Visible Landscapes, Invisible Narratives:

Walking Through the Layered History of Suwon

– From a Joseon Military City to Contemporary Urban Transformation: A Visual-Sociological Reading of Suwon’s Narrative

🌐Field Excursion
: Suwon City Exploration for IVSA 2025

Walking the City, Seeing Society

Suwon is a city that embodies Korea’s multifaceted historical trajectories—from a meticulously planned military city under King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty, to the remnants of Japanese colonialism, to the transformations brought by modernization and multicultural coexistence. This pre-conference field excursion offers participants a unique opportunity to engage in a hands-on exploration of urban spaces through the lens of visual sociology.

📅 Program Overview

Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Departure Time: 9:00 AM, Yulgok Hall Main Entrance, Ajou University
Duration: Approximately 5–6 hours (Return to campus by 2:30 PM)
Capacity: 80 participants (First-come, first-served)
Participation Fee: $50
- Includes guided tour, lunch voucher, and refreshments

Recommended Items: Camera or smartphone for visual documentation

🧭Field Course Itinerary

1. Modern History Alley – Traces of Colonial Modernization and Resistance

An Jeom-soon Memorial Space & Former Suwon City Hall:

A site commemorating the memory of a survivor of wartime sexual violence, offering insight into how personal trauma and gendered violence are inscribed in urban space.

Bugukwon Building:

A colonial-era agricultural exploitation center, now repurposed, revealing the architectural legacy and reinterpretation of imperial economic control.

Suwon Anglican Church (Est. 1904):

A clandestine base for independence movements disguised as a religious space, reflecting the concealed networks of resistance.

Paldal Temple:

A spiritual site that resisted Japanese efforts at religious unification, representing cultural resistance through ritual and architecture.

2. Artisan Alley – Gentrification and the Changing Urban Landscape

A traditional artisans’ district that has undergone commercialization, where participants can observe the spatial and symbolic transformation of “authentic” cultural production into commodified tradition.

3. Hwaseong Haenggung Palace – Visualizing Power through Space

This temporary palace used by King Jeongjo demonstrates how political authority was visually represented through architectural form and spatial hierarchy. It invites discussion on central-local power relations and the symbolism of royal sovereignty.

4. Banghwasuryujeong Pavilion & Yongyeon Pond – Dual Functions in a Visual Space

Built as a military command post and a leisure pavilion, this site showcases the dual purpose of surveillance and aesthetics in royal military architecture.

5. Turtle Market – Everyday Visual Culture and Local Economic Continuity

With over 200 years of history, this traditional market illustrates how everyday social interactions, visual signage, and spatial arrangements of commerce persist and adapt within modern urban change.

🔍Visual Sociological Themes in Suwon

Suwon offers rich visual sociology research potential by engaging with core urban themes:

Power and Space: How state authority is visually inscribed in walls and palaces
Politics of Memory: Colonial-era buildings as sites of resistance and collective memory
Urban Transformation: Gentrification and the reconfiguration of traditional workshop streets
Everyday Multiculturalism: The coexistence of cultural layers in contemporary urban scenery

This field excursion serves as a preparatory academic practice ahead of the IVSA 2025 conference, offering participants hands-on experience in interpreting urban space through visual sociological perspectives.

📋 Participant Support and Logistics

Lunch: A $10 meal voucher for use at restaurants inside Turtle Market
Refreshments: Bottled water and light snacks provided throughout the tour
Convenience: Safe storage for personal belongings on the tour bus
Visual Documentation: Participants are encouraged to bring personal cameras or smartphones

📢 Invitation to a Visual Sociological Journey

This walking tour of Suwon is more than just an exploration of place—it is a guided journey into the visible and invisible layers of urban life. By engaging with architecture, symbols, everyday scenery, and social interactions, we invite you to analyze the city as a dynamic visual text.

Join us as we read beyond the surface and uncover the stories behind the scenes.
Experience the city, see the society!

Additional Field Trip Information: Suwon

Discover more of Suwon through our recommended field trip courses.

📌 Click the button below for detailed information.

🔗Additional Field Trip Information

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