Unjoru House, Gurye

Unjoru is a late-Joseon yangban house in Omi village, Toji-myeon, Gurye, at the foot of Jirisan. The whole house takes its name from its main men's quarters, Unjoru, meaning "the house where one lives hidden like a bird in the clouds". Its men's quarters, women's quarters, servants' wings and shrine survive in their original arrangement, giving a clear picture of an upper-class Joseon home.

History: a house on an auspicious site

Unjoru was built in 1776, the 52nd year of King Yeongjo, by Ryu I-ju, a former magistrate of Samsu. A native of Daegu, he was drawn by the belief that this was a geumhwan-nakji site, "where a golden ring fell", one of the most auspicious spots in Korean geomancy, ringed by hills and water. He resolved to retire here and is said to have spent seven years building the house.

It originally had 73 kan (bays), but fire and time took some of them; sources differ on how many remain, 63 or 55. Unjoru was designated National Folklore Cultural Heritage on 25 November 1968, and in 2017 "gotaek" (old house) was added to its official name. Household objects and old maps of Cheongju fortress and Sangdang fortress are also preserved at the house.

What to see

• The main men's quarters (Unjoru): raised on a wooden platform so that the whole household could be overseen from the floor. A large kitchen in the men's quarters is another unusual feature.
• The palanquin ramp: each space sits at a different level according to its rank, but instead of steps a ramp lets a palanquin travel straight up to the main men's quarters, something rarely seen in other old houses.
• The women's quarters: the large building to the right of the men's quarters, with a central wooden-floored hall between the main and smaller rooms and rows of sauce jars in the yard.
• Servants' wings and shrine: long wings of servants' rooms and a family shrine within its own wall.
• The lotus pond: a square pond survives at the front of the house.

More of the layout

The servants' wing is a straight block, two bays of which project forward like a pavilion, one a room and the other a loft. West of the pillars beneath it, a path leads to the women's quarters, again as a slope rather than steps. The family shrine stands northeast of the women's quarters inside its own wall, under a gabled roof. Unjoru is considered a rare example in the Honam region of a textbook Joseon yangban house.

Programmes

Options include a guided walk round every corner of the house, dressing up in hanbok for photos, and traditional archery. There is also a separate Unjoru artefact exhibition hall.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 08:00–18:00, every day.
• Prices: adults (19+) KRW 1,000, students (10–18) and military/police KRW 700, under-10s free. Programmes include a tea ceremony (KRW 20,000) and traditional archery (KRW 30,000). Information: 061-781-2644.
• Watch out: there are no toilets and no parking at the house, so plan around village facilities.
• Time needed: 40 minutes to an hour to look round slowly.
• Combine with: Hwaeomsa, about 6 km away, and the Jirisan foothills make a good Gurye day.