Huiijaesa Ritual House of the Hamyang Bak Clan, Yecheon

This building was built to guard the grave of Bak Jong-rin (1496–1553), the founding ancestor of the Hamyang Bak clan in Yecheon — the first of the clan to settle and take root in the area. In the 17th century his grandson, Bak Su-gyeom, known by the sobriquet Huiidang, built it as Huijeongsa. When Huijeongsa fell into disrepair in the mid-18th century, it was rebuilt to the east of its original site and renamed Huiijaesa. Huiijaesa stands in Huiigok valley, between Hyeongjebong Peak — a ridge running southeast from Maebong Peak in the Sobaeksan mountain range — and Omibong Peak, another ridge of Maebong. The building's axis runs southwest. On the sloping site, the two-storey Gamnoru Pavilion stands at the front, while behind it, on ground raised a level higher, stands the single-row Huiidang hall. A storehouse wing stands to the left of Huiidang and a gate wing to the right, together forming an overall ㅁ-shaped layout. Gamnoru, the ritual house's central building, well displays the construction techniques of its period, and its features — notably a raised-floor ondol room, built on posts to withstand insects, rainwater and heat rising from the ground — are considered to hold distinctive value. Distinctive intangible traditions connected with ancestor worship are also preserved here, performed at the seasonal memorial rites: gampum, the inspection of ritual food; the rite at Uimindan, held for a person who died without descendants; and yoseongsamju, the practice of circling the grave three times to inspect it. This heritage site is generally open to visitors, but access may be restricted at the owner's discretion for personal reasons.

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Where it is

Region

Yecheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산