Ojukheon House

Ojukheon in Gangneung is the house where Shin Saimdang (1504–1551) and her son, the scholar Yi I, known as Yulgok (1536–1584), were born. It is one of the oldest surviving houses of the early Joseon period and was designated a Treasure in 1963; Mongnyongsil, the room where Yulgok was born, still stands. It is also the house pictured on the 5,000-won banknote, so you can compare the note in your wallet with the real thing.

History: a house passed down through the daughters

Ojukheon was built by the early Joseon official Choe Chi-un and later belonged to Choe Eung-hyeon. He left it to his second son-in-law, Yi Sa-on, and it then passed to Yi's daughter, Lady Yi of Yongin — Shin Saimdang's mother. When she divided her property, she gave her grandson Yulgok a tiled house in Seoul on condition that he perform the ancestral rites, and gave this house to another grandson, Gwon Cheo-gyun, on condition that he look after the family graves. Seeing the black bamboo (ojuk) growing thickly around it, Gwon took "Ojukheon" as his pen name, and the name stuck to the house.

In 1788 King Jeongjo had Eojegak built to keep Yulgok's book Gyeongmong Yogyeol and the inkstone he used as a child. The complex took its present form in a restoration project in 1975 and was merged with the Gangneung City Museum in 1998.

What to see

• The main house: three bays wide and two deep under a hipped-and-gabled roof, with a two-bay wooden hall and a one-bay heated room. Its brackets show the transition from the jusimpo to the ikgong style, which makes it important for architectural history.
• Mongnyongsil: the room where Shin Saimdang is said to have given birth to Yulgok after dreaming of a black dragon.
• Jagyeongmun: a gate named after Jagyeongmun, the text of self-discipline Yulgok wrote at 20.
• Munseongsa and Eojegak: Munseongsa holds Yulgok's portrait; Eojegak tells the story of the inkstone and his book.
• Yulgok plum tree (Natural Monument): a red-flowering plum said to have been planted around 1400, when the house was built, and probably the model for Saimdang's plum paintings. It blooms around 20 March. Its western and northern trunks have almost died, and work continues to help the tree recover.
• Yulgok Memorial Hall and Gangneung City Museum: calligraphy and paintings by Saimdang, Yulgok and their family, plus finds from Gangneung's history.
• Money museum and hands-on spaces: the Gangneung Money Museum (opened 2023) shows real currency from the Goryeo period to the founding of the Bank of Korea, and there is also a Yulgok children's museum and a hanbok experience hall, which makes it good for families.

Ojukheon on the banknote

For many years Ojukheon appeared on the back of the 5,000-won note, and today's 5,000-won note still shows Mongnyongsil next to Yulgok's portrait on the front. Many visitors pull out a note as they walk past the black bamboo.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00), open every day. On 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok only Ojukheon itself is open; the indoor galleries close.
• Admission: adults KRW 3,000, teenagers and soldiers KRW 2,000, children KRW 1,000. Free for over-65s and Gangneung residents; 50% off on the last Wednesday of each month.
• Parking: free. When it is full, use the car park in front of the Gangneung Nongak Training Centre nearby.
• Time and season: allow 1.5–2.5 hours including the museums. Late March, when the plum tree blooms, is especially good.