6 - Building New Roads and Bridges

Summary

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW ROADS CONNECTING HANSEONG WITH HWASEONG

AFTER MOVING THE tomb of Crown Prince Sado to Hwaseong in 1789, Jeongjo visited his father’s tomb every year. The first visit took place in the second month of 1790, and the second to fifth visits were paid every first month from 1791 to 1794. Most visits were paid in the first month because Crown Prince Sado was born in that month, and because Jeongjo wished to avoid the busy farming season.

The tomb of Crown Prince Sado was originally reached by way of Namtaeryeong Hill, Gwacheon and Indeogwon. In 1795, however, Jeongjo took another route, passing Siheung, mainly because of the difficulty of constructing roads at Namtaeryeong Hill. According to unofficial history, however, Jeongjo changed the route because he did not want to see the tomb of Kim Yak-ro (1694–1753), which was located in Chanumuljeom, on the way from Gwacheon to Indeogwon. Kim Yak-ro was the older brother of the Noron faction’s leader, Kim Sang-ro (born 1702), who had been deeply involved in the death of Crown Prince Sado. Though Kim Yak-ro had not been implicated in his father’s death, Jeongjo was reportedly reluctant to go near his grave.

Construction of the road between Hanseong and Hwaseong began after the relocation of Sado’s tomb. Compensation was made to landowners for expropriation, and wages were paid to the workers. Construction work was relatively easy as Siheung was not overly hilly, but many bridges of various sizes had to be built due to the numerous streams along the route, including the bridge at Anyangcheon. According to the Wonhaeng jeongnye (Regulations on the King’s Visit to the Tomb), the distance from Hanseong to Hyeollyungwon was about twenty-eight miles (forty-five kilometres), and twenty-four bridges were built along the route.

In the ninth month of 1795, a beautiful stone bridge called ‘Manangyo’, now located in the city of Anyang, was constructed by Seo Yu-bang, Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Also constructed, albeit one year later, was a dam called ‘Mananje’, which served not only to supply water for agricultural use, but as a rest stop for people travelling the new road, which was just over three miles (about 5.4 kilometres) long.