Hannam-dong: the mansion of Gu Monggyu, honorary chairman of the Hyundo Group.

At the end of a hillside road off the main avenue, a high wall ran on and on.

Inside the front gate, the drive curved along a line of pine trees, and at its end stood a two-story main house finished in gray stone.

The house was older than Gu Hoseon's own, not far away.

Instead of broad windows or showy ornament, what caught the eye were thick pillars and deep, overhanging eaves.

In one corner of the garden, an old juniper leaned out at a handsome angle.

Low lights spread a soft glow beneath its branches, which had been brushed clear of snow.

The Hyundo Group's family occasions were still held here.

So far, only Gu Hoseon's family had arrived for the holiday.

His four older sisters were due the next afternoon.

Married daughters saw to the holiday at their in-laws' first and stopped by their parents' home afterward.

The family had done it that way for a long time.

No one had ever suggested changing the order just because times had changed.

"That plate's fine. You don't need to put any more on it."

Gu Monggyu's wife, No Jeongsuk, gave instructions to the housekeepers bustling in and out of the kitchen.

Most of the food for the next day's ancestral rites was ready.

The late founder, Chairman Gu Jumyeong, had asked in his lifetime that the memorial table never be laid out lavishly.

He felt it all the more for having lived through times when even the living barely had enough to eat.

He'd said he didn't want to see food heaped up for him once he was dead.

Even now, the old man's words remained a family rule.

They had cut down the number of dishes, too, basing the rite on the way it was kept back home in the North.

The dinner table was a different story.

Every one of the grandchildren had come. One favorite after another had gone onto the table, and now it was laden with braised short ribs, mung bean…