KB News Desk
The Korea Heritage Service designated Gwanghallu Pavilion in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, as a national treasure on Wednesday — its highest heritage tier. The move comes 63 years after the pavilion was first listed as a treasure in 1963.
Gwanghallu is best known as the setting of “Chunhyangjeon,” or “The Story of Chunhyang,” the classic Korean novel and pansori tale of lovers Chunhyang and Yi Mong-ryong. Built as a government pavilion in the Joseon era (1392-1910), it was a place where officials and scholars gathered to write poetry and discuss learning.
Destroyed during the 1597 Japanese invasion, it was rebuilt to its current scale in 1626. Surviving records document over 400 years of history.
A KHS official praised its architecture, from the dragon and turtle carvings on its brackets to the 1881 corridor that keeps the main pavilion from tilting. Together with the surrounding Gwanghallu Garden, a designated scenic site, the pavilion holds “exceptional architectural and artistic value,” the official said.
