Kahoi-dong (Gahoe-dong, 가회동) is a small district within Bukchon ("The Northern Village"), an area that lies between the Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung, two former royal palaces of the Chosun dynasty (1392 – 1897) in Seoul. Bukchon's proximity to the seat of royal power made it a desirable residential district for the yangban, aristocrats, and adminstrators associated with the court. Kahoi-dong was blessed with a particularly favorable "feng shui" and became a highly desirable place to live.
Kahoi-dong continued as an exclusive residential district until the 1920's although its elite residents were losing their traditional roles in the now Japanese occupied country. Perhaps more importantly, they were also losing the economic base that had supported their livelihoods. And so their large land holdings were gradually broken up and sold. Ordinary people, "Seomin," began to move into the area, building more modest homes but still in traditional idioms and using traditional techniques.
In the late 1990's, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began to formulate plans for the preservation and restoration of those areas of Bukchon that had survived the tumultous events of the twentieth century. A major part of the government's plan was to ensure the preservation of areas of traditional housing, or hanoks, that were being steadily whittled away by redevelopment. This work led to the publication of the two-volume Bukchon Plan in 2001.
Before the publication of the plan, the Seoul Metropolitan Government undertook a major survey of the surviving hanoks in Kahoi-dong and neighbouring dongs. The survey provided a window into the exact condition of about 100 hanoks built from the 1920's to early 1930's. Sadly many of these were subsequently demolished and replaced with "modern hanoks" built mainly from reinforced concrete and other modern materials. The new buildings, of course, lack the graceful curves that typify hanoks made from traditional materials. You can read a review of an exhibition about the new buildings here.
However, all is not lost. The photographs and architectural drawings the surveyors created are all reproduced in the following pages as Acrobat PDF files, together with the brief comments on each hanok made by the surveyors at the time of the survey. Currently, these comments are available in Korean only, but they will eventually be translated into English.
Together, the plans of individual hanoks and the maps provided provide a unique insight into how many ordinary Koreans lived, from the 1920's and until 2002, when the Seoul Metropolitan Government initiated the demolition and re-building of much of the district. You can read more about these regrettable developments here.
You can read more about the Bukchon Plan in Korea here, and there is also a partial English translation here. Please use the "Contact us" link for questions.
The hanoks are listed by street address, in both English and Korean. The links take you to the corresponding pages - details of each hanok cover 1 - 6 PDF files. The PDFs are made from page scans in their native size, about 22cm x 30cm.
Our own hanok, Kahoi-dong 31-79, is now almost the only original hanok left in Kahoi-dong 31. We open it to the public and hold cultural events there from time to time so that people can experience the beauty of what has been destroyed elsewhere under the auspices of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
These, and other, documents are placed in the public domain in the public interest and so that future generations may know what happened to the hanoks of Kahoi-dong and Bukchon.
http://www.kahoidong.com
26th July 2010
| Street Address | |||
| English | Korean | Link | |
| Kahoi-dong 11-9 | 가회동 11-9 |  |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-14 | 가회동 11-14 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-16 | 가회동 11-16 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-38 | 가회동 11-38 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-66 | 가회동 11-66 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-67 | 가회동 11-67 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 11-109 | 가회동 11-109 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-4 | 가회동 31-4 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-34 | 가회동 31-34 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-39 | 가회동 31-39 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-9, 84 | 가회동 31-9, 84 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-10 | 가회동 31-10 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-30 | 가회동 31-30 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-32 | 가회동 31-32 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-40 | 가회동 31-40 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-41 | 가회동 31-41 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-46 | 가회동 31-46 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-52 | 가회동 31-52 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-79 | 가회동 31-79 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-101 | 가회동 11-101 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-102,104 | 가회동 31-102, 104 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-66, 67, 101 | 가회동 31-66, 67, 101 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-66 | 가회동 31-66 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-67 | 가회동 31-67 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-70 | 가회동 31-70 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-90 | 가회동 31-90 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-99 | 가회동 31-99 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-101 | 가회동 31-101 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-107 | 가회동 31-107 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 31-119 | 가회동 31-119 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 33-18 | 가회동 33-18 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 35-12 | 가회동 35-12 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 79-12 | 가회동 79-12 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 141 | 가회동 141 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 194 | 가회동 194 | |
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| Kahoi-dong 63-35, 53 | 가회동 63-35,53 | |
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* - English translation of survey comments included. Translation by Eui-jong Han Karmy [hancroydonuk@hotmail.com] Born in Donam-dong, Seoul. Currently living in Croydon, South London, UK. 실측 해설 영역 포함 - 한의정 카미 번역 [hancroydonuk@hotmail.com] 서울 돈암동 출생, 현재 영국 런던 남부 크로이든 거주. |
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| Anguk-dong 9 | 안국동 9 | |
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| Anguk-dong 28 | 안국동 28 | |
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| Anguk-dong 52-2 | 안국동 52-2 | |
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| Anguk-dong 175-3 | 안국동 175-3 | |
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| Gye-dong 2-53 | 계동 2-53 | |
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| Gye-dong 2-54 | 계동 2-54 | |
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| Gye-dong 2-160 | 계동 2-160 | |
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| Gye-dong 29 | 계동 29 | |
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| Gye-dong 32-5 | 계동 32-5 | |
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| Gye-dong 32-11 | 계동 32-11 | |
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| Gye-dong 35-2 | 계동 35-2 | |
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| Gye-dong 38-3 | 계동 38-3 | |
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| Gye-dong 38-4 | 계동 38-4 | |
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| Gye-dong 48-11 | 계동 48-11 | |
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| Gye-dong 48-13 | 계동 48-13 | |
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| Gye-dong 56-1 | 계동 56-1 | |
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| Gye-dong 67-13 | 계동 67-13 | |
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| Gye-dong 67-3 | 계동 67-3 | |
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| Gye-dong 79-11 | 계동 79-11 | |
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| Gye-dong 81 | 계동 81 | |
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| Gye-dong 91 | 계동 91 | |
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| Gye-dong 97-2 | 계동 97-2 | |
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| Gye-dong 98 | 계동 98 | |
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| Gye-dong 104-3 | 계동 104-3 | |
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| Gye-dong 119-1 | 계동 119-1 | |
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| Gye-dong 127-6 | 계동 127-6 | |
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| Gye-dong 127-7 | 계동 127-7 | |
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| Gye-dong 128-7 | 계동 128-7 | |
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| Gye-dong 134-2 | 계동 134-2 | |
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| Gye-dong 135-2 | 계동 135-2 | |
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| Gye-dong 140-39 | 계동 140-39 | |
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| Hwa-dong 23-9 | 화동 23-9 | |
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| Hwa-dong 47-2 | 화동 47-2 | |
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| Jae-dong 46-8 | 재동 46-8 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-1 | 삼청동 35-1 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-26 | 삼청동 35-26 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-76 | 삼청동 35-76 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-129 | 삼청동 35-129 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-147 | 삼청동 35-147 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-152 | 삼청동 35-152 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-167 | 삼청동 35-167 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-183 | 삼청동 35-183 | |
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| Samchung-dong 35-199 | 삼청동 35-199 | |
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| Samchung-dong 56 | 삼청동 56 | |
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| Samchung-dong 60-1 | 삼청동 60-1 | |
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| Samchung-dong 63-35, 53 | 삼청동 63-35, 53 | |
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| Sogyuk-dong 111 | 가회동 111 | |
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| Sogyuk-dong 148-5 | 가회동 11-67 | |
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| Wonseo-dong 76-61 | 원서동 76-61 | |
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| Wonseo-dong 134-7 | 원서동 134-7 | |
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| Wonseo-dong 135-2 | 원서동 135-2 | |
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| Wonseo-dong 135-10 | 원서동 135-10 | |
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| Hanok Repair Techniques | 한옥의 수선기법 검토 | |
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| Publishing Background | |
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