Maegandang House, Yeonggwang

This is an old house of the late Joseon period, built in a village of the Yeonan Kim clan at the foot of a mountain overlooking a plain. It is said that the Jikgang branch of the Yeonan Kim clan settled here after Kim Yeong followed his uncle Kim Segong, who had come to Yeonggwang as county magistrate, in the mid-16th century. Standing broadly on an auspicious site said in feng shui to have the form of "falling plum blossoms" or the form of a crane, the house faces north and serves as the head house of the Yeonan Kim clan. It was built in 1868, the fifth year of Emperor Gojong, while the lower quarters were added in 1942. Around the sarangmadang (men's-quarters courtyard) are arranged the sarangchae (men's quarters), a village school, grooms' quarters and a pond; passing through the middle gate leads to the anmadang (women's-quarters courtyard), around which the anchae (women's quarters) and the lower quarters stand. The shrine sits on a gently sloping spot behind the hill, connected on its right to the rear yard of the anchae. Beside the village school on the south side of the sarangchae once lay a large pond, of which only the site now remains. The outer gate is a jeongnyeomun, a gate erected by the state to honour filial piety, built to commend the devotion of the present owner's ancestors of the fourteenth, ninth and eighth generations. Known as "Samhyomun" (Gate of the Three Filial Sons), it is a two-storey pavilion-style gate; a single-bay side gate is used for everyday passage, while Samhyomun itself is opened only for important family rites. Its name board is said to have been written by Yi Jae-myeon, elder brother of Emperor Gojong. The buildings, pond and walls are well maintained and preserved in the state in which they were originally built, and the house holds around 100 heirlooms handed down through the generations, including official appointment documents, official robes and hopae identification tags. It stands as an important example of a provincial upper-class house, showing the scale and layout typical of a yangban residence in the late Joseon period. Note: this heritage site is generally open to the public, but viewing may be restricted at the owner's discretion for personal reasons.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeonggwang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산