Masterpiece Crafted for 100 Years by the Serene Nature
Gosan-ri, located in the west end of Jeju Island, is a small yet gorgeous village that unusually captures the ordinary scenery. Besides its horizon adjacent to the sea and the sunset, it boasts beautiful landscapes such as Dangsanbong Oreum (rising small defunct volcano) and Chagwido Island, and is also home to stork sanctuary. Sonnet Gosan was created under the theme Sonnet Gosan, the sijo (Korean traditional poem) by Jang Bok-gyeom from the late Joseon period. It’s a place to bring awareness to the old, which has remained valuable and vigorous. The main focus of the project was not on renovating but restoring the original frame of the old house that provided life for people in the past. Beautifully-aged basalt adds life force as it is combined with the local sentiment here.
The yard that has carried 100 years of time houses an old stone house, making the place itself more special and a greenhouse with a newly built swimming pool. The look of a time-endured bell tower and garden trees together provokes nostalgia. The main part of the house is the ultimate classic, perfect for a full rest. When lying down in a bathtub in the bedroom, I dive into relaxation, forgetting about all the problems in the world. It’s only “I” that exists here. The garden has a simple tea room and there is a kitchen that resembles the island over the garden. Botanic indoor garden where a heated pool is available frames Jeju’s nature. Sonnet Gosan is a versatile place that can be utilized for many purposes from entertainment to meditation and relaxation, depending on the guest’s intention. This kind of new experience at an old traditional house allows travelers to see different sides of themselves and inspires them.
The architecture that had a special relation with one individual’s life has become a background of a traveler’s memory as a part of their life. Besides being a space or object, the most important element to complete Sonnet Gosan that makes you appreciate it is the concept that this place is old and new at the same time. Just like Sonnet Gosan that sings a song of the beauty of incomplete life at the edge of the island, away from the mundane world, I hope you discover the true meaning of voluntary exile where you can find yourself.