Goblin | Unhyeongung Yanggwan — The White House That Was Never Empty

Unhyeongung is a reduced royal house in Unni-dong, the place Heungseon Daewongun used while he ran the state for a child king. In 1912 a Western reception hall, the Yanggwan, was added on the edge of the compound. White walls, dark timber, a garden that looks imported because it was meant to.

Guardian used that hall as Kim Shin's Seoul house, the rooms he shares with the Grim Reaper and a housekeeper who has seen too much. Visitors now come for the Joseon courtyards at 464 Samil-daero, Jongno-gu, and then look over the fence at the Western pile that still belongs to Duksung Women's University. The palace grounds are ticketed and close in the evening. The street along the wall does not.

Stand in the sand courtyard under the tiled eaves first. Then walk the lane toward the white facade. The drama needed a house that could hold a 900-year-old man without looking like a set. The Yanggwan was already that house. It was built to receive guests. It is still doing it.

Photo: Unhyeongung palace compound, Seoul. The Yanggwan stands on the university side of the same block.