Yaongjeong Pavilion, Yecheon

Yaongjeong Pavilion was built in 1566, the 21st year of King Myeongjong and before the Japanese invasions of Korea (the Imjin War), by Gwon Sim-eon in memory of the scholarly virtue of his late father, Gwon Ui, known by his pen name Yaong (1475–1558). It preserves its original appearance almost entirely, retaining its original roof-end tiles and dancheong (traditional multicoloured decorative painting), making it a valuable source for the study of architecture from before the Imjin War. Overall, the building has a T-shaped (丁) plan measuring four kan (bays) across the front and four kan in depth. The left three kan form a wooden-floored hall (daecheong), and a heated ondol room is attached to the right. On the right-hand section, a one-kan raised wooden veranda projects to the front and a one-kan ondol room projects to the rear. A square earthen-and-stone wall surrounds the pavilion, and a four-pillared gate was erected on the left side of the front wall to allow access. Half-kan eaves bays (toekan) were placed at the front and rear of the pavilion. Beneath the front toekan, six columns supporting a raised floor (nuhaju) were erected, so that the front toekan forms a raised wooden veranda. The rear toekan was added during a renovation in the Chongzhen era (1628–1644), but it was fitted in without appearing out of place alongside the original building, and can be regarded as another distinctive feature of the structure. The bracket sets above the columns are of the jusimpo (column-top bracket) type with a single projecting arm, showing the style of the early Joseon period. The corner brackets above the corner columns form a supporting member for the hip rafters, and deeply carved flower-shaped support blocks are placed between the brackets, giving an intricately decorated finish beneath the eaves. The three-cluster bracket work with a single wing-shaped arm is also similar in form to the jusimpo style, and the shape of the wing-shaped bracket arm shows the short, sturdy stylistic character of the early Joseon period. The greater-than-usual number of projecting bracket arms is likewise a feature typical of the early Joseon period, and carving these projecting arms in one piece with the long horizontal beam beneath them is an old technique found nowhere else, one of the features that sets Yaongjeong Pavilion apart. The use of a single timber member combining the eaves purlin and its end-closing board is an old technique also seen at Geungnakjeon Hall of Bongjeongsa Temple, and adds to the value of Yaongjeong Pavilion. The pronounced curvature of the supplementary rafters and the steep slope of their tips likewise reflect the stylistic character of the period and region. Traces of dancheong also survive in part on the pavilion, and the application of dancheong to a building of this kind is a rare example. The windows at the rear and both sides of the daecheong, and at the front of the right-hand section, are old-style paired lattice windows with a central mullion, which help to date the pavilion's construction. Yaongjeong Pavilion is valuable simply as one of the few surviving buildings from before the Imjin War, and it retains the architectural style, construction techniques, roof-end tiles and dancheong that bear witness to this, making it fully worthy of elevation to a national heritage designation as a Treasure.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yecheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물