Designation of Gyesi Village in Yeongdeok as a National Folk Cultural Property

"Can Examine the Influence Relationship of Architecture According to Humanistic Factors"

The Ban Village 'Yeongdeok Gwoesi Village,' where the history and culture of a single clan are passed down, will be systematically preserved and managed.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 21st that this village, located in Yeonghae-myeon, Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, has been designated as a National Folk Cultural Property. It is the birthplace of the great scholar Yi Saek (1328?1396) from the late Goryeo period. The village was first settled by the Hamchang Kim clan, Yi Saek's maternal family, and around 1630, the Nam clan of Yeongyang settled there, making it a Nam clan village. The original name was Hojichon (濠池村), meaning a village with many swamps and ponds. Yi Saek began calling it 'Gwoesi Village' because it resembled the village of Gu Yangbakseo, a scholar from the Yuan dynasty.

The village faces the Yeonghae Plain with a mountain ridge extending in the shape of the character '八' (eight) behind it. The Songcheon River runs east to west through the plain, creating a typical baesanimsu (mountain at the back, water in front) landscape. Inside, about forty traditional houses are well preserved. Most are courtyard houses (with anchae, sarangchae, and auxiliary rooms connected in a 'ㅁ' shape) with a winged house style where the sarangchae protrudes, commonly seen in upper-class houses in Andong. They are arranged facing west according to the terrain. An official explained, "The tonglae-toekan (a corridor space installed in front of the owner's room) found in 'ㅁ'-shaped houses in the Yeongdeok area is confirmed here."

Seventy percent of courtyard houses nationwide are distributed in northern Gyeongsangbuk-do. The courtyard houses in Gwoesi Village were introduced in the 17th century by the Nam clan of Yeongyang. They formed the mainstream based on academic lineage, intermarriage, and branch families. They coexist with houses that have evolved into yangtong houses (houses with rooms arranged front and back under the ridgepole) focusing on practicality. The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "It is a valuable heritage that allows us to examine the influence of architecture through the transmission of architectural culture and human exchanges," and added, "It holds historical and academic value as it shows the changes and diversity of residential architecture in the late Joseon period."

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