GANGHWA COUNTY

Most beacon stations along the No. 5 direct beacon route were located in positions well suited to monitoring sea routes used by Japanese raiders and formed a route that emphasized its function as a fortress (要塞) under the supervision of the naval commander (水使). This differed from the No. 2 direct beacon route, which was administered by the army commander (兵使) and operated primarily to transmit urgent reports (急報). It is of considerable scholarly value because it may provide comparative material on the organization of beacon troops by route, beacon operation methods, and the structural forms and characteristics of beacon stations. Bongsu (烽燧) was a communication system used until the Joseon period to relay urgent news from frontier areas to the central government, with bong (烽) referring to torchlight and su (燧) to smoke. Signals were sent using torchlight at night and smoke during the day. Beacon stations were generally established on mountain summits between 100 and 300 meters above sea level, in locations offering clear views of the surrounding area. Mangsan Beacon Station is also known as Deoksan Beacon Station. Deoksan Mountain stands 240 meters above sea level. During the early Joseon period, the station received signals from Jingangsan Beacon Station and relayed them to Byeollipsan Beacon Station. During the late Joseon period, it received signals from Jingangsan Beacon Station and relayed them to Hwagaesan Beacon Station in Gyodong. Mangsan Beacon Station consisted of a circular beacon platform set on a square foundation measuring approximately 8.3 meters on each side. The eastern side of the foundation has two courses and stands 0.8 meters high; the western side has four courses and stands 1.3 meters high; the southern side has five courses and stands 1 meter high; and the northern side, which has largely collapsed, stands 0.4 meters high. The circular beacon platform measures 4.5 meters in diameter and 3.4 meters in height.