Culture reflects a specific age and each nation has cultural identity to pursue cultural diversity and individuality. To find out the origin to establish identity of our culture from factors of traditional culture, Seoul began to implement the Bukchon...
Culture reflects a specific age and each nation has cultural identity to pursue cultural diversity and individuality. To find out the origin to establish identity of our culture from factors of traditional culture, Seoul began to implement the Bukchon Development Project in search of its original form as an attempt to preserve a cultural sight.
Bukchon, which is a residence zone located between Gyeongbok Palace(景福宮) and Changdeok Palace(昌德宮), had been known as a high-class residential area for 600 years in the Joseon Period; the residential area in Bukchon came to have present urban-type traditional Korean houses as large-sized lots were divided into small-sized ones due to soaring population growth and housing shortage in the metropolitan area in the 1930s and 1940s. The Bukchon Development Project has changed external parts of original houses and gardens with focus on architectural factors since 2001. As Bukchon is an areas with a specific cultural sight, it is necessary to preserve a good traditional sight of gardens along with constructions.
Therefore, this study aims at examining changing factors and entities of gardens made between 1930 and 2004 in the Bukchon Hanok Village through actual measurement, literatures possessed by residents, and interviews with them in order to provide basic data to preserve and restore Bukchon Hanok Village.
This study ranges from 1930 to 2004 in terms of time and includes a total of seven dongs Gye-dong(桂洞), Gahoe-dong(嘉會洞), Jae-dong(齋洞), Samcheong-dong(三淸洞), Hwa-dong(花洞), Anguk-dong(安國洞), Wonseo-dong(苑西洞) except regions where no record of gardens can be found through field investigations and documentary surveys among those regions affected by the Bukchon Development Project in terms of space.
Documentary surveys were conducted with contemporary literatures, reports, research papers, and newspaper articles, particularly analyzing photos of each house possessed by the house-owner and other records including literary works. For a field investigation, a total of 37 houses were selected for about 30 days from July 2004 to February 2005 using the Master Plan for Bukchon Development: Actual Measurement Data Collection. For a survey, interviews were carried out with descendants; the researcher used a checklist to examine planting species, garden ornaments, and arrangement, forms, and uses of gardens.
In the Bukchon Hanok Village, a garden was located at a courtyard, at a backyard, at servants' court, or at an outer yard according to ㄷ-type, ㄱ-type, ㅁ-type, or mixed-type houses by using narrow places within a house; thus, it forms a relatively small-sized place by using a small piece of land or by being mixed with other functions.
Gardens were classified into division-type, non-division-type, attachment-type, and movable gardens according to properties; a division-type garden mostly has rectangular or circular forms not to limit the line of flow while a lot of non-division-type gardens have appeared since the Bukchon Development Project started. A traditional Korean house in Bukchon has a terrace where soy sauce crocks are placed; an attachment-type garden is attached to this terrace. A movable garden appears most frequently at a courtyard, at a backyard, or at an outer yard and the garden seems to be located at a backyard rather than at a narrow courtyard because it can easily be moved and arranged.
As for vegetation, most of the tall trees are over 50 years old; it is judged that traditional trees form a large part since they have long been planted. As for bushes, it seems that those trees which could easily be acquired were selected in consideration of family members' taste. More bamboos and pine trees have been planted since the Bukchon Development Project, probably because they were recognized as trees going well with a traditional Korean house. Places and directions for plating trees were determined by owners' taste, contrary to those of traditional gardens; it seems that the focus is also placed on inner and outer sights as horizontal planting faced with the outer wall increases.
Garden ornaments are characterized by owners' taste for collection; those used as living instruments are most likely to be placed in a garden to play the role of ornaments and oddly-shaped(怪石) and natural stones are arranged by imitating gardening techniques which was frequently used by noble family(士大夫家) in the Joseon Period. It also seems that stone towers and lanterns appeared under the mixed influence of foreign products of civilization.
As for the bottom of the garden, concrete pavement decreased but rather granitic pavement and concrete pavement set with tiny pebbles increased probably in favor of traditional pavement and in accordance with guidances for traditional house repair in the Bukchon Development Project.
The bottom part went through the greatest change in most houses in Bukchon, followed by garden type, the number of trees, garden size, and location. A garden was used for appreciation, decoration, rest, and so forth. And it was recognized as a place for appreciating flowers and trees, that for cultivating one's body and mind, and an ornamental factor to make a house look better.
This study shows that present urban-type Korean traditional houses formed in Bukchon around the 1930s and that gardens changed under the influence of the Bukchon Development Project in 2001; it is expected that they will go through more changes as the project expands in the future. As Bukchon is composed of old traditional Korean houses which people actually live in, it is necessary to preserve the cultural sights specific to each house as the core of traditional culture.
This study primarily examined changing factors and components of gardens in 37 houses in the Bukchon Village. To obtain general data concerning gardens in the Bukchon Village, it is necessary to collect and analyze in-depth and correct data from more houses.