Asan Oeam-maeul Geonjae Gotaek

About this place

This is an old house facing northwest in the center of Oeam-ri Village at the foot of Seolhwasan Mountain, also called Yeongam House. It is said that the house where Yi Gan (1677-1727), a civil official during the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon, was born was rebuilt into its present form in the 6th year of King Gojong (1869) by Geonjae Yi Sang-ik (1848-1897), the great-grandfather of the current owner. Centered on the gate quarters (mungan-chae), men's quarters (sarangchae), and main quarters (anchae), a woodshed was placed to the right of the main quarters, a storehouse to the left, and a family shrine (gamyo) to the right rear of the main quarters. The main quarters and the men's quarters are both L-shaped buildings that face each other to form an open square courtyard layout. In front of the men's quarters is a broad yard laid out as a garden with a pond, a pavilion, and the like. In traditional Korean gardens, the front yard of the men's quarters was usually left as empty space or arranged with flower beds and trees, but this house created a garden centered on natural scenery. Trees such as pines, ginkgoes, and persimmons were planted naturally throughout the yard, and a turtle island, a technique of Japanese gardens, was arranged, forming an eclectic late-Joseon garden that blends traditional and foreign landscaping. It also shows an unusual landscaping in which auspicious water flowing from the valley of Seolhwasan Mountain passes through the yard and into the pond. It is said that there was originally a detached annex where the pond now stands. The two pavilions in the garden appear to have originally been thatched and later converted to tiled roofs. The house is surrounded by a stone wall, and outside the wall is a thatched servants' house. Inside the house are kept some 300 relics handed down through the generations, including ceramics, seals, calligraphy and paintings, hanging boards, and household implements. In particular, the royal appointment document of Yi Gan (李柬) kept in the men's quarters serves as evidence of the ipyangjo (the ancestor who first settled in the village). With its typical architecture of a late-Joseon gentry (sadaebu) household, the layout, scale, and techniques of the buildings make it a dwelling worthy of representing the Oeam-ri folk village. (Source: Korea Heritage Service)