Exploring Seochon: A Glimpse into the Past and Present
Last year, I was really into my lunchtime walks, exploring here and there like a puppy without a walking buddy. ㅋ
I'd known for a while that the Yun Family House of Okin-dong was somewhere in Seochon, but I never really had the chance to go.
Then, I heard it was going to be redeveloped soon, so I made a point of power-walking there. ㅋ As someone with poor directional skills, it was quite difficult to find. But after all I found it...
But when I finally found it, it was a bit underwhelming...
It turns out, this house was built by Yun Deok-yeong, a pro-Japanese figure, for his concubine (a woman he lived with in addition to his formal wife).
(A newly built replica of the Yun Family House of Okin-dong exists in the Namsan Hanok Village.)
The 'Yun Family House of Okin-dong,' built in 1919, was mistakenly designated as Folk Cultural Heritage No. 23 in 1977 because it was wrongly believed to be the birthplace of Empress Sunjeonghyo Yun, Yun Deok-yeong's niece and the consort of Emperor Sunjong.
After the facts were clarified, it was removed from the list of cultural properties and left abandoned in a damaged and altered state for a long time.
There was a lot of talk about whether or not to develop this space. The plan is to remodel it as part of a negative heritage project and turn it into an open space. (It's currently under renovation.)
I could see the dilapidated state of the house through the holes in the gate.
The stone stairs and railings looked significant, even after all this time...
Just a little further inside Seochon, the neighborhood is quiet, and there aren't many people passing by.
Apparently, over 50% of the Seochon area used to be owned by Yun Deok-yeong, and there was also a French-style building called Byeoksusan Villa. I heard that it was destroyed by fire, leaving only traces behind, but I accidentally found one on the way back!
The gate of a house that would normally be closed was open, so I peeked inside and saw a large stone pillar standing there.
There are also traces of stone pillars in front of an apartment building.
I also found a red wall and a large stone pillar, like a boundary!
It's surprising that these remains are still here, as they could have easily been demolished under the guise of development.
The neighborhood of Seochon is like a riddle the more you know about it.
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