Myeongjae Historic House, Nonsan

 Myeongjae Historic House, Nonsan, Korea

This house was built by Yun Jeung (1629~1714), a scholar during the reign of King Sukjong of the Joseon Dynasty.

Some repairs seem to have been done later, so detailed techniques of this house show the architectural style of the mid-19th century.

This house is situated facing south, side by side with Noseonghyanggyo Confucian School, at the foot of the mountain where Noseogsanseong Fortress is located.

The house has the sarangchae (men’s quarters) -- measuring 4 kan (a unit of measurement referring to the distance between two columns) at the front and 2 kan at the sides -- on a high foundation.

It also houses the middle gate quarters on the back left side.

A middle gate was built to block the view of the anchae (women’s quarters).

When passing through the middle gate, one sees the square bracket-shaped anchae in the front, forming the “□”-shaped layout along with the middle gate quarters.

A big courtyard is in front of the house, with a garden and a man-made pond with a round island at the center.

At the back of the anchae is a unique backyard built by utilizing the gentle slope, showing the beautiful special composition of a Korean traditional house.

The structure of this house is simple, yet it was intricately finished and has been well-preserved; thus, it is considered valuable, showing the features of a high-class house during the Joseon Dynasty.

This house used to be called “Yun Jeung’s Old House” at the time of its designation as important folk cultural heritage but was renamed “Myeongjae Historic House in Nonsan” by reflecting the historical fact that this house was built by Yun Jeung (pen-name: Myeongjae, 1629~171 4), a famous Confucian scholar during the reign of King Sukjong of the Joseon Dynasty and by adopting his pen-name Myeongjae (Jan.29, 2007).