introduction

This house is located at the site with a view of the faraway Hangang River. With a mountain at the back, it faces the south. According to the architectural records (sangnyangmun) written on the main beam of the house, it was built in 1753 (29th year of King Yeongjo). The house consists of the anchae (women’s quarters), sarangchae (men’s quarters), extra small sarangchae, and shed and has a square-shaped layout. The gate used to be located near the haengnangchae (servants’ quarters), which is now gone.

Sarangchae is located on the right side of jungdaemun (middle gate), which leads to the courtyard. When one walks through the gate, one sees the U-shaped anchae with the anbang (main room) and the daecheong (main wooden floor) at the center. A kitchen is located to the left of the anbang in the bent corner, with a pantry, a kitchen maid’s room, and a wood-floored room located downward in sequence to the kitchen. To the right of the daecheong are a wood-floored room, a room across from the anbang, and a kitchen. Next to the kitchen are the small sarangchae with two rooms and a wood-floored room. The small sarangchae is quite rare, so it is one of the features of this house.

The sarangchae consists of an elder’s room (main room), a wide daecheong, a regular-sized sarangbang, and a rear daecheong, and it is arranged in a straight layout. It has a long, narrow side wooden veranda in the front. In front of the elder’s room is high numaru (wooden-floored veranda with a railing) facing the courtyard. At the backyard is a storage shed. The anbang, daecheong, sarangbang, and back daecheong have separate detachable doors to make the rooms cool in the summer. Flowers and trees are planted at the center of the courtyard to form a boundary between the sarangchae and anchae. Even though the haengnangchae is now gone, the house still shows very well the aesthetic taste of a high-ranking official. Since the exact construction date of the house is known, and this elegant house built by a skillful carpenter is located in Yeoju, a small village, it has high academic value.