Gimje Dongheon (Government Office)

About this place

This is a Joseon-period government office (gana) in Gyodong, Gimje-si, Jeollabuk-do, and is a Jeonbuk Tangible Cultural Heritage. It is presumed to have been built in the 8th year of King Hyeonjong's reign (1667) together with the outer office (oe-a), and is said to have been repaired in the 25th year of King Sukjong's reign (1699). After numerous repairs and renovations it has recently been restored to near its original form. The original complex included the inner quarters (an-chae), inner servants' quarters, and inner toilet, but today only the inner quarters have been restored. The floor plan is U-shaped (ㄷ-shaped) and is virtually indistinguishable from the residential architecture of the middle and upper classes of the Joseon period. What distinguishes it from ordinary private residences, however, is the use of thick round pillars in the wooden hall (daecheong) and similar spaces, which convey a greater sense of formality. It is built with a single-tiered stone foundation, natural stone plinths, and a mixture of square and round pillars, with a single-eave, small-bracket construction. Nearly every bay is fitted with a pair of double-leaf lattice doors. The overall appearance is clean and simple, making it one of the rare surviving structures of its type — an inner office (nae-a) within a dongheon. Directly to the south of the inner quarters is the outer office: seven bays wide and four bays deep, with a hip-and-gable roof. The central right six bays form the wooden hall, and the left four bays are heated rooms. Uniform-style doors are set on all four exterior walls, with entrance doors at the central front bay and at the left of the rear. The overall composition, with the stately seven-bay facade, exemplifies the character of Joseon government-office architecture.