The March 1 Independence Movement, as it is now called, is enshrined in the Constitution of South Korea as a pivotal event in Koreans’ struggle to break free from the Japanese. In preparation for the centenary celebration of the revolt, the home is being turned into a museum.

“None of those who lived there, their neighbors or local officials knew the history of the house,” said Stanley Kim, a professor of film and television at Seoil University in Seoul who in 2005 helped rediscover the building’s link to Mr. Taylor. “None of them knew the meaning of the word ‘Dilkusha’ carved in a foundation stone.”

Image Albert Wilder Taylor in 1910. Credit... via Jennifer Linley Taylor

Built on a slope of Mount Inwang, which overlooks the royal palace here in the capital, Dilkusha was the most prominent among colonial-style houses owned by Westerners in Seoul a century ago. Mr. Taylor built the home in 1923 and lived with his family there before the Japanese authorities expelled them from Korea in 1942.

Mr. Taylor’s ties to the house and his role in the revolution were quickly forgotten. A politician occupied the house for a while, but after he was banished for corruption in 1963, homeless families moved in. As many as 20 households once squeezed inside, the authorities say. A forest of terraced houses, apartments and churches has sprouted up in the neighborhood, obscuring Dilkusha.