Yeon Byeong-ho Birthplace, Jeungpyeong

This was the house of Yeon Chae-u (延采羽, also recorded as 延彩羽), father of Yeon Byeong-ho (1894–1963); it is both the birthplace where the independence patriot Yeon Byeong-ho was born and raised, and the house where he lived out his final years and died. Yeon Byeong-ho was born in 1894 in Seokgok-ri, Doan-myeon, Goesan-gun, and in 1919 went into exile in China, where he worked to restore national sovereignty as a staff officer and secretary of the Bungno Gunjeongseo (Northern Route Military Government Office) in Jilin Province. In 1919 he also supported the activities of the Provisional Government in Shanghai, and was arrested and imprisoned for his part in the Cheongnyeon Oegyodan (Young Men's Diplomatic Corps), a secret organisation. He later went into exile again and organised the Dongnip Hyeongmyeongdang (Independence Revolutionary Party); while active in the Provisional Government in 1937 he was arrested by the Japanese authorities, sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, and served his term. In 1945 he was elected to the Constitutional National Assembly, and was re-elected in 1948. As a result of restoration work, the thatched house today retains its original form, with a surrounding wall and a newly built shrine nearby. The former positions of the earthenware-jar terrace that once stood behind the house and the old toilet that stood beside it are known from the testimony of elderly residents. A monument honouring the patriot stands within the grounds, and remains of the yeonjabanga, a large millstone turned by an animal, that originally stood here still survive. In form and structure the house is a thatched dwelling with mud walls, three bays across the front and three bays deep, facing south, with a single-row floor plan. Its distinguishing feature is that it has retained almost intact the form and appearance most common to houses of the 19th century: the spaces in front of and behind the house survive in their original arrangement, and the positions of the wall and gate match the testimony of eyewitnesses. It preserves the original shape of a traditional Korean house almost unchanged, offering a view of 19th-century rural vernacular house style.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jeungpyeong, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물