Songcheom Head House in Yangdong, Gyeongju

This is the head house of the Gyeongju Son clan, built in 1459, the fifth year of King Sejo of Joseon, by Yangmin-gong Son So (1433-1484), who became the founding ancestor of the Son clan in this village. It is also the birthplace of Son So's son, Son Jung-don (1463-1529), and his grandson through a daughter, Yi Eon-jeok (1491-1553). Behind the straight, single-row outer gate quarters stands a square-shaped main women's quarters (anchae), and on higher ground behind the men's quarters (sarangchae) are a spirit gate and a family shrine. The anchae has a hipped-and-gabled roof, whose profile forms the shape of the character 八 (eight), while the sarangchae has a plainer gable roof, whose profile forms the shape of the character 人 (person). In the garden behind the sarangchae, where the master's room and the sleeping chamber are arranged in an L-shape around a wooden-floored hall, stands a juniper tree several hundred years old. Usually a small sarang room is placed directly across the hall from the large one, but here the small room is set to one corner so that the two do not face each other, a notable feature, and the use of a floored corridor as a kind of passageway is likewise unusual. The house has the scale and formality befitting a clan head house, and the garden behind the sarangchae is also outstanding; its distinctive construction and layout make it important material for the study of early Joseon-period houses. At the time of designation the house was named 'Wolseong Son Dong-man's House' (月城孫東滿氏家屋), but on 29 January 2007 it was renamed 'Yangdong Seobaekdang' after the plaque 'Seobaekdang' (書百堂) hanging in the sarangchae hall, and in March 2017 it was changed to its present name, Songcheom Head House in Yangdong, Gyeongju. Seobaekdang means 'writing the character 忍 (patience) one hundred times.' This heritage site is generally open to visitors, but viewing may be restricted owing to the personal circumstances of the owner and others.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산