Haseonjae

Haseonjae is an urban hanok built in the 1920s–30s, when parts of Bukchon were divided into smaller Seoul townhouses. Its rooms sit in an open square around a courtyard, and the house combines reclaimed and new timber with cast-metal door handles and lattice windows made by craftsmen. It has more windows than most hanok, so the rooms stay bright, and it sits a little above the busiest lanes of Bukchon, which keeps the street quiet.

AZMT has set the house up for slow days in the neighbourhood. The daecheong, the central wooden-floored hall, is the main lounge. The numaru, a raised room looking onto the courtyard, has a tea set for morning and evening tea. The sarangbang is a letter-writing room, a small memory room near the entrance has a guestbook and an instant photo printer, and the attic above Room 1 keeps board games for the evening.

For longer stays the kitchen has a Smeg fridge and toaster, a microwave, an electric kettle, a Nespresso machine and tableware, and there is an LG washer-dryer. The floors are heated by ondol from a Rinnai boiler, and the appliance guides in the house are printed in Korean and English.