Is Dilkusha wheelchair accessible?

Visit details

Dilkusha means “happy heart” in Persian and is the name of the house where Albert W. Taylor and Mary L. Taylor lived. The Taylors began construction in 1923, completed Dilkusha in 1924, and after a fire in 1926 rebuilt it in 1930. After Japan expelled the Taylors in 1942, Albert’s brother William W. Taylor briefly managed Dilkusha; in 1959 Liberal Party lawmaker Jo Gyeong-gyu purchased it, but in 1963 Jo’s property passed to the state and Dilkusha became state-owned. It was then left unused for a long time and lost its original appearance; in 2005 Professor Kim Ik-sang of Seoil University, commissioned by Albert’s son Bruce T. Taylor, located Dilkusha. In 2006 Bruce at last visited the Dilkusha of his childhood after 66 years, and it became known to the world again.

Seoul Metropolitan Government signed a memorandum of understanding with related agencies in 2016 to restore Dilkusha to its original form. In August 2017 it was designated a National Registered Cultural Heritage as “Seoul Albert Taylor House (Dilkusha).” From 2017 the city carried out academic and design studies to restore Dilkusha and create an exhibition hall; after amicable talks with residents living in Dilkusha, relocation was completed in July 2018. Restoration of the building’s original form began in November 2018 and was completed in December 2020. The restored living room was recreated as it was when the Taylors lived there; the remaining spaces were made into galleries on the couple’s life in Korea and Albert W. Taylor’s work as a journalist, and the house opened on March 1, 2021.

Admission: Free

Address: Jongno-gu Sajig-ro 2-gil 17 (Haengchondong), Seoul

Official website: https://museum.seoul.go.kr