Sangju Donghak Church Hall

About this place

This is a Donghak (Eastern Learning) church hall located in a wide flat village surrounded on all sides by mountains. The current owner's father, Kim Ju-hee (1860–1940), established his base here in 1915 to proselytize and expand Donghak — Korea's indigenous religion — and reportedly built the hall in 1924. Four buildings (east, west, south, and north halls) are arranged at the four compass points, with a storehouse to the left rear. The central building (north hall) served as the sanctuary (seonghwasil), the east hall (reception hall) was the district chief's room, the west hall (ladies' salon) was used equally by male and female followers, and the south hall (servants' quarters) was used by male followers. All buildings were originally thatched roofs but were later re-roofed with slate. It is notable as a rare surviving example of a Donghak headquarters building.