Dilkusha before the fire broke out in 1926
Dilkusha opens as exhibition hall after restoration
Opening Hours
Tue. to Sun. 09:00~18:00 (last admission 17:30)
Closed : Jan. 1, every Mondays (Open if Monday is a public holiday)
Admission
Free
Guided Tour
- Reservations : Korean, English, Japanese available. Call the Dilkusha Information Center a week before the date of use.
Address
17, Sajik-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Contact
+82-70-4126-8853 (Dilkusha Information Center)
Directions
Dilkusha
Dilkusha, meaning “Heart's Delight” in Persian, is the name of the house where Albert W. Taylor and Mary L. Taylor lived. It was incorporated into the annex of the Seoul Museum of History on February 1, 2021.
Reproduced living room on the first floor
Reproduced living room on the second floor
History
History of Dilkusha
Dilkusha, meaning “Heart's Delight” in Persian, is the name of the house where Albert W. Taylor and Mary L. Taylor lived.
Albert and Mary Taylor started construction of the house in 1923 and Dilkusha was completed in 1924. Then, following a fire in 1926, Dilkusha was rebuilt in 1930.
After the imperial Japan banished Albert and Mary Taylor in 1942, Dilkusha was temporarily placed under management of William W. Taylor, a younger brother of Albert Taylor. In 1959, Jo Gyeong-gyu of the Liberal Party purchased Dilkusha. In 1963, however, Jo’s assets were confiscated, and as a result, Dilkusha came into possession of the state. From there on, Dilkusha was left unattended over a long period of time, losing its original appearance. In 2005, Professor Kim Ik-sang of Seoil University visited Dilkusha by request from Albert Taylor’s son, Bruce T. Taylor. In 2006, Bruce Taylor re-visited his childhood home Dilkusha in 66 years, and this is how Dilkusha became known to the public.
Restoration of Dilkusha
In order to restore Dilkusha in its original form, the Seoul Metropolitan Government entered into a business agreement with relevant institutions (Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cultural Heritage Administration, Jongno-gu Office) in 2016. As a result, “Albert W. Taylor's House (Dilkusha), Seoul” was registered as Registered Cultural Heritage in August 2017. In July 2018, the residents of Dilkusha were relocated through a successful agreement.
Then, academic research and architectural design began to restore Dilkusha and turn it into an exhibition hall. Construction to restore the original form of the building started in November 2018 and was completed in December 2020. The living room of Dilkusha was restored to how it had looked at the time when occupied by the Taylors.
Other parts of the house will be turned into exhibition spaces showing the lifestyle of the Taylors while living in Korea as well as press activities of Albert Taylor. The exhibition hall was opened to public in March 2021.
