Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All South Korea Seoul Dilkusha House (Albert W. Taylor House)
AO Edited

Dilkusha House (Albert W. Taylor House)

The former home of a foreign correspondent who reported on Korea’s independence movement has been restored and is open to the public.

Seoul, South Korea

Added By
soobin kim
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Soobin Kim / Atlas Obscura User
  Soobin Kim / Atlas Obscura User
  Soobin Kim / Atlas Obscura User
  Soobin Kim / Atlas Obscura User
  Soobin Kim / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Nearly a century past its construction, a derelict colonial-style house in Seoul’s Jongno district has been restored. Its former residents—Albert W. Taylor, a Nevada-born businessman who worked in Korea’s mining industry, and his wife Mary L. Taylor, a British actor—witnessed and recorded critical moments in Korean history. 

In 1919, when Korea was under Japanese occupation, Albert was tapped to cover an abdicated Korean emperor’s funeral as a foreign correspondent. In the same year, Mary gave birth to their son at Seoul’s Severance Hospital. It was a moment of joy for the Taylors, but for the greenhorn newspaperman Albert, a thrilling discovery came into sight: a copy of the Korean Declaration of Independence, tucked under the sheets of his wife’s bed. It had been furtively printed in the hospital’s basement to prepare for one of the most significant events of Korea’s independence movement, and a nurse had hidden a copy. Albert was fluent in Korean by then and recognized the document. He filed a report via his brother, who stuffed the documents in the heel of his shoe, whisked it to Tokyo to avoid police surveillance, and cabled the American press. Later on, Albert further contributed to the Korean cause by reporting on a massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army and trials of Korean independence activists. 

But how the Taylors acquired Dilkusha House is another story less touched by serendipity. One day, Mary saw a large, centuries-old ginkgo tree and instantly became enamored with it. When the Taylors bought the parcel of land abutting it to build a house, they were met with protesting locals and a shaman's malediction. But the couple was undeterred, and a two-story red-brick house was completed in 1924. They named their new abode Dilkusha—meaning “Palace of Heart’s Delight” in Hindi—after the Dilkusha Kothi Palace in India. 

In 1926, a lightning strike seared Dilkusha, destroying its roof and attic. The house was repaired in 1930,  and Albert etched a verse from the book of Psalms on a foundation stone, which is still visible today. The couple eventually bid a permanent farewell to Dilkusha when the Japanese government expelled them from Korea in 1942. After their departure, Dilkusha was sold off and briefly inhabited by a Korean politician, before his property was seized by the state in 1963. 

For decades, Dilkusha sat in state possession, abandoned but not entirely vacant. Squatters slinked in and settled over the years, sometimes more than a dozen households at a time. They were unaware of the house’s former owners, as were the rest of the community, until Bruce Taylor, Albert’s son, returned to Korea in 2005 and identified the house with the help of a Korean professor after a two-month search. It wasn't until 2020 that the house was restored. 

At Dilkusha House, visitors can find news clippings, the Taylors’ portraits, and personal belongings, and rooms recreated from photographs.

Related Tags

Houses Colonialism Journalism Museums

Community Contributors

Added By

Soobin Kim

Published

July 26, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/world/asia/south-korea-japan-seoul-dilkusha.html
  • https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/02/28/national/socialAffairs/dilkusha-albert-taylor-March-1-Independence/20210228170100435.html
  • https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=118534
  • https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/02/26/skorea-Albert-Wilder-Taylor-UPI-Korea-Dilkusha-house/5611614340939/
Dilkusha House (Albert W. Taylor House)
17 Sajik-ro 2-gil, Haengchon-dong
Jongno-gu
Seoul, 110-091
South Korea
37.573005, 126.963456
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Gyeonggyojang House

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Seodaemun Prison

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Borugak Jagyeongnu

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Seoul

Seoul

South Korea

Places 32
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Gyeonggyojang House

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Seodaemun Prison

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Borugak Jagyeongnu

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Seoul

Seoul

South Korea

Places 32
Stories 1

Related Places

  • González–Álvarez House

    St. Augustine, Florida

    González–Álvarez House

    Built around 1723, this is the oldest surviving home in the U.S.'s oldest colonial city.

  • Taipa Houses

    Macau

    Taipa Houses

    These pastel-colored homes were built when the island of Macau was a Portuguese colony.

  • Seoul, South Korea

    Gyeonggyojang House

    The headquarters of Korea’s provisional government later became the site of a prominent statesman's assassination.

  • Alcázar de Colón today.

    Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

    Alcázar de Colón

    After Christopher Columbus died, his son built a fancy house to rule from.

  • Vander Ende—Onderdonk House from Onderdonk Avenue.

    Queens, New York

    Vander Ende-Onderdonk House

    The oldest Dutch colonial stone house in New York City is a hidden gem on the border of Brooklyn and Queens.

  • Antique printing equipment.

    Panama City, Florida

    Panama City Publishing Company Museum

    Discover old-fashioned printing through hands-on exhibitions and publishing artifacts.

  • New Delhi, India

    Heritage Charkha Museum

    A tiny museum dedicated to the charkha, a traditional spinning wheel that became a symbol of national resistance during Gandhi's freedom movements.

  • Heritage Street.

    Henderson, Nevada

    Heritage Street

    Clark County Museum has created an entire street of historically important buildings relocated from various other locations within the county.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.