Chehwajeong Pavilion, Andong

This pavilion was built in 1761 by Yi Min-jeok, a scholar of the Joseon period (1392-1910). Its name means “Pavilion of the Hawthorn Flowers,” which symbolize love and harmony between brothers. Yi Min-jeok spent the last years of his life here together with his eldest brother Yi Min-jeong.

The pavilion consists of an underfloor-heated room in the center, a wooden-floored hall to either side, and a narrow wood veranda with a balustrade in the front. The interior and front exterior walls are made of liftable doors which allow the spaces to be joined into a single large room when necessary or opened completely to the outside. There is also a small window in the center of the door of the underfloor-heated room, so that the outside can be viewed even when the door is closed.

The name plaque hanging at the front of the building was calligraphed by Yu Jeong-won (1703-1761), a scholar from Andong who was the teacher of Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762). Inside the pavilion is another plaque with the name Damnakjae, meaning “Hall of Deep Joy.” It was written by the prominent calligrapher Kim Hong-do (1745-?) and conveys that friendship must be cultivated between brothers if they are to fulfill their duty as sons.

In front of the pavilion is a square lotus pond with three round islands. The shapes of the pond and islands are based on the East Asian cosmological belief that the sky is round and the earth is square. The three islands symbolize the three mountains where the Taoist immortals live.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08