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Take a car ride to the silk factory (off the main street on the road opposite the bridge fronting the marketplace). Since visitors are no longer allowed inside for tours, take a long look instead at a bronze bell hanging idly inside a small slated pavilion next to the factory. Cast during King Sukjong's reign (1674-1720), this bell used to toll at 4am to signal the opening of Ganghwa's city gates. When French troops stormed the city in 1866 to seek revenge for the execution of several French Catholic priests, they attempted to haul this 3,864kg (8.520lb) bell to their ship, but abandoned their efforts because it was too heavy. At the top of this same road is the restored Goryeo Palace where King Gojong lived in retreat during his unsuccessful 29-year resistance against invading Mongol hordes in the mid-1200s.

Visit Korea: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto

Photo Credits: http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/unisearch/popup/EDirectory_Image.jsp?VdkVgwKey=12,00110800,23&imgfname=b0011080023001.jpg&dirname=treasure