Goesi-ri Traditional Village

About this place

About 800 m to the northeast of the seat of Yeonghae-myeon lies Goesi-ri, the ancient and atmospheric village that is the birthplace of the great late-Goryeo scholar Mogeun Yi Saek and is surrounded by traditional Joseon-period houses. Its original name was Hojichon; when Mogeun Yi Saek returned from serving as an envoy to China and remarked that his hometown resembled Guaishi (Goesi) in China, the name "Goesi" took hold, though some still call it Hojigol, Hoji Village, or Hojichon. Goesi-ri Traditional Village is a single-clan settlement of the Yeongyang Nam clan, a village of "eight-character" topography where the clan has flourished for some 400 years, and before the village the Yeonghae plain spreads out vast and wide. The old houses that remain today were all built more than 200 years ago; they clearly display the architectural style of the scholar-official class, with a ㅁ-shaped structure in which the women's quarters are hidden behind the men's quarters that face the courtyard, completely separating the inner and outer areas. Among the houses, four items of Gyeongsangbuk-do Folklore Cultural Heritage—Goejeong, the Yeonghae Gugye House, the Yeonghae Jugok House, and the Mulsowa Seodang—along with twelve items of cultural heritage materials, some thirty traditional houses, and the village landscape are all well preserved. Strolling among the old houses linked by low walls, one can see well-tended gardens and the harmonious coexistence of old houses and modern life, and there is also a hanok stay where visitors can experience it firsthand.