the reign of Hyojong of the Yi dynasty. The purpose of the building was to defend the state sea border. At that time the state was often attacked, so it needed strong defensive walls and a powerful navy that would allow the dynasty to maintain its power and protect the borders.

As a result, that historical place was a bloody batter field many times. Thanks to the strong defensive walls of the citadel, locals managed to fight back the invasion of the French warships which appeared there in 1866. Five years later, Korean people again had to hold off the attacks of foreigners. At that time they were five American warships that almost succeeded in ruining the fortress walls. When locals restored their powers and buildings, they had to fight with the Japanese navy in 1876. As a result, they had to sign up an unfavorable peace treaty.

From that time, the old stone fortress has been a reminder of the tragic events of those days. Local authorities decided to restore it only in 1973. However, even today the fortress walls have lost of «scars» – bullet and shell holes.