Axonometric drawing of Kim Jinho shingled house.
Drawn by the author, Timothy M. Ciccone.

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Kim Jinho Shingle House - 김진호 너와집 (likely built late 19th, early 20th centuries)

The Kim Jinho house is one of a handful of neowajib, or shingled houses, that still remain in the mountains of Gangwon province. In this harsh area of Korea, where heavy snowfall and steep mountains make travel difficult, the inhabitants built sturdy houses to insulate themselves from the rough environment. Unlike the courtyard-style houses that predominate in other areas, these houses are small—typically no more than three 'kan' wide (one kan is about 2 meters, or 6 1/2 feet), and all rooms of the house share a common roof that forms a distinctive profile from the outside.

The inhabitants of these houses were called "fire-field people" since they practiced slash-and-burn agriculture on the steep mountainsides. The surrounding landscape is too steep for rice cultivation, limiting the supply of building materials to wood and stone.

Accordingly, the roof is made of pine shingles stacked in the same manner as roof tiles. One notable difference is that the type of pine is highly sensitive to moisture. When the air is dry, the shingles contract, leaving holes in the roof that allow light to filter into the home. When the weather turns damp, the shingles expand and close off the holes so that rain flows away from the house. Unfortunately, the stress on the shingles requires the roof to be replaced once every decade or so. In the 1970s, the government "improved" many neowajib with metal roofs. Nowadays, only a few such examples can be found in the vicinity of Silli, Tae-i, and Odae-san mountain.

Korean houses generally show a very intimate connection between interior spaces and the outside environment. Because of the adverse weather in the Taebaek mountains around Silli, that principle is less evident here. In winter, a blanket of snow completely covers the neowajib, providing excellent insulation for the inhabitants inside.

Address: 강원 삼척시 도계읍 신리.

(The house is designated Important Folklore Material #33, along with a number of traditional tools kept in the building).

Site plan of Kim Jin-Ho shingled house. Click on an arrow for a specific view:
Plan adapted from The Architectural Heritage of Korea, v. 3: Kangwon-do. by Park, Kyung-rip. See bibliography for more information.