Yi Eung-no Historic Site (Sudeok Inn)

About this place

The Yi Eung-no Historic Site (Sudeok Inn) is a thatched-roof house preserved within the precinct of Sudeoksa Temple on Deoksungsan Mountain in Yesan, where painter Go-am Yi Eung-no (1904-1989) worked. Before him, Na Hye-seok, Korea's first female painter, also stayed here. Yi Eung-no was celebrated for his unique Oriental painting techniques; he purchased this house in 1944 and used it as a refuge during the Korean War, continuing to create art until he departed for France in 1959. After being implicated in the 1967 East Berlin Affair, he briefly returned to Korea and recuperated here; rock engravings he made on nearby boulders still remain. The building has a five-bay frontage facing the road, with wings of 6.5 and 4 bays forming a U-shape. It was designated a Chungcheongnam-do monument in 1996. Adjacent stands the Seon Art Museum, exhibiting works by Yi Eung-no and other modern and contemporary artists as well as Buddhist art objects.