Ojukheon, Historic wooden house in Gangneung, South Korea
Ojukheon is a wooden house in Gangneung, South Korea, designated as a National Treasure of the Republic of Korea. Built in the late 15th century, it is one of the country's oldest surviving residential buildings, constructed from wood and traditional roof tiles.
The house was built in the late 15th century by Choi Eung-hyeon and passed through marriage to the family of Shin Saimdang, a well-known poet and painter of the Joseon era. The building's style shifted from jusimpo to ikgong over time, and it received official protection in 1938 before being carefully restored in the 1970s and again in the 1990s.
Inside the house, a small room called Mongnyongsil is where Yi I, one of the most respected Confucian scholars of the Joseon period, was born. The room's name comes from a dream his mother had the night before his birth, in which she saw a dragon.
The grounds are open to walk through freely, and visitors can move at their own pace between the buildings and courtyards. On-site, the Yulgok Memorial Hall and the Gangneung City Museum are worth visiting as part of the same trip.
The name Ojukheon means "house of black bamboo," referring to the dark bamboo that still grows around the building. The face of Shin Saimdang, who grew up here, appears on the South Korean 5,000 won note.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
