The Otgol Village is about fifteen minutes from the center of Dongdaegu(East Daegu) city by bus. It became an accumulated area of the Gyeongju Choi clan since Dong-jip Choi, a scholar of Joseon Dynasty, arrived here and built his house in 1616.
Otgol Village is called as Otgol (chil-gye) because there are lots of lacquer trees in it which are ‘Otnamu’ in the forest and valleys of Korea.
Moreover, because of the oldest Korean traditional houses in Daegu, it is considered as a very precious resource for the study of life during the Joseon Dynasty.
There is a Bibo-soop (Complementary Village Grove) on the way to the Head House of the Gyeongju Choi clan in Otgol Village, where zelkovas, which are about 350 years old, grow in the community. They were said to be planted as shield from the incoming bad aura and energy since the site, where the village stood, is higher than its surrounding places.
You can easily spot the oldest building in the village as soon as you step in. It is the Baekbulgotek (Baekbul traditional house).
Recently, it was featured in the K-drama 'Hyde, Jekyll and Me'.
Baekbulgotek is the Head House of Heung Won Choi, the scholar under King Yeoungjo of the Joseon Dynasty and is also the oldest house in the entire Daegu.
The interesting point here is that the building has different levels for its roof.
The rooms with the higher roof were used by parents and elders while the rooms with the lower roof were used by children.