Haepungbuwongun Yun Taekyeong's Jaesil해풍부원군윤택영댁재실

About

This house was built by Yun Taek-yeong, Internal Prince Haepung and father-in-law of Emperor Sunjong, when his daughter, Empress Sunjeong, was invested as Crown Princess in 1906 and entered Changdeokgung Palace. It was built with timber salvaged from the demolition of Gyeongungung Palace, and the wood is red pine. Originally located at 224 Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, it was moved here and restored. The floor plan takes the shape of the Chinese character 元 ("won"), which is rare in Korea. The shrine, a single straight wing, sits at the top of the character, on the highest ground at the innermost part of the property. In front of it to the south, one level lower, is the main building, which forms the lower part of the character. The inner quarters and the men's quarters are joined in one straight line to form the lower horizontal stroke, and in front of them the servants' quarters extend on the east and west sides like two legs. The shrine, which burned down in 1960, has been restored, and a two-tier stone terrace in front of it forms a terraced flower garden. The center of the plan naturally becomes a central courtyard; walls run along the front walls of the east and west servants' quarters, with a small single-roofed gate leading into the yard. The inner courtyard is reached through the middle gate of the west servants' quarters, and the men's courtyard through a small single-roofed gate in the wall extending from the end of the east servants' quarters. The roofs are hip-and-gable tiled roofs; the men's quarters have double eaves with flying rafters, while the rest have single eaves. The servants' quarters have a three-purlin frame with gable roofs. Overall, the house feels less like a family home and more like a jaesil, a building for ancestral rites. For this reason it has many unusual features, such as the main wooden-floored hall placed in the center with the main room and the men's room facing each other.