Korean architecture is characterized by naturalistic tendencies, simplicity, economy of shape, and the avoidance of extremes. I’m going to dive into it and how it evolved over time based on the time periods.
Prehistoric Period
There were three types of prehistoric dwellings in Korea: pit houses, log houses, and elevated houses. Pit houses consisted of a deep pit and a frame of grass and clay supported by timber. Log houses were made by laying logs horizontally one on top of one another like bricks with clay being used as cement. Elevated houses were constructed in two stories to keep food away from animals.
Three Kingdoms Period
The three kingdoms were Koguryo, Paekche, and Shilla. Koguryo was influenced by Chinese culture which can clearly be seen in Koguryo’s palaces, temples, and tombs. It was characterized by powerful lines and sturdy construction. Paekche was also influenced by Koguryo and China. A characteristic of Paekche architecture is its use of curvilinear designs. Shilla’s temple was separated from China by Koguryo or Paekche, so China's cultural influence was much diluted.
The Unified Shilla Period
Architectural ornamentation, such as roof tiles decorated with floral and animal designs, was seen more often. The ‘two pagodas’ style, was prevalent at the time. Note: a pagoda is considered the grave of Buddha and is a structure commonly found at Buddhist temples.
Koryo Dynasty
The architecture during this time was very similar to Tang architecture in China.
Toward the end of the Koryo dynasty, building pagodas essentially stopped. The adaptation of the Tang architecture is called the chusimp’o style which is the ‘column-head bracket system’. The picture shows how it looks.
Choson Dynasty
The chusimp’o i.e. the column-head bracket style of the Koryo period, continued during the early part of this period. But, a new architectural style was introduced from Song China. This became the dominant architectural style of the Choson period and was called the tap’o, or the inter-columnar bracket style. The new tap’o buildings are much more decorative than those in the chusimp’o style because the intercolumnar brackets fill up the otherwise empty spaces between columns. The picture shows how it looks.
Modern Period
Western art began to influence Korean art in the later part of the 19th century. Until the 1970s the trend in Korean architecture was to adopt the western style. In the 1980s, the variety of architectural projects expanded, leading to the adoption of postmodernism which included the reinterpretation of traditional Korean architecture. The picture below is of the Seoul City Hall.
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