Civilization 6: Tips For Playing As Seondeok

Seondeok, a seventh-century monarch from Korea's Three Kingdoms Period, is the default leader for the Hermit Kingdom in Civilization 6. She favors a handful of large cities, led by capable governors and heavily developed with Districts, especially Korea's unique Seowon. While Korea has a reputation in Civ for being one of the pre-eminent empires for a Science Victory, Seondeok offers flexibility that can catch opponents off guard.

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Shooting for the stars with an Exoplanet Expedition will always be Korea's first goal in a game of Civ 6, but under Seondeok's leadership you can adapt your strategy as needed. Here's how.

Seondeok's Abilities

As the leader of Korea, Seondeok has access to several powerful abilities. Like Sejong, she can use Hwacha to tear through enemy units in the mid-game, and the Seowon is a cheap, powerful replacement for the Campus. Better yet, Three Kingdoms allows Farms adjacent to Seowons to produce extra Food, while Mines next to Seowons produce extra Science.

Take the Natural Philosophy Policy as soon as it's available, as it doubles the adjacency bonuses of all your Seowons.

Seondeok's Leader Ability, Hwarang, references the chivalric tradition of her era. It allows Governors to grant their city a three-percent boost to Science and Culture for every Promotion they've received. Since there are only a limited number of Promotions available throughout the game, this means it's best to max out a handful of Governors and put them in charge of your best cities.

Civics That Grant Governor Promotions

There are thirteen Civics that allow you to level up a Governor once unlocked. That means that, without attaining any extra titles, you can max out two Governors by the end of the game. These Civics are:

• State Workforce
• Early Empire
• Defensive Tactics
• Recorded History
• Guilds
• Medieval Faires
• Civil Engineering
• Nationalism
• Mass Media
• Mobilization
• Globalization
• Social Media
• Near-Future Governance

Early Game Strategy For Seondeok

The most important thing to remember when settling cities as Seondeok is that Seowons can only be built on Hills. If you find yourself in a relatively flat starting position, think twice before settling a city on a Hill - if the only Hills nearby are taken up by the City Center, you won't be able to build a Seowon in that city.

Start the game by researching Pottery, Writing, and Mining, in that order. As soon as Writing is unlocked, begin construction on your first Seowon. Even a low-Production city can usually get a Seowon finished reasonably quickly thanks to their low cost. Once it's done, surround it with Farms and Mines as best you can, and send out Settlers to found new cities and do the same for them.

Two or three cities with Seowon will help you easily move along the Science tree. Use your technological advantage to build up your economy and build some Ancient Walls to defend your growing empire.

Don't be afraid to chop down trees and jungles as Seondeok, especially if it makes room for Mines and Farms next to your Seowons. The Mines will make up for the Production and add some Science to boot, and chopping the trees will give you a lump sum of Food or Production - even more if Magnus is assigned to the city.

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Mid-Game Strategy For Seondeok

In general, once you reach the Medieval Era there are two ways you can go with Seondeok; you can go fully on the defensive and build up your cities, or you can use your advanced technology to become a military power.

Tall Defensive Korea

If you decide to go defensive, build a Theater Square in all your cities, ideally alongside a research-focused Wonder like Oxford University. This allows them to get the most out of Hwarang while a Governor is assigned. Build Aqueducts in every city where one is available, and keep expanding Food production to keep them growing.

Your most populous city should always have PIngala assigned as Governor, as he will grant his own buffs to Science and Culture along with those from Hwarang.

The Theater Squares will help your Culture keep up with your Science, letting you unlock Civics (and, importantly, Governor Titles). Theoretically, you can also use them to switch into a Culture Victory if the Space Race becomes untenable, but the high Faith cost required means that your Culture income is best used defending against other players getting their own Culture Victory.

Militaristic Korea

Having a high Science and Production output allows for a strong military game if you want to play that way, and Korea is in a great place to do some conquering once they unlock the Hwacha with the Gunpowder technology. Build some Encampments to grow your military, and use Hwacha to blow enemy ground units to smithereens, clearing a path for your melee and siege units to reach their cities. Remember, Hwacha are not siege units, so you'll need Trebuchets, Bombards, or Siege Towers to deal with walls!

If you end up conquering a wealthy city on a foreign continent, make it a priority to build the Casa de Contratación Wonder adjacent to your Government Plaza. It causes Governors in faraway cities to grant a boost to Production, Gold, and Faith, making it a perfect combo with Hwarang. It also grants three free Governor Titles!

You can be as aggressive as you want here - take a few border cities to show the other civilizations who's boss, eliminate a future Space Race competitor, or go all-in on a Domination Victory. The point is, conquering cities adds to your overall power and productivity, even if you won't have enough Governors to let them all benefit from Hwarang. On the other hand, if you conquer a particularly prosperous capital, a high-level Governor could be just what it needs to contribute to its new overlord.

Between conquests, the Production bonuses from Encampments can supplement those of Industrial Zones to contribute to the Space Race.

Diplomacy And Alliances

In either case, it's a good idea to use Alliances and Trade Routes to shore up any shortcomings from Korea's specialized playstyle. In general, your partner in a Research Alliance will have more to gain from you than you will from them, so use this Alliance type to strengthen the enemy of a rival when possible. Meanwhile, a high-level Economic Alliance with a player who has suzerainty over several City-States can be very beneficial to Korea, as you'll benefit from extra trade income and useful suzerain bonuses from vassals you may have missed like Mitla or Bologna.

Late-Game Strategy For Seondeok

By the Modern Era, your key cities should all have a population in the mid-teens, as well as a fully-upgraded Seowon and Industrial Zone along with any other Districts you've built. Continue to expand Housing and Food Production via Neighborhoods and Sewers, particularly in Pingala's city, as you rush Rocketry to begin the Space Race in earnest.

When the time comes, build a Spaceport in Pingala's city and make sure he has the Space Initiative Promotion. This provides a production bonus to Space Race projects. From here, it's a standard Science Victory; albeit one that you're very well-positioned to win.

You'll probably become a target once the other civilizations realize you're closing in on the finish line. Secure a source of Uranium and build a Giant Death Robot or two to deter any would-be attackers, and keep a Spy in your Spaceport cities running counterespionage.

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