Cheong Yeon Jae

The story of Cheong Yeon Jae begins in 1936, when a millionaire moved from Ganghwa Island to Seoul and built a house. Almost 80 years later, in 2014, the current owner Lee Sang-hak bought it with the intention to live there with his family. However, he changed his mind as he wanted more people to experience the advantages of a hanok, and after a year of grand remodeling, it was reborn as a hotel. It was a very well-preserved building to begin with—including its seokkarae (raft), dori (purlin), giwa (roof  tiles) and teul (window frames)—but he made sure that every detail of the house was made right. Thanks to that, this place consistently receives 9.5 out of 10 points on various hotel booking websites. The five guest rooms exude an elegant atmosphere with hanji (Korean traditional paper) wallpaper and pure cotton bed sheets. Every morning at 8am and 9am, they serve Korean food with four different side dishes for breakfast, and the staff here speaks English, Japanese and Chinese.