American Peter Bartholomew, who played a key role in preserving Korean traditional houses, or hanok, in Seoul, has died at the age of 76. 

Tom Coyner, an American photographer who's active in South Korea, said Thursday on his social media that Bartholomew died in the early hours of Wednesday at his hanok in Seoul’s Dongsomun-dong, which he called home for nearly five decades.

Bartholomew first visited South Korea at the age of 23 in 1968 as a member of the Peace Corps. In 1974, he moved into his hanok which was built in the 1920s after falling in love with the traditional house’s beauty and merit. 

Bartholomew acquired the nickname “hanok guardian” after he filed and later won a suit that saved 43 hanok in Dongsomun-dong from becoming demolished as part of a housing development plan. 

He received the “Sejong Award for Cultural Contributions” from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2012 for his contributions toward promoting the value of hanok.