A foreigner's battle to preserve South Korea's hanokhouses

British-born David Kilburn is battling the systematic destruction of the traditional dwellings, which are disappearing despite the creation of a preservation zon 

David Kilburn remembers the first time he wandered Kahoi Dong, a hilly enclave in the heart of the Seoul where clusters of traditional buildings known as hanokhouses dot winding, It was 22 years ago, but the British-born Kilburn can't forget the serenity he felt when he set foot inside one of the historic one-story homes. It was like stepping back in time, to a quainter Seoul of a century ago. He marveled at the aged pine ceiling beams, the graceful curve of the black-tiled roof, the high walls that encircled the courtyard like a cocoon, the wooden doorway that seemed designed to protect inhabitants from the sterile high-rise apartments that loomed in the near distance.

• • Reporting from Seoul — He's known as the feisty foreigner, the outsider waging a one-man fight for "the district where beauty gathers."

"It was a place of magical beauty," Kilburn said. "I wanted to live in one of these homes. I wanted to own one."

A former journalist, Kilburn was in Seoul to cover the 1988 Olympics but fell so much in love with the traditional architecture that he decided to stay. He and his Korean wife, Jade, soon bought a hanokhouse.

But life there has been anything but serene.

For six years, Kilburn has been battling city officials over what he calls the systematic destruction ofhanok homes in the area. Despite the creation of a preservation zone there decades ago, hundreds ofhanoks have been demolished by developers and speculators who use loopholes to cash in on rising land values, he says.

The battle has shaped the 67-year-old tea merchant into an unlikely activist: a foreigner who insists that South Korea is not doing enough to halt the demise of its own heritage.

He's called the "Guardian of Hanok Housing," waging a passionate one-man campaign to protect the architecture he loves. With his graying hair, he's a grandfatherly figure who enjoys reading in the quiet of his home office. But mention the fate of the hanoks, and a spark of mischief lights his eyes.

City officials acknowledge that not all preservation efforts have worked. "We're trying to preserve thehanoks," said Han Hyo-dong, director of the city's Hanok Culture Division. "But we have no legal power. We cannot stop [the destruction]. We're trying to pass laws to enforce our protection efforts."

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