The old house of the Choe clan in Namsa-ri, Danseong-myeon is the largest residence in thevillage. In these homes built by the elite scholarly class of the Joseon era, one can observehow the spaces inhabited by men and women were divided under the influence of Confucianvalues, with outstanding layout techniques that emphasized the autonomy of the femininespaces.
The inner wing, ikrangchae, sarangchae, and other rooms are arranged in a rectangularformation with the inner wing as the center. To the left and right of the sarangchae there aretwo doorways that lead to the inner courtyard. An interesting feature of the architecture isthat if you open the door on the right, the space is quite open with a full view of the innerwing but if you enter through the west door, the fence (arranged in a V shape) obscures theikrangchae and inner wing from the direct gaze.The old home of the Choe family has a five-girder design with Paljak roofs; the inner wing is6 rooms in the front and 3 rooms to the side, with front/back toe. The building is tall, withsturdy materials. The sculpted decorations on the double doors are delicate and beautiful,embodying the dignity of a beautiful home of the ruling class. The sarangchae is also afive-girder design with Paljak roofs with 5 rooms in the front and 3 rooms on the side andfront/back toe. As in the case of the inner wing, this has a double-space layout plan.Near the old home of the Choe clan, there is a large persimmon tree standing at the bend ofthe broad road in front of the village as you walk along the stone fence. Once you enter thegateway right in front of this tree, you will see a sign informing you that this has beendesignated Gyeongsangnam-do Cultural Heritage Material 117 and next to this there is an oldbut well-cultivated white blossom Ume tree, growing 7.0m tall with a width of 5.5m and a rootcollar diameter of 27.6m.According to the entry on the “Sangryangmun Gate” in the cultural heritage managementregistry, the framing of the house took place in July of 1920, which means that the buildingwas constructed around 8 decades ago, but the apricot tree planted here appears to be onewhich had been growing at least 20 years before being transplanted here. In late March, thetree gives forth blooms that fill the branches with their brilliant white hue.
Namsa-ri Choe Ssi Mae 저작물은 자유이용을 불가합니다.
