Chuwonjae Hall, Uiseong

Uiseong Chuwonjae is a jaesa, a hall built to protect a tomb and host its ancestral rites, dedicated to Kim Sa-won, pen name Manchwidang. According to a record of its restoration (Chuwonjae Jungsugi, 2001), it was built in 1809 by his descendants and the local villagers acting together to honour him. Kim Sa-won (1539–1601) was a disciple of the scholar Toegye. During the Japanese invasions of 1592–98 he rallied the people of Uiseong and, as jeongjejang, an organising commander, supplied military provisions; when repeated drought and famine during the war caused growing numbers of deaths from starvation, he used his own wealth to save people, for which he was granted the military office of Jeolchung Janggun, deputy commander of the Yongyangwi guard. He is remembered as a figure who helped the country through hardship and who personally practised righteousness and generosity. Jaesa buildings in the Andong cultural region generally follow the "central hall with flanking rooms" plan, but Uiseong Chuwonjae instead has an unusual "offset-room" plan, with an ondol room on the left and a wooden-floored hall (daecheong) on the right. Such examples are extremely rare in this region, and since offset-room jaesa were mostly built after the nineteenth century, the building is valuable evidence not only for the evolution of jaesa floor plans but also for the family ritual customs and changing circumstances of its time. At the Manchwidang tomb site an annual rite is held at 11 a.m. on the third Sunday of October each year; when rites cannot be held at the grave itself, they are performed on the wooden floor of Chuwonjae. The hall is also used for rites to nearby forebears — Kim Sang-won, pen name Namae (1598–1687), and Kim Sang-gak, pen name Jayeodang (1607–1658) — along with their spouses and descendants. The Manchwidang line of the Dopyeonguigongpa branch of the Andong Kim clan holds holiday rites, seasonal rites, death-anniversary rites, and the perpetual commemorative rite for Kim Jong-deok, pen name Cheonsa (1724–1797), every year, with considerable participation and carefully maintained procedures for preparing and setting out offerings and performing the rites. In recognition of how well it preserves the traditional customs and distinctive folk practices of the Uiseong region, it was designated a Gyeongsangbuk-do cultural heritage material in May 2019.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Uiseong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료