Ihwajang House, Seoul

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.497

Category

유적지

Era

일제강점기

Designated year

2009

Location

종로구, 서울특별시— 서울 종로구 이화장1길 32, 등 (이화동)

Coordinates

37.578044, 127.006287

Ihwajang House was a private residence of Syngman Rhee, the first President of the Republic of Korea, and still contains articles left behind by him. The site consists of a house with tiled roof and an annex building named Jogakjeong Pavilion, where the President devised the plan to form the country’s first Cabinet in 1948. The annex is now used as the Syngman Rhee Memorial Hall. Originally, the area was the site of the house of Sin Gwang-han, a famed scholar during the reign of King Jungjong (r. 1506-1544). Prince Inpyeong, the third son of King Injo (r. 1623-1649), also used to live here. Near the house, there was a rock that contained a handwritten inscription by the famous calligrapher Kang Se-hwang, which means “Red Spring Blue Walls,” a reference to the natural beauty of the landscape and the stream near the rear entrance to the house.

Location