Seongyojang House is one of the best examples of a Korean traditional house that used to belong to an upper-class, aristocratic family from the Joseon Dynasty period. Today, this privately-owned 99-section home is a designated national folklore cultural heritage. Seongyojang House is a traditional house that has been preserved extremely well in its original form for over 300 years. It blends in nicely with the surrounding natural landscape, which is typical of the architecture and culture from the Joseon Dynasty period. Past the matriarch’s room, you will find a number of rooms, such as the Dongbyeoldang, Seobyeoldang, and Sarangchae. The house also has twelve gates, including the large front gate. Near the entrance is a man-made pond and a pavilion called Hwallaejeong. Overall, Seongyojang House somewhat resembles the architecture and design of Daejangwon. The house was much more modest originally. Over generations, the owners added more rooms and facilities, eventually growing the entire estate to how it looks today. As a result, Seongyojang House lacks a sense of consistency and streamlined efficiency in its design due to multiple structures that were not part of the original blueprint being added over time. Yet, the add-ons were placed thoughtfully to blend in with the shallow mountain in the background, and each structure is modest in design, which gives the entire house a free-flowing and more down-to-earth ambiance. The various household items in Seongyojang House’s collection are also great resources that give visitors a glimpse into how people in Gangneung used to live hundreds of years ago.

Ojukheon House is the birthplace of historical figures Shin Saimdang and Yi I (pen name: Yulgok), built during the reign of King Jungjong of the Joseon Dynasty. It was named Ojukheon after the black bamboo trees growing in the backyard. Ojukheon House is the oldest residential structure building in Korea still intact, and it has very interesting features architecturally as well. The single-story house has a gambrel roof with three sections in the front and two sections on each side. When viewing the house from the front, the two sections on the left are the Daecheong room, whereas one section on the right is an Ondol room. The architectural techniques used in building Ojukheon House, such as creating a well ceiling to cover the underside of the roof gable, and adding props between vertical braces, follow the more traditional methods. Overall, the structure carries on the legacy of the “Jushimpojip” style that emerged during the early years of the Joseon Dynasty. The “Gongpo” structure placed on the column head at Ojukheon House is in a rare style known as the “Yiikgong.” Given the details and techniques used in creating the Yiikong, Ojukheon House is presumed to be the oldest “Ikjongjip” house in Korea.

Sinheungsa Temple, originally built by a Buddhist monk named Jajang from Silla during the Three Kingdoms period, was rebuilt at its present site during the reign of King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty. According to legend, a silver-haired hermit appeared in the dreams of three monks building the Temple and said, “Here, the temple may not last.” Then, he pointed to a plot of land, which is where Sinheungsa Temple currently stands. Heeding the hermit’s advice, the Temple was relocated, and given the name Sinheungsa. Sinheungsa used to mean “success attributed to god.” However, in 1995, the Chinese character for “Shin” was changed from the character meaning “God” to the character meaning “new” to help revive Buddhism in Gangwon-do. The Temple has an impressive collection of cultural and historical artifacts, including the “Mokjo Jijangbosal Samjonsang,” “Mokjo Amita Yeorae Samjon Jwasang,” a bronze steamer, the “Geuknakbojeon,” scripture plate, “Bojeru,” “Hyangseongsaji Three-story Seoktap,” “Sambulsang,” “Myeongbujeon,” “Seonjeru,” and “Chilseonggak,” which is why it was designated as a cultural heritage of Gangwon-do in 1984.

Mokjo Jijangbosal Samjonsang
This sculpture was most likely made sometime in the middle of the 17th century, and is one of the best examples of Buddhist sculptures in Korean history. In particular, the Mokjo Jijangbosal Samjonsang was made using the re-gold leafing and re-painting method, which helps scholars today understand how Buddhist statues were made during the Joseon Dynasty period. Although the sculpture is missing the Siwang and Gwonsok pieces, which leaves it incomplete, the Mokjo Jijangbosal Samjonsang does retain its highly sophisticated religious styling and quality as a sculpture.

Mokjo Amita Yeorae Samjon Jwasang
This sculpture is a key resource for historians researching Buddhist sculptures made near the middle of the 17th century. Overall, this Samjonbulsang has stable proportions and forms that blend in together extremely well. Moreover, the artisan made a bold decision to remove any unnecessary wrinkles on the upper body. This created a closer and more concise transition between the body and the garment part of the sculpture, yet the design remains highly elegant..

Geuknakbojeon
Sinheungsa Temple has a courtyard at its center, and the main Buddhist hall, Geuknakbojeon, and the main entrance, Bojeru, face each other across the courtyard. To the left and right of the courtyard are Unhadang and Jeokmukdang, respectively. Together, the structures create a “Sadongjungjeong-type” floorplan. In particular, the peony and lion patterns on the pedestals, the three Taegeuk patterns on the stair cuffs, and the dragon head sculptures are rare examples that are hard to find in other temples.

Hyangseongsaji Three-story Seoktap
This pagoda sits near the entrance to Seorak-dong, which leads to Seorak Mountain. Although the pagoda remains in its original location, the Buddhist temple it used to belong to is now completely gone. Unlike the typical pagoda design that was popular during the Unified Silla period, which mostly inherited features from stone pagodas made during the Silla period, the overall shape of the Hyangseongsaji Three-story Seoktap looks more substantial and multiple surfaces have decorative flourishes carved into them. Since this stone pagoda was built during the Silla period in what was the kingdom’s northern frontier on the east coast, it holds significant value as a historical artifact.