Gyudang House, Yeongdong

Built in the late 19th century, the house occupies a fairly extensive site. Looking from the roadside behind the house, a long run of facing stone-and-earth walls can be seen stretching some distance. The L-shaped ('ㄱ'-shaped) main house (anchae) and the storehouse wing sit spaciously together, forming an open 'ㅁ' (box) shape overall. However, this covers only the inner, domestic quarters; the outer areas used for the household's external affairs have been altered considerably, so the original overall form can no longer be known. The anchae is an imposing, large-scale building that appears to combine the southern-style main house with an attached reception (sarang) space. From the left, the kitchen, main bedroom (anbang), wooden-floored hall (daecheong) and side room (geonneonbang) are arranged in a straight line, then the building turns to form a small room, a wooden-floored room, and a lower and an upper reception room (sarangbang). A narrow veranda (toenmaru) connects the anbang through to the small room, both front and back. The reception space is likewise linked to the anchae through a wooden-floored room that itself includes a toenmaru. The storehouse wing is arranged to the left of the kitchen, enclosing the rear garden. The building has a distinctly classical feel, but its state of preservation is not good and it requires maintenance. The outhouse set to the right of the geonneonbang of the anchae has a small thatched pyramidal (samo) roof, and its handsome form is especially striking. It is said that more houses once stood on the broad site, but they were damaged during the Korean War and no trace of them now remains. At the time of designation the name was 'Yeongdong Song Jae-hwi House', but this was changed to 'Gyudang House, Yeongdong' on 29 January 2007, after Gyudang, the pen name of Song Bok-heon, who built the house. Note: this heritage site is generally open to the public, but access may be restricted due to the personal circumstances of the owner or others.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongdong, Chungbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산