Namsangol Hanok Village <남산골 한옥마을> part 4

Now comes the serious ones:

I was entering several complexes of houses that from what I learned were the real houses of Korean nobles. This is what I least I learned from those: some of the houses were those of past nobles.

Some are those of a carpenter named Yi Seungeop who used to live in Samgak-dong; a noble named Gim Chunyeong whose house is now restored and relocated into this village; a house of Min Family, Yun Taekyeong and Yun Family.

From what I learned, they used to be built in the late 19^th century and the first 20^th century. Most of them did resemble the façade of what Koreans used to be in those eras. It is indeed interesting to see them intact like these, though it was said that actually two third of the houses were actually gone. Hmmm….too bad.

Anyway, as usual, I got a chance to take pictures in some of the house vicinities and at the rear end of them. While others portrayed the kitchen, studying room, and the halls, I did not take a snap of most of the houses. 

Anyway, the houses are mostly having simple architectural design, but what caught my attention were the decorative pillars and rooftops that I think only the upper class people could afford to build them.

Still, what lingered on my mind was the simplest fact that these traditional houses were right in the middle of Metropolitan Seoul, which I am sure…would give them an advantage of being visited regularly by the locals and tourist alike. They would surely learn a bit or more about Korea’s past. I envy this…because the big Metropolitan of Seoul managed to secure this location as the sanctuary of these houses. The enclave in itself is all the more attractive.