Historic House of Maegok-ri, Yangju

This house was built as a refuge for Empress Myeongseong (1851–1895) in case of an emergency. It originally comprised a main hall, an outer hall, servants' quarters and a detached annex, but the outer hall and annex have since been demolished, and only the main hall and servants' quarters remain today. The L-shaped main hall and the servants' quarters are arranged around a central yard to form a quadrangular (ㅁ-shaped) layout. Passing through the main gate, the main hall faces south-east at the rear of the inner courtyard. Centred on the front daecheong and the side room, the main bedroom and kitchen are set at an angle beside the daecheong; it is unusual that the space to the left of the kitchen was widened to include a cooking-stove kitchen and a pantry. The main bedroom is notably spacious for a rural house. Above the kitchen is a loft accessible from the main bedroom. Befitting an upper-class house, the servants' quarters are built very long, wrapping around the entire main hall. To the left of the main gate are a kitchen and three rooms, and to the right are a stable, a groom's room, a lower room, a storeroom and a rice storehouse. All parts of the servants' quarters connect towards the inner courtyard, and the rooms beside the main gate were all built like sarangbang. The front outer yard has lost much of its original form, but traces remain of an attempt to create a garden in the back garden west of the main bedroom and behind the house. Overall this is a very finely built house, and had the outer hall and detached annex survived, it would rank among the finest examples of its kind. This heritage site is generally open to visitors, but access may be restricted at times due to the personal circumstances of the owner.

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Where it is

Region

Yangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산