Sawol Head House of the Hanyang Jo Clan, Yeongyang

Sawol Head House of the Hanyang Jo Clan, Yeongyang, is said to have been built in 1602 by Jo Im (pen name Sawol, 1573-1644). It occupies a classic "back-mountain, front-water" site, with a low hill to the north at its back and a stream and farmland facing it to the south. Jo Im distinguished himself during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-98) and was appointed Inspector of the Office of the Inspector-General and Magistrate of the Directorate of Military Provisions, but he did not take up office and instead devoted himself to scholarship; during the second Manchu invasion of 1627 he was recognised for donating military provisions and was appointed to the senior post of Jaheondaebu Jijungchubusa. He went on to associate with many outstanding scholars of his day, including Changseok Yi Jun, Seokgye Yi Si-myeong, Seoae Yu Seong-ryong, Obong Sin Ji-je, Seodam Hong Wi, Yakbong Seo Seong, Yeoseop Sin Jeup, Gyeonghaeng Jo Jun-do, Iseung Kim Si-on, Isuk Gwon Geuk-sang, Donggye Jeong On, and Pyeongjung Yun Si-hyeong, all well documented in his collected writings, the Sawol seonsaeng munjip. The old house comprises a "ㅁ"-shaped main building, a mill house to the left, and a shrine forming a separate area at the rear right. The main building takes the "ㅁ"-shaped spatial composition typical of upper-class houses in the Gyeongbuk region, but the way the anchae (women's quarters) and sarangchae (men's quarters) are connected differs from the usual pattern — a transitional arrangement in which the sarangchae was in the process of separating from the anchae, and an important architectural feature. A similar form can be seen at the Chunghyodang Head House, Yeongdeok (National Folk Cultural Heritage) and the Head House of the Muuigong Branch of the Muan Bak Clan, Yeongdeok (National Folk Cultural Heritage); given that the Sawol branch of the Hanyang Jo clan was linked by marriage to families in the Yeongdeok region, this is a notable example showing that a house's floor plan can be shaped by marriage ties as well as by regional character. The house was built relatively early, and records relating to its construction and repair — including documents and inscribed boards — are comparatively well preserved; the old house is also in good condition. The printing woodblocks of Jo Im's collected works, the Sawol munjip chaekpan, are registered, together with woodblocks of other clans, as a UNESCO Memory of the World item, and the head house's important rites — including the four-generation ancestral rites, holiday memorial rites, and tomb rites — continue to be observed unchanged. This heritage site is generally open to the public for viewing, but viewing may be restricted owing to the owner's personal circumstances.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongyang, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산