The Beauty of The Traditional House and The Honorable Wealth

It is very difficult to be a rich, but more difficult thins is to be the honorable rich.

Korea had had a very unique path of history in middle and modern times.
In most of process of forming capitalism, the trading had done the most important role in accumulation of capital.

The business and trade had played the key role in the process of forming Capitalism in Western world. The trade and business was also important even in the East Asia where had gone different historical process from the western society. As you know, there was no historical process such as capitalism in East Asia.

Unlike other world, the class doing the trade and business was the lowest social layer in Korean Society(Choson Kingdom) of Medieval and Modern times.

In this atmosphere, the only way to become a rich was to seize a political power. Scholar lawyer who had dominated Choson Kingdom couldn’t do a business or trade. They pretended to think making a money was not a noble behavior. Once becoming bureaucrats, the money ( so called bribery) came in their house.

This tendency have effected on Korean people until now.

So it would be miracle that the most honorable rich had existed for 12 generations in Gyeongju.
The hero was the honorable ‘Choi’ Family.
I'd like to post on this honorable wealth family in Gyeongju later.

I had a chance to visit the house of this family.
This house was opened for the tourists.

But the place I had visited was not an open place.
Original house had been divided by the roads, so the open place for the tourists was just a part of the house.

On my way to Choi family house, I asked a man of the way to the Choi family house.
He suddenly suggested to visit his house by the road.
He told me that his house was a part of the original Choi family house.

The house I had visited was not far from the main house.
As entering his house, I was so surprised.
His house was maintaining the original appearance of Choson Dynasty.
It was said that this house was used for the guests.

At first the gate was so nice. The gate still hold the atmosphere of the past.
Near the gate, a cat was looking at me.
That scene was as same as that of folk painting.

The most impressive thing in this house was a pavilion and a garden.
The pavilion was so well balanced and hold it’s typical style of traditional architecture of Mid age Choson kingdom.

The pillars supporting the eaves were so balanced.
The parts around the crossbeam have been substituted with new wooden materials.

The best part was a garden.
It was not a wide, but well decorated with various subjects.

There was a stone lantern in the center of the garden which had been brought for the ruined temple of Shilla dynasty.
Plus the pieces of the towers stood in the garden.

I had sat on the floor for a while and enjoyed the mood of traditional house.
Just sitting on the floor looked like a meditation.
I felt the tranquility from my deep inside

I passed through the small gate and entered into the women’s space.
Family was living there.

It was typical women’s place. I took the photos as below

It was really nice day.

What do you feel on this house ?

Thank you for reading