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In traditional Korea, nature and culture were not two antithetical worlds but corelated parts of a larger universal order, corresponding each other like sounds and echo and coordinating in mutual services. The supreme value of this world view lay in attaning oneness with the universal order. In arranging human settlements, this view was to be realized by making the settlement homologous to the natural setting as well as the ideal of social order. Poongsoo, a domatic doctrine derived from this organic world view, provided a practical guide for arraning settlements and a guaranter of the preservation of universal harmony. | ||
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Making a compatible fit between human artifices and nature based on a proper understanding of the interplay of cosmic forces in nature was a fundamental principle of formulating settlements. A house was created as a microcosm where cosmic, social and culturl order are reinstated in a material form. Serenity in ambience, extreme continence in using materials, horizontality of a building form, and a social hierarchy in a spatial organization are charateristics of traditional towns and buildings. |
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Traditional architecture exhibited qualities intrinsic to a timber-frame building system -- elaborate articulation of building components and compositional pattern as well as flexibility and additiveness of space. Modularized building elements were assembled to produce diverse details and a sense of space. The combination of structural and additive elements created processional and hierarchical spatial exprience as well as enriching visual experience with multiple layers of details. |
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Human artifacts were regarded as instruments to express meanings and symbolism of life forces and religious beliefs, uplifting everyday life to a ritualistic sphere. Motifs, derived from shamanism, geomancy, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucian philosophy, included features from nature, geometry, and the imaginary world. Strict disciplines governed a proper usage of the motifs in various situations, though commoners often used them more freely. Richly decorated by these motifs, the traditional society created a symbolic realm in the living world, signifying the position of the man in time and space. |
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