Sun Gyo Jahng Residence
Architecture of a Family’s History & Evolution

Location:   South Korea, Gangwon-do, Gangneung-si, Unjeong-dong, 431 

Dates Built & Expanded:  ~1760, ~1830, 1930 (Josun Dynasty & Japanese Occupation)

Size:  55 kans original; 102 kans remains today

Original Owner/Commissioner:  Yi, Nae-Bun (1693~1781)

Following Owners & Commissioners:  Yi Hoo (1773~1832); Yi Yong-Gu (1798~1837); 
Yi Geun-Woo (1877~1938); Yi Gang-Baek (present)


Regional Map

Picture
Gangwon-do

Local Map

Drawings & Photos:

    Concise Background:

    ·         Architecture of this residence transformes over 6 generations from a humble, introverted house into an international diplomatic hosting complex as the family evolves from a social outcast into a well educated government officials

    ·         During its transformation, the Yi family guards the family's privacy from growing public exposure through careful planning and execution of its residence

    ·         History of the Region:  City of Kang Neung, the center of the eastern section of Kang Won Province has a long history of "producing" independent and outstanding achievers.  Tae Baek Mountain divides the Kang Won province in east and west sections isolating Kang Neung towards the East Sea, separating it from the rest of the country resulting in liberal mindset, creativity, unique culture and less rigid practice of Confucianism.  Although surrounded by mountains, flat valleys are rich for farming.  Proximity to both ocean and mountains provides variety of food source.  

     

    History of the Yi Family & Seon Kyo Jahng:

    ·         A nameless woman, known as "Kwon from Andong Region" moves back to the town where she was originally raised, Kang Neung, with her son, Yi Nae-Bun (1693~1781) sometime in early 1700's (Although her family name originated from Andong, her immediate family settled in Kang Neung)

    ·          Yi Nae-Bun acquires plots of land, possibly with a small inheritance from his late father, Yi Joo-Hwa (a royal descendent), and starts farming in Kang Neung. 

    ·         Around 1760, Yi Nae-Bun builds the family's first house.  Although ordinary, square shape in plan with a central courtyard, it's oblique orientation was unusual.  The main rooms were located at the corners of the house rather than at its sides.  Men's quarters located at the south-western corner of house with open views; Women's quarters located at north-eastern, the most protected side of the house.   

    ·         also unusual for women's quarter to be located at east side; men's quarters were usually located there to symbolize the "beginning" and the "light"

    ·         Perhaps this anomaly was born out of respect for women in this household or simply out of practicality - to deliver food to the shrine quickly during ancestral ceremonies

    ·         Yi Hoo (1773~1832) - Yi Nae-Bun's grandson - accrues enough wealth through strategic farming to be noticed by the town's people; however, he is not accepted by local elites who are envious of Yi's new money

    ·         In an attempt to be accepted, Yi Hoo  studies and sits for the state exam but fails and becomes further ostracized by the elite 

    ·          Around the same time, his two younger brothers die leaving behind young children.  Yi Hoo expands his own home to focus in educating himself and all Yi children as his own

    ·         As a result, his two sons pass the state exam and become respected politicians

    ·         Yi Hoo is most likely responsible for the master plan up to the second stage of expansion and his eldest son, Yi Yong-Gu (1798~1837) oversees the construction after he passes away

    ·         Between Yi Hoo and Yi Yong-Gu's time, a family's gathering place/father's study hall called Yeol Hwa Dahng is built at far left side of the main house.   Children's quarter called Seo Byeol Dahng, where they live and study, is constructed between the father's study hall and the original house/women's quarter. The expansion of men's quarters called Yeon Ji Dahng is constructed at south of children's quarter

    ·         A family shrine is also constructed to the east end, holding the highest position on the premise

    ·         Yi Yong-Gu builds a detached house for his brother on the southeastern side of the premise

    ·         The closeness of the family is preserved while distinguishing the separate shares of the property.  (The oldest brother receives the largest inheritance to compensate for his heavy responsibilities to take care of his parents, family’s ancestral worship, as well as the well being his siblings.) 

    ·         Much further south, near the Kyeong Po Lake, a lotus pond and the pavilion called Hwal Lae Jung are built to entertain guests.  The pavilion building establishes a public façade, a “street” presence

    ·         In the seclusion of the pine forest to the north, a family retreat is also built, emphasizing the importance of family bonding.  At this stage, the original house remains untouched as additional buildings are built around it

    ·         As the number of distinguished politicians in the Yi’s family increases, this premise transforms into an international guesthouse by the time of Yi Geun-Woo (1877~1938), the sixth descendent of Yi Nae-Bun, living up to its name Seon Kyo Jahng, meaning " A Public Garden Retreat"

    ·          Yeol Hwa Dahng, father’s study/family hall, transforms into a guest entertaining facility.  Renowned guests and diplomats from all over the world come to stay overnight  (One Russian diplomat contributes a sun-shading structure made of copper roof in front of this building) 

    ·         Under Yi, Geun-Woo’s management, Seon Kyo Jahng transforms ambitiously, bringing it to its final expansion

    ·         A southeastern portion of the original house/women’s quarters is demolished to open up to the south and a small quarter called Dong Byol Dahng is added to its right.  It functions as the sleeping quarter for the man of the house as well as the family’s meeting hall.  Former men’s quarter called Yeon Ji Dahng becomes the nanny and female servants’ quarters.  A string of small rooms, typical of the servants’ quarters, called Haeng Rang Chae are built in front of the house.  However, these rooms houses more than servants: tutors, family doctor, casual guests, chief carpenter and metal smith, etc.

    ·         Stone walls with gates clearly define various quarters

    ·          And, the Yeol Hwa Dang and its courtyard with a new building called Jaggeun Sarang where the sons lived and managed the guest defined the perimeters of a public hall for entertaining dignified men

    ·         To the southwest corner, a separate residence is added later for the younger brother of Yi, Geun-Woo and his family

    ·         These final changes signified three things:  

        1) The Yi family aggressively trains their sons to become public figures by having them to engage and entertain the international diplomats

        2) At the end of the day, the man of the household retreats close to his wife and farthest from Yeol Hwa Dahng, the noisy Guest Hall    

        3) The premises that once had loosely defined men’s, children's,
            nanny's, and women’s quarters are now distinctly divided into public and
            private quarters

    ·         Yi, Geun-Woo unabashedly builds a house for his second wife in front of the house, immediately left of the main gate for the entire world to see

    ·         He reconfigures the lotus pond, increases the pavilion size and its prominence - a place to see and to be seen by others

    ·         Seon Kyo Jahng of this size and complexity closely resembles royal palaces. 

    ·         As a philanthropist, Yi Geun-Woo also buils a local school called Dong Jin to resuscitate national spirit by fostering talented scholars and artists

    ·         In his time, Yi family takes over the town with servants, farmland, retreats, and other structures that it becomes equivalent to a clan-town 

     

    Architecture of Seon Gyo Jahng:

    ·         The long horizontal band of servants’ quarters (Haeng Rang Chae) with rhythm of chimneys at front elevation gives it a deceivingly simple façade , providing a sense of order to the complex composition of buildings behind it

    ·         Two main gates are constructed: taller, distinguished on the left for the guests and low, humble one on the right for the family use.  (In typical upper class houses of Josun Period, the taller gates were for men while the lower gates were for women and servants.) 

    ·         Guests entering this house face another smaller gate and a window of the female servants’ quarter.  This allows women servants to be aware of provisions that need to be served.  To the right is another set of gate into the women’s quarters, preventing visitors from wandering into the private quarters.   To the left is an inviting courtyard with a skewed row of rooms, drawing the guest in.  This angled orientation of the rooms (Haeng Rang Che) gave exaggerated perspective that aggrandized this public space and led the guests to Jaggeun Sarang where the sons of the family would greet the guest.  (Also, most likely, a male servant that lived by the main gate would have courted them this way.)

    ·         The father possibly could have been waiting for the guest at the Yeol Hwa Dang, the formal entertaining room, that's defines the north side of the courtyard.

    ·         In the old days, when this building was father's study hall, it was connected to the private quarters of the house with wooden verandas of the children’s quarters (Seo Byeol Dahng).  This connection gave a “back road” for the man of the house to travel to and from the public to private spaces. 

    ·         While the children were the nexus between the public world of the father and the private quarters of the mother, the servants' quarter also served as the screening and communicating portal between the men and women's quarters.  Not only was it practical for female servants to be close to the guests in order to deliver food quickly, they also provide a buffer between the private and public worlds of Seon Kyo Jahng.

    ·         The hierarchy of buildings in a traditional residence is often distinguished by east/west location, the elevation of the floor level, and the height of the roofs.  In Seon Kyo Jahng, the hierarchy of the spaces are as follows from the highest to the lowest:  the family shrine, the husband’s quarter/family meeting hall ,the children’s quarter, women’s quarter, the public hall/former family hall , the sons’ quarters, the female servants’ quarter, then the series of rooms located at the front. We could infer the differences between the served and the servants based on this order.  According to this comparison, the Yis seem to highly regard the young children over the mother or the older sons that are minding the guests.

    ·          The Yi family’s emphasis on family closeness and privacy can be observed from the hierarchy placed on the family meeting room or proximity of the younger brother's house.  A typical Korean clan-family during this era would have scattered the relatives' houses throughout the town to impose dominance over other families but the Yi's preferred to live closely to each other.

    ·         Persistent details throughout Seon Kyo Jahng emphasize the importance of doors and walls, for example, the women’s quarters had series of rooms that abutted each other with layers of doors between them.  Perhaps this was done to provide more insulation between the rooms.  Regardless, the various layering of these doors change the mood of a space.   Another great example of how careful thought has been applied to the walls and doors is expressed in the east wall of the father’s quarter (Dong Byeol Dahng).  What appears to be plastered walls are series of doors with hinges that conveniently transformed the indoor room into an outdoor pavilion space.  The main practical reason behind these convertible wall-like doors it to provide immediate access from the family shrine to the father's room.  After paying homage at the family shrine, the men would gather in this room for further ceremonies.  Considering that an average Korean family held ten or more ancestral worship ceremonies a year, this was extremely practical. 

     

    Conclusion:

    A family that was once shunned as uneducated farmers completely transformed not only its family status and its residence but also brought national pride to a small, isolated town called Kang Neung.  The Yi family not only showed their generosity to important dignitaries but also to their local neighbors.  The Yi family gave jobs and homes to widowed mothers who had no place to go.   On holidays and special occasions, they hosted town-wide feasts serving thousands of pounds of rice that along with unfathomable amount of main and side dishes.


    References: 

    Choi, Jae-Soon., et al.   Hanoak: Traditional Korean Homes.  Trans.  Maija Rhee Devine.  New Jersey: Hollym, 1999.

    Kim, Bong-Ryeol.   Spaces of Wisdom and Life:  Rediscovery of Korean Architectural History Ser. 2.    Seoul, South Korea: Yi Sang Gun Chook, 1999. p. 196~226. 

    Yi, Gi-Seo. Landscapes at Youllhwadang and Hwalrejung, Sungyojang.  Seoul, South Korea: Yeol Hwa Dahng, 1996. 

    Yi, Hyeon-Hee.  Stories of Korean Historical Figures.  Seoul, South Korea: Chung Ah, 2000.  p. 210~212, 225~230, 255~258.

    Also includes Juhee Lee-Hartford's on-site observations.