Gangwon Provincial Office Pojeongnu Pavilion, Wonju

Gangwon Provincial Office was established in Wonju in the fourth year of King Taejo of Joseon (1395) as the seat of the Governor of Gangwon, and originally comprised some 70 bays. It was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592 and rebuilt, but suffered heavy damage during the Korean War; today only Seonhwadang Hall, the former office of the governor, and the main gate tower survive. Since the Korean War the gate tower had borne a plaque reading "Gangwon Gamyeong Munnu" (Gate Tower of Gangwon Provincial Office), but in 1991, on the basis of records such as the Yeojidoseo, it was renamed and given the plaque "Pojeongnu." Pojeongnu is a two-storey pavilion measuring three bays across the front and two bays along the side, with a hip-and-gable roof whose sides form the shape of the Chinese character 八 (meaning "eight"). The central bay of the ground floor has a pair of plank doors. The upper storey is open on all sides, encircled by a railing, and its ceiling is an exposed-beam ceiling that reveals the structural framework. A county office now occupies the site of the former provincial office, but Seonhwadang Hall still remains. Rebuilt in 1667 after the Japanese invasions, Seonhwadang Hall is a single-storey building measuring seven bays across the front and four bays along the side, with the same hip-and-gable roof as the gate tower — an unassuming government office building. Unusually, the doors facing the main hall, the front and the right side are latticed doors (ttisalmun). Pojeongnu and Seonhwadang Hall are important sources of information on the form taken by provincial offices during the Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Wonju, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산