Sangju Yangjindang

About this place

Sangju Yangjindang, a house built in 1626 by Jo Jeong, a civil official of the Joseon dynasty whose pen name was Geomgan, can be confirmed from the record on the ridge purlin (the purlin bearing the rafters beneath the roof ridge) to have been repaired in 1807 (the 7th year of King Sunjo); the sarangchae was damaged in the great flood of 1966, leaving only the 23-kan anchae, but in 1981 it was completely dismantled and restored. Originally a 'ㅁ'-shaped gabled-roof building measuring 9 kan across the front and 7 kan on the side, it has now decayed and remains in a slightly asymmetrical 'ㄷ' shape. What is unusual is that, because the site is slightly sloped, the building floor was raised more than one meter above the ground in a raised-floor (gosang) structure, which is one of the features of southern-style houses. This appears to have the advantage of being less affected by the heat of the summer ground and to have been a precaution against river flooding, as it is located in a low-lying area near the Nakdong River. Also, the rare installation of an ondol heating system within a raised-floor structure is a northern-style feature meant to lessen the effect of the cold outside air in midwinter. In that it thus combines the features of both southern and northern styles, it can be regarded as a precious example showing the diversity of mid-Joseon dwelling types; and in that it takes the form of a double house with rooms arranged in two rows, and in the technical maturity of using thick timbers for the pillars while folding their corners so as not to look coarse, it is evaluated as a building of high historical, scholarly, and artistic value. The bell hanging from the veranda tells that this place served as a school during the Japanese colonial period and as a branch of the present Nakdong Elementary School after the Korean War.