Yi Ung-jae Historic House

About this place

The Yi Ung-jae historic house in Dundeok-ri, Osu-myeon, Imsil-gun is the ancestral home of the 'Jeonju Yi clan, Hyoryeong Grand Prince lineage, Chunseongjeong main family.' It was built when Chunseongjeong Yi Dam-son, great-grandson of Prince Hyoryeong, retired to the countryside; now in its 17th generation, it is a head-family house of approximately 460 years of age. The Dongchon village is situated on a gently sloping terrain, and the Yi Ung-jae house — befitting a head-family residence — was set further back toward the mountain, so that viewed from the road below the village it commands a strikingly imposing presence. It upholds the decorum of a mid-Joseon head family while being neither ostentatious nor flaunting its dignity. The complex comprises a shrine, inner quarters (anchae), men's quarters (sarangchae), servants' quarters (haengnangchae), gate house, and shrine. The anchae, renovated in 1909, has wings on both the east and west sides; to the right of the main room is a storage room instead of a side chamber, and to the south of that is the side chamber. In front of the anchae, the inner servants' quarters (an-haengnangchae) enclose it, consisting of a millstone room, inner toilet, inner storage, and study. To the east of the inner servants' quarters are two rooms arranged in a straight line. The main gate is a raised gate (sotteul daemun) with a plaque reading 'Filial Son, Posthumous Jeong Third-Rank, Vice Minister of Personnel Yi Mun-ju Jeongnyeo (Commendation Gate)' hung on it.