Geochang Winter Jongtaek - Galgyeri Imssi Old House Excavated as 'Korean Folk House Garden'

Among 12 Representative Gardens of Gyeongsang Province, 2 Are Located in Geochang Area

Geochang Donggye Jongtaek

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] On the 25th, Geochang-gun, Gyeongnam announced that two sites in the Geochang area were included among the 24 Korean folk house gardens selected by the Cultural Heritage Administration's National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and the National Arboretum.

This study was conducted through a joint survey by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and the National Arboretum following a business agreement. It identified 12 representative gardens in the Gyeongsang-do region, including Donggye Jongtaek in Geochang and the Im Family Old House in Galgye-ri, Buksang-myeon, Geochang, as well as 12 gardens in the Jeolla-do region. These sites well preserve the beautiful characteristics of Korean folk house gardens.

The term "minga" refers to the houses of common people, distinguished from public buildings such as palaces, government offices, temples, and hyanggyo (local Confucian academies). In a broad sense, it includes upper-class residences such as palaces and ancestral homes, middle-class houses, and commoners' houses.

Donggye Jongtaek in Gangcheon-ri, Wicheon-myeon, Geochang-gun, designated as National Folklore Cultural Property No. 205, is the ancestral home of Donggye Jeong On (1569?1641), a civil official of the Joseon Dynasty, where his descendants have lived for generations.

The house is divided into the sarangmadang (men's quarter yard), anmadang (inner yard), and backyard. In front of the wooden veranda (numaru), a natural stone flower bed is planted with plum trees, dianthus, saxifrage, and moss phlox.

Also, the Im Family Old House in Galgye-ri, Buksang-myeon, Geochang, designated as Gyeongnam Provincial Folklore Cultural Property No. 9, features a pavilion at its center. Along the flower bed beneath the fence, azaleas and rhododendrons are planted in clusters, with rows of roof tiles planted with succulents arranged above. This house, built in 1507, was the residence of Joseon Dynasty civil official Galcheon Im Hun (1500?1584).

Geochang-gun makes efforts to preserve and pass on traditional culture through annual cultural heritage repair and maintenance projects. As a result of these efforts, 90 cultural properties have been integrated throughout the region, striving to transform it into a historically rich cultural city.