ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Korean-style fortresses in Japan

Okay kid, imagine you live in a little house, and you want to protect it from bad guys who might want to steal your toys or hurt your family. That's kind of what a Korean-style fortress is. But instead of protecting a house, the fortress was built to protect a whole city or area from enemies.

Now, let's imagine that your house has a strong fence around it with big walls, towers, and gates. That's exactly what a Korean-style fortress looks like! The walls were really tall and thick, so bad guys couldn't easily knock them down. The towers were built on top of the walls, and soldiers could climb up there to keep watch and shoot arrows at any enemies who tried to attack.

And what about the gates? Well, the fortress had big doors that could be closed tight to keep the bad guys out. Soldiers would stand guard at the gates to make sure no one sneaked in. Sometimes there were even underground tunnels that went from the fortress to a nearby river or mountain, so soldiers could escape if they needed to.

Now, you might be wondering why I said "Korean-style" fortress when we're talking about Japan. That's because a long time ago, Korea and Japan were friends, and they shared a lot of things, like food, music, and even fortresses! So some of the fortresses in Japan were built like the ones in Korea.

Overall, Korean-style fortresses were really important because they helped protect people and their homes from danger. Just like your fence and walls protect your toys and family, a fortress protected a whole city and its people.