Chusa House 추사고택

Chusa Gotaek is the traditional Korean house of the renowned scholar and calligrapher, Chusa (also known as Kim Jeong-Hui). This old house is known to have been constructed by the great-grandfather of Chusa, Kim Han-Sin.

The Korean-style house compound (266.11m²) consists of Munganchae (a guesthouse), Soteuldaemun (a high gate), Sarangchae (ㄱ-shaped men's quarters), Anchae (ㅁ-shaped women’s quarters) and a shrine where the remains of Chusa are enshrined. Theㄱ-shaped Sarangchae stretches for one Kan* to the south and 2 Kans to the east and is comprised of two rooms and a Daecheongmaru (living area). The Anchae consists of a six-Kan Daecheongmaru (living area) and two one-Kan rooms.

Located on the ground is a tomb where Chusa’s great-grandfather (Kim Han-Sin) and his wife (Hwasun Princess) are buried. Nearby you’ll see a gate that was constructed to commemorate Princess Hwasun’s faithfulness to her husband.

If you walk about 600 meters to the north of the old house, you can see a lacebark pine tree, which was designated Natural Monument No. 106. The lacebark pine tree, originally from northern China, is among the few of its kind in Korea. It is said that Chusa snuck the pine across the border from China (formerly, the Qing Dynasty) into the country when he was 25 years old and planted it at the tomb of his great-grandfather. Originally, the tree had three branches, but two were broken and the third branch was damaged. In 1980, the damaged branch was treated and since then, the tree has been kept under strong protection.

*Kan: ancient building area measurement unit corresponding to the space between two columns