Shingled House of Daei-ri, Samcheok

Daei-ri in Dogye-eup, Samcheok, was, together with Sin-ri in Samcheok, a village where slash-and-burn farming (hwajeon) was once widespread; it lies in one of the deepest mountain villages in Samcheok, and this house stands beneath the western ridge of a valley running long from east to west. It is said to have been built when the current owner's ancestor eleven generations back fled here during the Manchu invasion of 1636 (Byeongja Horan). A neowa house is roofed with pine-wood shingles, built in the mountainous areas of Gangwon Province where straw or roof tiles were hard to obtain. The shingles measure roughly 30 cm across, 50 cm long and 5 cm thick; they are laid so as to overlap slightly, with wood or stones placed here and there so that they are not blown off by the wind. Around 1930, when even these shingles became difficult to obtain, roofs began instead to be covered with oak bark, which was comparatively easy to find nearby; a house roofed with oak bark is called a gulpi house. The floor plan of this house follows the gyeopjip type characteristic of the mountain areas of Gangwon Province. A gyeopjip is a house with rooms arranged in two rows to withstand the cold of regions such as Gangwon; although the layout is enclosed, it suits areas with long, cold winters well. Just inside the main gate, the first row has an earthen-floored bongdang (open hall) in the centre, with a cattle shed to the left and the kitchen (locally called jeongji) to the right. The second row has, in the centre, a wooden-floored hall and a storeroom (dojangbang) for grain and valuables, with the men's quarters (sarangbang) to the left and the main room (anbang) to the right. In the corners of the anbang and sarangbang are kokeul, hearths where resin-rich pine branches were burned for heating and lighting. Small openings were also made in both gable ends of the roof to let smoke escape; because their shape resembles a magpie's nest, they are called magpie holes. This house has preserved in good condition fittings such as the kokeul, shelving (sireong) and a wooden grain chest (dwiju) that show how daily life was carried out. As the oldest of the surviving neowa houses and one in good condition, it is a valuable resource for studying the types and development of mountain dwellings in Gangwon Province. * Hwajeon: land used for farming by burning off woodland. Once cleared this way, the humus that has built up and the ash produced by burning enrich the soil, so crops grow well for a few years afterwards. Note: this heritage site is generally open to visitors, but access may be restricted at the owner's discretion.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Samcheok, Gangwon

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산