‘100 Days of Lies’ Soran and Philip's residence in Haengchon-dong?…Inspired by the real ‘American House’ that publicized the March 1st Movement - 경향신문
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The Western-style mansion used as Soran and Philip's residence in the tvN drama <100 Days of Lies>. Screen capture from ‘100 Days of Lies’
In the tvN drama <100 Days of Lies>, set in Gyeongseong in the 1930s, the home of Soran and Philip, who live as a sham married couple for the independence movement, appears. The Western-style mansion ‘Heewon’ used as their residence in the story has a real-life model. It is the modern architectural heritage ‘Dilkusha (Dilkusha)’ in Haengchon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The foreign-looking red-brick facade heightens the period atmosphere of the drama. Yet the history contained in the real Dilkusha is as eventful as the dramatic setup. This was the home where American journalist Albert W. Taylor, who informed the world about the March 1st Movement and the realities of Japanese colonial rule, lived with his family.
The Taylors began construction in 1923 and completed the house the following year, 1924. The building is a Western-style brick residence with one basement level and two stories above ground. In Seoul at the time, it was a rare residential structure, and it is regarded as cultural heritage that shows how the structure of Western-style houses and lifestyle took root in the city.
The name ‘Dilkusha’ is said to have been given by Mary. In Persian it means ‘glad heart’. However, contrary to its name, Dilkusha did not enjoy smooth years. In July 1926, a fire caused by a lightning strike severely damaged the building, and reconstruction continued until 1930. The Taylor family then lived there until they were forcibly expelled by the Japanese authorities in 1942.
사진 크게보기 Albert Taylor, who worked in the mining industry, also served as a special correspondent for the AP. He helped inform overseas audiences about the independence movement that unfolded in Korea under Japanese colonial rule and the realities of colonial governance. The Dilkusha residence in Haengchon-dong, Seoul, in the 1920s, and the Dilkusha residence after restoration and opening in 2021. Kyunghyang Shinmun archival photo
Dilkusha's historical significance is intertwined with the journalistic work of the homeowner, Albert Taylor. While engaged in the mining industry, he also worked as a special correspondent for the AP. He helped bring overseas attention to the independence movement that unfolded in Korea under Japanese colonial rule and to the realities of colonial rule.
A representative episode is the March 1st Movement of 1919. On February 28, 1919, when Mary gave birth to their son Bruce at Severance Hospital, Albert found a copy of the Declaration of Independence at the hospital. Albert played an important role in the process by which the Declaration, evading surveillance by the Japanese authorities, was delivered overseas. His younger brother William Taylor is also known to have been involved in the transmission.
An interior view of the house where Albert Wilder Taylor and his wife Mary Linley Taylor lived until they were expelled from Korea by the Government-General of Korea in 1942. Kyunghyang Shinmun archival photo.
What he reported was not only the Declaration of Independence. In 1919, Albert covered the Jeam-ri massacre in Hwaseong and conveyed abroad the reality of the massacre of civilians by the Japanese. He made the international community aware of the violence that occurred in the process of suppressing the independence movement. His reporting activities led to surveillance and repression by the Japanese.
In the end, the Taylors left Korea in 1942 under the Japanese expulsion measure for foreigners and returned to the United States. After the couple left, Dilkusha was briefly managed by his younger brother William Taylor. In 1959, it was purchased by Liberty Party lawmaker Cho Kyung-gyu, and in 1963, when Representative Cho's assets were transferred to the state, Dilkusha also became state-owned. Residents then lived in the building, and with additions and alterations, the original appearance was damaged.
Soran, a sniper with the anti-Japanese group Gukukdan, bears the past of losing her daughter and prepares to assassinate Sato Shinichi, the Chief of Civil Affairs of the Government-General of Korea. Philip, a special correspondent for a Korean American news outlet, is Soran's pretend husband and a comrade in the independence movement. Making use of his status as a journalist, he assists Gukukdan's activities. The ‘Soran’ (Kim Hyun-joo) of the tvN weekend drama <100 Days of Lies>. Courtesy of tvN
Dilkusha returned to public attention when the Taylors' son, Bruce T. Taylor, came to Korea. Bruce visited Korea to find the house where he had lived as a child, and in 2006, after 66 years, he found Dilkusha again.
Thereafter, in 2016, the Seoul Metropolitan Government signed an agreement with relevant institutions for the restoration of Dilkusha and began restoring it to its original form. In August 2017, it was registered as a National Registered Cultural Heritage under the name ‘Seoul Albert Taylor House (Dilkusha)’. Restoration work began in November 2018 and was completed in December 2020, and on March 1st of the following year it opened as a history exhibition hall. It was the day marking the 102nd anniversary of the March 1st Movement.
Inside the restored building, the living room from the time when the Taylors lived there has been recreated. The remaining spaces have been set up as exhibition rooms that show the couple's life in Korea and Albert's journalistic activities. Through photographs and keepsakes capturing the family's daily life, Mary's works, and records related to the independence movement, visitors can look into the lives of the people who lived at Dilkusha and the history of Joseon at the time.
Today, Dilkusha is operated as an annex of the Seoul Museum of History. Admission is free. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is closed every Monday and on January 1. Last entry is at 5:30 p.m.
