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Gaeksamun Gate - 객사문 (客舍門) (built 936, minor reconstruction afterward)

During the Goryeo and Joseon kingdoms (10th-early 20th centuries) towns and cities had official inns to accommodate government officials traveling on royal orders. In the Joseon period (1392-1910), a tablet to the king was enshrined in the main hall of the inns. Local officials bowed in the direction of the capital to pay respect to the king on the first and 15th of every month in a ceremony called Manggwollye. Gaeksamun once served as the gate to such an inn.

The official inn of Gangneung, named Imyonggwan, of which only this gate remains, was built in 936, the 19th year of the reign of King Taejo (918-943) of Goryeo. King Gongmin (1351-1374), the 31st king of Goryeo, wrote a signboard for the inn when he visited Naksansa Temple in 1366. The inn housed travelers for many centuries onward, but portions of the inn were dismantled and reassembled elsewhere. It is thought that portions of the inn were used at Oseongjeong Pavilion on Mt. Namsan, Wolhwajeong pavilion in Geumsan (North Korea), and Banghaejeong pavilion in Gangneung.

The inn still stood in the early 20th century, when it was converted into part of an elementary school. By 1929, all but the gate had been torn down by the Japanese colonial authorities. The Gangneung Police Station now occupies the site of the inn.

Although standing in isolation, Gaeksamun is a valuable testament to the skills of Goryeo-era craftsmen. Unlike gates built in the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), Gaeksamun has exposed structure on either side of the gabled roof. The supporting columns, rendered in the Jusimpo style, support a ceiling structure that includes many finely carved cloud-shaped brackets. In accordance with the Jusimpo style, brackets are placed only on top of columns, not on intermediate points on the beams between them. There are only a few other sites in Korea where this distinctive Goryeo-era style can be found. Among them are Sudeoksa temple in Yesan, Bongjeongsa temple in Andong, Buseoksa temple in north Gyeongsang-do, and the Maeng family Haengdan house in Asan. Of these sites, Gaeksa-Mun gate is the oldest, and it may very well be the oldest surviving wooden structure in all Korea.

Address: 강원 강릉시 용강동 58-1 (Gangwon-do, Gangwon-si, Yonggang-dong, 58-1).

(Designated National Tresure #51).

Location

The approximate location of the gate is 37.752745' N, 128.891989' E (WGS 84 map datum).