Baekaguryeo

This house is the former residence of Kim Dae-rak (1845-1915), pen name Baekha, who devoted himself to public enlightenment and the independence movement in the closing years of the Korean Empire and the early Japanese colonial period; it is notable as the place where, in 1907, the men's quarters were extended to open Hyeopdong School, the first modern school in the region. The house itself is thought to have been built in 1885, when he was 42. The building has a front of eight bays: the western four bays form the men's quarters, and the eastern four bays form the lower quarters, including the inner gate hall. The men's quarters stand on a two-tiered foundation built of roughly cut stones; the lower tier projects about 3 m to the front, apparently widened when the men's quarters were extended to serve as the school building for Hyeopdong School. The eastern two bays, fitted with a narrow wooden porch at the front, form the main sarang room, and a single room attached behind it to the west allows passage through to the inner courtyard. The lower quarters adjoin the sarang room at the inner gate hall, and to the east a storeroom, a lower room and a wooden-floored room are arranged one bay each. The main house is centred on a three-bay wooden-floored hall open at the front, with a two-bay room running north-south to the east, and in front of that a two-bay kitchen extending to meet the lower room of the front building. Both the main house and the men's quarters are of simple construction, but the front columns of the hall in the main house are round, giving a decorative touch. The building that once served as the school for Hyeopdong School was sold off to raise funds for the independence movement and no longer survives, but the retaining wall and some of the foundation stones on which it stood remain in front of the men's quarters today, offering a glimpse of his patriotic spirit.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Andong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물