Andong Hahoe Village Gyeomam Jeongsa

About this place

Andong Hahoe Village is a clan village of the Pungsan Ryu family and a yangban (aristocratic) village of the Joseon period that has well preserved its outstanding natural scenery and its folk and Confucian traditions. Gyeomam Jeongsa was built by Gyeomam Ryu Un-ryong (1539-1601), the eldest brother of Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong (1542-1607), for the study of learning and the teaching of disciples. It is said to have been built in 1567 (the 22nd year of King Myeongjong of Joseon) and stands atop a high cliff to the west of Buyongdae. The study hall (sarangchae) was placed on the upper part of the southern cliff overlooking Hahoe Village, and the inner quarters (anchae) behind the study hall. The study hall is in the form of a two-story pavilion, measuring 4 kan across the front and 2 kan on the side. In the center are 4 kan of a wooden-floored hall (daecheong), with rooms on the left and right. A narrow veranda was set in front of the rooms, and the signboard reading 'Gyeomamjeong' is said to be in the hand of his teacher Yi Hwang. The inner quarters form an L-shaped (giyeok-shaped) plan; centered on the wooden-floored hall, there are a 2-kan kitchen and a 2-kan main room on the left, and a 2-kan opposite room on the right. A veranda (toenmaru) was provided in front of the main room and the opposite room. The thatched-roof shed stands to the left of the inner quarters. It is a place where one can feel the extraordinary scenery of the river winding beneath the high cliff in harmony with nature, and, imbued with the topographical qualities and tradition befitting a jeongsa (scholarly retreat), it serves as a precious resource. (Source: Korea Heritage Service)