Rakkojae, literally meaning 'a house to enjoy the old', is a South Korean cultural center located in the

Bukchon Hanok Village Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village in Seoul with a long history located on the top of a hill between Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. The traditional village is composed of many alleys, hanok a ...

Jongno-gu Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 yea ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, established with the purpose for foreign visitors to experience

Korean culture The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea and southern Manchuria before the division of Korea in 1945. Manchuria refers to the ancient geographical and historical region in Northeast Asia, includ ...

in a ''

hanok A ''hanok'' () is a traditional Korean house. ''Hanok'' were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. Korean architecture considers the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought give ...

'' ( 한옥) or Korean traditional house. It began operations as a traditional hotel in 2003, a year after the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

held by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Rakkojae was the first instance where a ''hanok'' was re-purposed for use as a hotel. Rakkojae Seoul is a building with a 130-year history and was restored by Korean Human National Treasure, Master Carpenter Young Jin Chung in 2003. The hotel is actually a compound of three hanok, one in a 'ㄱ' shape, one in a 'ㄷ' shape, and one in a single-unit patio style. Rakkojae Seoul was the first ''hanok'' hotel to be listed in the first edition of the Michelin Seoul guide in 2017. Rakkojae Andong (Hahoe) opened its doors in Andong within the Hahoe Folk Village in 2009. On July 31, 2010, the Hahoe Folk Village was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, receiving international recognition for its cultural value. The entire village had long been designated as Korean Important Folk Property #122 for having preserved its ancient form and traditions for the past 600 years. This hotel is built in a different style of Korean traditional housing called '' choga'', which historically was used as dwellings for commoners.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Rakkojae
Official website
Jongno District Architecture in Korea Korean culture

See also

References

External links