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Ours is the kind of single-storey traditional house that speculative builders and corrupt local government officials are busy replacing with modern multi-storey houses using government grants allocated for the "preservation & restoration" of old buildings.
When, in 2005, we applied for a grant for some restoration work, our application was refused. We were told that our house could not be classified as a hanok and there were "no circumstances" under which it would ever qualify for a restoration grant.
In contrast, the restoration of Kahoi-Dong 31-96, which entailed the total demolition of a traditional hanok was supported by government money. The owners were also granted a commercial licence. You can read about that here.
You can read about our early days at Kahoi-dong 31-79 here (English) and here (Korean). The story of how Kim Ki-Duk came to use the hanok for the filming of his prize-winning film "Bin Jip" (빈집) is here. More details about the hanok, including architectural plans, are here.
David Kilburn
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