In Civilization 6, Sejong can make Korea’s golden age last forever.
Sejong is the most well-known ruler in Korea’s long past. He is known for putting in place reforms and creating the Hangul alphabet, which is still used today. In Civilization 6, he adds short bursts of Culture to Korea’s famously Science-heavy gameplay. This lets players rush down both study trees at the same time!
If you have the Great Builders pack as part of the Leader Pass DLC, you’re probably excited to bring back the glory of the Joseon Dynasty. This guide has everything you need to know as Sejong to win games.
Sejong’s Abilities
Korea has always been a leader in Science, so it’s no wonder that Sejong is great at making new Technologies for his empire.
Hangul
Sejong’s leader skill is different from most because it only happens once per Era. When Sejong studies his first Technology from a new Era, he gets Culture equal to twice his present Science output right away. This gives you a reason to get the most Science out of every place, which isn’t hard while playing Korea.
Even if your Science is supercharged, the extra Culture burst will usually just finish the Civic you are making.It helps most in the late game, when you need strong Policies to fuel your space race.
Three Kingdoms
Because of its Three Kingdoms skill, Korea has a slightly different way of building cities. Farms make one more Food for every Seowon that is next to them, and Mines do the same thing with Science. To get the most out of this bonus, you should be able to build your Seowons one tile apart, with Farms or Mines in between. In practise, though, it can be hard to get such a plan because of the rules about where Seowon can be placed.
Hwacha
The Hwacha replaces the Field Cannon and can be used sooner because the Gunpowder Technology lets you get it. The Hwacha is a Ranged Unit, like the Field Cannon. It is not a Siege Unit, which is an important difference when trying to take over a city.
Hwachas aren’t any stronger than Field Cannons, and they’re actually weaker if they get caught in battle. However, they’re available earlier and cost less to make and keep up, which makes them a nasty surprise for anyone who fights Korea in the mid-game.
When Hwacha become available, make a lot of them and then put them into Corps and Armies to get Civic bonuses as the game goes on.
Seowon
The Seowon is one of Korea’s not-so-secret tools and a key part of how they play. The best Campuses in the game are these places of learning, which cost half as much to build and give a flat bonus of four for being close by.
Seowons don’t get any extra adjacency from terrain, but they lose a point of adjacency for every District next to them, so make sure to build them away from your main centres. Instead, build Mines and Farms next to your Seowon to get the full benefit from Three Kingdoms.
Seowon is different from other Campuses because it can only be built on hills. When choosing where to build your cities, keep this in mind: if there is only one hill in an otherwise flat area, build your city in the lowlands and save the hill for the Seowon!
Early-Game Strategy For Sejong
In any game, it’s important to plan out your cities ahead of time using map tacks, which you can find near the mini-map in the lower left area of the screen. For Sejong, this is absolutely essential. Korea does well by using Seowons and Three Kingdoms to their fullest, so know where your study districts, farms, and mines will go as you build your first cities.
Even though volcanoes and flood plains are dangerous, they are great places for Seowon to live because the land around them is so rich. This will help Seowon’s farms grow even more. Governor Liang can use Reinforced Materials to protect the city from natural disasters if they start to become a problem.
Send out Scouts as soon as you can to try to make touch with another civilization. This is the Eureka moment for writing. Once you have that Technology, you can start building your Seowons and racing to the stars.
Every city that can have a Seowon should have one, with Harbours and Commercial Hubs to fund the growth of your kingdom. Gold lets you keep your army ready to fight off enemies or buy Builders to make sure your tiles get better. Korea shouldn’t have any trouble getting the bonuses for Apprenticeship (build three Mines) and Feudalism (build six Farms), which are two of the most important early-game steps in Civ 6.
Once the engine is going, Theatre Squares can be useful in bigger towns. You’re not trying to beat other Civilizations in Culture. Instead, the Theatre Squares and Hangul are there to help you stay on track with Civics.
If they are available, Granada is a great City-State to take as a vassal. Their Alcazars give Culture and Science if they are built on high-Appeal tiles, and they can also be used as forts if you are attacked.
Late-Game Strategy For Sejong
Sejong’s main Victory Condition will always be Science, because Korea isn’t set up for much else. You should do everything you can in the game to get the most Science out of it. Research Alliances, City-States, and Wonders are all great ways to do this. Natural Philosophy and Rationalism should be taken as Policies as soon as they become available and kept for the rest of Snake Game.
Move quickly down the Technology tree until you get to Rocketry and can build Spaceports. Make sure your biggest towns are ready for the big projects they are about to take on by making sure their Industrial Zones are fully upgraded and have power. Taking control of Hong Kong is also a good move because it cuts the cost of city projects for their master.
Use Sejong’s Culture boosts and the extra ones you get from Theatre Squares and a Cultural Alliance to switch your government to Communism as soon as possible while you’re working on space technology. If you have three Factories, the Class Struggle Civic gets a boost. This goes well with the Industrial Zones you’re building. Communism helps both Production and Science, which makes it a great way to win the Space Race.
Once you have a Spaceport, put everything you have into the Space Race Projects: Launch Earth Satellite, Land on the Moon, Set up a Colony on Mars, and finally, go to an Exoplanet. When your Traders finish their routes, call them back to your main Spaceport city, which is usually your capital, and send them on routes that will give you a lot of Production to speed up the process.
When the Exoplanet Expedition starts, build LaGrange and Terrestrial Laser Stations in every city with a Spaceport. These are expensive because they require a lot of Aluminium and Electricity. If you need to, you can trade for Aluminium while your Builders work on making the Terrestrial Stations run on clean energy.
When you reach the Future Era, try to get the Synthetic Technocracy government in place. This gives city projects more green energy and a Production bonus. If your Government Plaza is fully upgraded, you can use Communist Legacy in one of your Wildcard spots to keep the Production-per-Citizen bonus from your previous government as well.
Once your Exoplanet Expedition has finished its trip, you can call it a win!
