Gwon Seong-baek’s House, Andong

A tile-roofed house of the late Joseon period, displaying all the features of a yangban (noble) residence. Its exact date of construction is unknown, but its architectural style suggests it was built in the late 19th century. The anchae (women's quarters) and sarangchae (men's quarters) are joined to form a complete "ㅁ" shape. The arrangement of the main room and the kitchen beside it, to the left, follows the pattern typical of folk houses in the southern region. The kitchen spans three bays in length and has two doors, one on the north side and one on the west. Between the main room and the room opposite it across the hall is a large daecheong (open wooden-floored hall), and to the right of that room are a small side room and a wooden-floored room, which lead on through a further small room, kitchen and storeroom to connect with the sarangchae. The sarangchae and the middle-gate wing are joined in a straight line, with the middle gate at the centre, the sarangchae to the right and the gate wing to the left. The sarangchae consists of rooms and a daecheong, with a long open-sided porch running along the front of the sarang courtyard. To the left of the middle gate are a stable, a small sarang room and a wooden-floored room, and beyond a turn a storeroom connects to the kitchen. In front of the sarang courtyard stands a straight, single-range outer gate wing made up of a room, the main gate, a stable and a shed, though a newly built gate to its right is now used instead. A structural feature of particular note in this house is the loft running from the main room through the kitchen to the storeroom, and the large loft extending from across the daecheong up into the ceiling of the upper room and the small side room beyond it. The shelving installed in the inner daecheong for holding objects is also varied and finely made. Overall, the house is large in scale, its layout well judged, and its timber members sturdy and substantial, giving it a dignified elegance — a fine example of a late Joseon dwelling. At the time of designation the name was "Andong Gwon Tae-eung's House" (安東權泰應家屋), but since Gwon Byeong-u, the great-grandfather of the present owner, settled here, and his son Gwon Jung-eun (courtesy name Seong-baek) later purchased the house, the designated name was changed, after his courtesy name, to "Gwon Seong-baek's House, Andong" (29 January 2007). This heritage site is generally open to visitors, but access may be restricted for personal reasons of the owner or others.

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Where it is

Region

Andong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산