E2024-G058

Kim Bong-ho’s House: A Home Preserving the Everyday History of Gwangju

Narrative

Located in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, Kim Bong-ho’s House was built in 1946 by Kim Gi-sang, the father of Kim Bong-ho (1914-2018). The house preserves the original form of a traditional Korean house of the southern region and was designated as a Gwangju Cultural Heritage Material in 2000. In summer, bright red Chinese trumpet creepers bloom along the wall beside the front gate, adding to the serene beauty of the house. Kim Bong-ho, who lived in this house, kept a total of 83 diaries over a span of more than fifty years from 1952 to 2018. Kim Bong-ho’s Diaries are regarded as valuable records that vividly document everyday life in Gwangju and rural society from the time of the Korean War (1950-1953) into the twenty-first century. The collection of diaries was later entrusted to the Honam Institute for Korean Studies by his son and is now being studied for research.