Korean Architecture
A historical perspective on the major differences between Korean (Asian) and European architecture
I’ve been writing a Korean blog on Naver about the English language and the Americana over 12 years now. On Substack over the past 2 years, I’m doing the exact opposite—an English blog about Korea.
I was a little disheartened to learn that the Korean portal Naver blocked all foreign-based writers from monetizing the blogs, but I soldiered on for all those years because a). it was fun, and b). I convinced myself that I was doing a public service, and c). I myself was learning a lot. Why else would I, on my own volition, read about the Shakespeare controversy, or the origins of the Bluetooth logo (both of which were very interesting, btw), or what Alexander Stephens’ Cornerstone Speech was all about?
Likewise, because of this Substack blog, I’m learning a lot of new things about Korea that I didn’t know before. One of those is the architectural styles and functionality of traditional Korean houses/buildings. Because my knowledge on the subject is very limited, I will borrow heavily from Yoo Hyun-joon (유현준), Professor of Architecture at Hongik University (홍익대학교), who has 1.2 million YouTube subscribers.
I don’t know how that works or why, but Prof. Yoo has Master’s degrees from both Harvard and MIT in architecture. He has also worked for the renowned Richard Meier’s firm in New York before he returned to Korea. Anyway, according to him…
Historically and geographically speaking, Asia (sans Middle Eastern countries) and Europe have a clear demarcation when it comes to average annual rainfall they receive—1000mm (39 inches) per year. Rice-growing Asian countries get more than 1250mm in precipitation each year while wheat-growing European countries have historically gotten under 850mm per year. Wheat requires a lot less water than rice and grows in cooler temperature climate—that’s why we, as one human race, have mostly had bread in Europe and rice in Asia as the main part of any meal (kind of amazing when you think about how cultures develop because of climate).
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Whereas the rainfall in the European continent is spread out evenly throughout the year, the precipitation in Asian countries is much heavier during the summer months where they have distinct “rainy seasons.” In Korea, it’s usually from late June to late July, on top of about 3 typhoons that make landfall in Korea on average each year.
What this meant was, while European countries could build with heavy materials such as stones and bricks, Asian countries could not. They had to rely mostly on lighter material such as wood; otherwise, stone structures would either sink or topple during the heavy rain season. In Japan, the need for wooden structures was far more pronounced because of incessant earthquakes.
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The major difference here to remember is that European structures were built with outer walls for support whereas Asian structures were built with wooden pillars for support. There are pluses and minuses with both.
The big problem with building with wood, continues Prof. Yoo, is that when there’s a lot of rain, the pillars that support the structure would get wet and start rotting, if not dried quickly. What our ancestors did to alleviate this excess moisture problem was twofold.
First, old Korean houses are built a little above ground, standing on about 3 rows of stone foundation, and on short stilts, meaning that there is a sort of “crawl” space underneath the house. Obviously, it’s not for anyone to crawl inside—it is for the air to travel through to keep everything dry. (But it’s usually a favorite spot for the family dogs and cats.)
The supporting pillars, called ghi-doong (기둥), are set on these stones called joo-choot-dol (주춧돌), literally “foundational stones.”
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And there’s a secondary reason why there is this crawl space underneath the floor, which I’ll get to in the next posting about the details of Korean architecture.
The second method of keeping the rain out of the wooden pillars is this extension of the roof that juts out called cheo-mah (처마).
This cheo-mah portion of the roof goes around the entire house to protect the wooden pillars and beams from the rain, a feature that is not found in the old European houses. And as you probably have noticed, the roof is not in a straight line—it’s slightly and gently curved (which again I’ll get to in the next posting).
Compare the gentle slope of Korean roofs to the steep “roof pitch” of the sharp-angled European roofs of regions that snow a lot.
Stepping away from the “problem” of a wooden structure, let’s get to what you can achieve with homes made out of wood. In European stone houses that can last hundreds of years with the sturdy outer stone walls as the support, windows had to be made very small to withstand the weight of the structure.
But if you build a house with wooden pillars as the support for the whole structure, you can have very large, in fact gigantic, windows.
Those 4 spaces (each unit is called 칸 “kahn”) between the 5 pillars are essentially all windows, or openings to the outside.
And this difference in the size of the windows, Prof. Yoo asserts, is what separates the overall architectural philosophies of Europe and (East) Asia.
In old Europe when there was no glass yet, or when it was prohibitively expensive, their (small) windows were wooden coverings. When those coverings were closed, the people inside the house were basically cut off from the outside view while Asian houses with openings everywhere were more open to the outside view (my personal opinion is that this is perhaps the source of such importance put on the concept of “privacy” in the western world, not as much in Asia).
Therefore, in Europe, the building facade, or the view from the outside and geometric balance for aesthetic value became the focal point of architecture in general. In Asia, however, the view from the inside looking out was more important.
Let’s compare religious buildings of each continent to illustrate this difference in the architectural style. Remember, these are extreme examples on both sides.
Consider this. How many of these “landmark” historical buildings are there in Europe? Seemingly at least one per city, right? Those grand, highly embellished and decorated churches and palaces… How many can you think of in East Asia? Not many, if any.
The Buddhist temples in Korea were built pretty much the same way. But, if you were sitting inside looking out, the picture is very different. Can you imagine the view from inside of these buildings?
If you’re fortunate enough to find yourself at a remote temple in Korea, appreciate the Buddhist art and tradition with its serenity but at the same time, never forget to enjoy the view of the surroundings.
The overriding theme in the old Korean architectural philosophy can thus be summarized into something called “cha-gyong” (차경, 借景), which literally translates to “borrowing the scenery.”
Homes by nature are enclosed spaces where you’re deliberately cut off from the outside. But building with wooden pillars, dictated by the natural geographical conditions, made it possible to have large openings to the outside view and to cha-gyong, or “bring the natural surroundings into the house.” Thus, location of the buildings in relation to the surroundings was far more important than the individual architectural styles of the homes. And that’s why the concept of feng-shui (풍수지리) has taken such a significant role in Korean constructions and the real estate market, even to this day.
Great topic. Excellent illustrative photos. In reference to your comment: The big problem with building with wood, continues Prof. Yoo, is that when there’s a lot of rain, the pillars that support the structure would get wet and start rotting, if not dried quickly.", have you heard of charcoal or charred wood siding? Two days ago, my husband showed me a house with this type of siding and when I asked what the advantage was, he pointed out it prevents the wood from rotting. Really, I learn something new every day. ... and of course I had to do my research, https://degmeda.eu/asia/shou-sugi-ban-south-korea/
I also read your Naver blog on colleges; your youngest aims for the best on her next phase of her life's journey as well as your second child. Best wishes to all concerned.