• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2022

This paper examined the history and development of Gyeongbokgung Palace's back garden based on historical materials and drawings such as Joseon Ilgi(Diaries of Joseon Dynasty), Joseon Wangjo Sillok(the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Doseongdaejido(the Great Map of Seoul), Bukgwoldohyeong(Drawing Plan of the Northern Palace), the Bukgung Palace Restoration Plan, Restoration Planning of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the following results were derived. First, it was confirmed that the Back Garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace was famous for its great location since the Goryeo Dynasty, and that it was named Namkyeong at that time and was a place where a shrine was built, and that castles and palaces were already built during the Goryeo Dynasty under the influence of Fengshui-Docham(風水圖讖) and Zhouli·Kaogongji(周禮考工記). Although the back garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the early Joseon Dynasty stayed out of the limelight as a back garden for the palace, it has a place value as a living space for the head of the state from King Gojong to the present. Second, in order to clearly identify the boundaries of back garden, through literature such as map of Doseongdo (Map of the Capital), La Coree, Gyeongmudae Area, Japanese Geography Custom Compendium, Korean Photo Album, JoseonGeonchukdoJip(The Illustration Book of Joseon Construction), Urban Planning Survey of Gyeongseong, it was confirmed that the current Blue House area outside Sinmumun Gate was built outside the precincts of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was found that the area devastated through the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, was used as a space where public corporations were combined through the process of reconstruction during the King Gojong period. In Japanese colonial era, the place value as a back garden of the primary palace was damaged, as the palace buildings of the back garden was relocated or destroyed, but after liberation, it was used as the presidential residence and restored the place value of the ruler. Third, in the back garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace, spatial changes proceeded through the Japanese Invasion and Japanese colonial era. The place with the greatest geographical change was Gyeongnongjae area, where the residence of the Japanese Government-General of Korea was built, and there were frequent changes in the use of the land. On the other hand, the current Gyeongmudae area, the forests next to the small garden, and the forests of Baekak were preserved in the form of traditional forests. To clarify this, 1:1200 floor plan of inner Gyeongmudae residence and satellite images were overlapped based on Sinmumun Gate, and as a result, it was confirmed that the water path originating from Baekak still exists today and the forest area did not change. Fourth, in the areas where the traditional forest landscape was inherited, the functional changes in the topography were little, and major old-age colonies are maintained. The old trees identified in this area were indicator tree species with historical value. Representatively, Pinus densiflora for. multicaulis Uyeki, located in Nokjiwon Garden, is presumed to have been preserved as one of Pinus densiflora for. multicaulis Uyeki planted next to Yongmundang, and has a historicality that has been used as a photo zone at dinners for heads of state and important guests. Lastly, in order to continuously preserve and manage the value of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Blue House, it is urgent to clarify the space value through excavation of historical materials in Japanese colonial era and establish a hierarchy of garden archaeology by era. In addition, the basis for preserving the historical landscape from the Joseon Dynasty to the modern era from Gyeongbokgung Palace should not damage the area of the old giant trees, which has been perpetuated since the past, and a follow-up study is needed to investigate all the forests in Blue House.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.7-18
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• 2015

Gwanghwamun was dismantled and displaced to the east side of the palace, at that time, the Chosun Government General Building was constructed in the Gyeongbokgung palace. After the Korea war, it remained as a stonework as a result of the fire. In 1968, The Gwanghwamun came back in front of the palace. Then, why it was rebuilt in the 3rd Republic period? What was the reason for selecting concrete? Since the May 16 coup, the military regime had been utilized palace and surrounding urban space to show a visible practice of modernization. Attempting the combination of modern technology in the 1960s and traditional cultural property and reconstructing a city as a pretext called Cultural Heritage conservation was a typical mechanism of the 1960s. In this study, I start by assume that reconstructing Gwanghwamun(1968) was a part of project to change the surrounding urban space of Gwanghwamun than to preserve cultural assets. Two main contributions of the study are following. First, I collect availabe data on the reconstructing surrounding urban space of the Gwanghwamun and re-organize them in chronological order to make them as fragments of a map. Second, I analysis and identify the nature and phase of the Gwanghwamun reconstruction.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.72-89
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• 2012

This study aimed to reconsider the theory that the renowned Amisan(峨眉山) terraced garden at north of Gyotaejeon(交泰殿) was artificially made, by reviewing the historical records and drawings. It has been widely accepted that Amisan was made of the digged soil from Gyeonghoeji(慶會池). But several arguments about artificial mountain theory of Amisan that completely not be found in historical records have been raised in this study. The results were summarized as follows; the inherent contradiction in existing opinion, the discordance between the time of building Gyeonghoeji and Gyotaejeon, the existence of the mountain range which connect Baekaksan and Amisan appeared in Dohyeong(圖形), historical documents written in the years of kingdoms of Youngjo(英祖) and Gojong(高宗), a high position seen from Heungbogjeon(興復殿) in the north Amisan through the wall in the east but impassable, an opinion about realization Amisan as geomantic term of Amisa(蛾眉砂) at the time of Gyeongbok Palace reconstruction, and preservation of the mountain range in Gyeongbok Palace that comes from the result of the arguments in main mountain of Gyeongbok Palace in the year of Sejong(世宗). In addition, it was investigated why the slop in the north of Gyotaejeon was named as Aminsan and why the artificial mountain theory is appeared and made a conclusion that the Amisan comes from the change of the pronunciation of the geomantic term "Amisa", and modeling the yijing[意景] of Amisan which is a sacred place of Taoism and Buddhism in Sichuan[四川] of Chinaand the view of construction to mean defeating a spirit of smallpox which had to be cured. And it seems to be a result which retroactively applied the artificial mountain theory of Amisanis the technique of 'constructing mountain with digged pond dirt' to the relationship between Gyeonghoeji and Amisan. The greater part of mountain range which was connecting with Baekaksan and Amisan was seriously disconnected with large scale of exposition by the Japanese colonial period in 1915. But low slope is kept about 70 meters along the trail northeast of Gyotaejeon. Accordingly, it is judged that the range has not been entirely destroyed. And according to the result of elevation analysis, discontinuous slope form certain axis is found, so the mountain range of Amisan is approximately estimated. This basic research about the mountain range of Amisan might provide a critical clue about restoration of topography in Gyeongbok Palace.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.101-112
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• 2020

This study focuses on the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the second year of King Gojong's reign, which has been spotlighted for political and economic history. The author analyzed the contents of wood procurement with the Yeonggeon Diary, which records each day of construction site. The results are as follows: First, the 2nd year of King Gojong's reign, Yeonggeon of Gyeongbokgung Palace, was a new building that reflected the old system and 270 years of changed environment on the existing site. Despite the poor economic conditions, it began with years of effort and voluntary volunteer work and dedication. Second, the priority of timber transport was recruiting people in the whole process and the supply and demand of transportation tools. Carrying lumber from the mountains to the riverside and floating it at the right time were all a matter of manpower. Soldiers and carts were used to carry timber that arrived in Hangang River to the construction site. The cart was a consumable product, so it was necessary to continuously use the wood to make cart at the site. Third, fire and flood were the biggest obstacles to the Yeonggeon schedule of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Especially the fire was fatal. It was difficult to extinguish the fire in temporary structure, where was the storage for wood to construct. These disasters greatly affected the construction cost and construction period. Wood procurements of Gyeongbokgung Palace were based on public offerings. At the same time, recycled materials from other palace wood and nearby houses, nationwide buying of private mountain wood, the logging of royal tombs and some of the buildings of Gyeonghui Palace and Changgyeong Palace were relocated.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.120-137
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• 2021

There were five palaces built during the Joseon Period. Gyeongbokgung Palace was the first one, founded in the 4th year of King Taejo (1395), and depending on the historical interpretation, Changdeokgung Palace, Changgyeonggung Palace, Gyeongungung Palace (Deoksugung), and Gyeongdeokgung Palace (Gyeonghuigung) were also built. The palaces represent the best architecture of the time. In addition, the palaces of the Joseon period have been rebuilt several times, so they contain the architectural history of the Joseon period over the last 500 years. In this paper, all the excavations of five palaces in the Joseon Period were surveyed, and the foundations of the buildings were analyzed. In particular, the aim of this paper is to investigate Jeoksim (foundations of buildings under cornerstone) to understand the characteristics of each palace by period. Accordingly, the changes of the construction techniques of the foundations of the palaces were studied. There are a total of 23 types of Jeoksim. All five palaces have a certain type (I~V) of construction technique, thus it was confirmed that there was a certain pattern in the method of constructing the foundations of palace buildings in the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, Jeoksim was mainly built by certain materials and construction methods (I-1) during the 14th to the 17th century, but new types of Jeoksim were built in the palaces starting from the 18th century, during the reign of King Jeongjo. In the 19th century, when King Gojong sat on the throne, the Jeoksim was built in various shapes, materials, and in 22 types of construction methods. Up to now, research on the remains of palaces were mainly conducted on the Gyeongbokgung Palace, so it was not possible to confirm the foundations of 17th-18th century buildings, where reconstruction had stopped after the Imjin War in 1592. However, through this study, it was possible to classify the transition periodsstheir features periods of palace building foundation construction from the 14th to the 20th century by comparing the remains of five palace building sites.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

After the Korean war, two major attempts were made to reconstruct Gwanghwamun Gate as an important part of Korea's lost cultural heritage. In December 2006, the Korean government replaced the concrete gate with a wooden one, yet traces of the attempts made in the 1960s to transform Gwanghwamun Gate and the main road remain to this day. At the time, the Third Republic of Korea, sought to legitimize itself in the name of modernity, and went on to modernize the architecture and urban landscape of Seoul. The location and design selected for the rebuilt Gwanghwamun illustrated the symbolic relationship between historic heritage and urban development. The reconstruction of the gate began as part of the Third Republic's project to restore the Central Administration Building and culminated in the transformation of the main road in front of the gate. By reconstructing the traditional gate using concrete, the military government intended to convey the message that we could inherit our proud tradition using modern materials, and that we should actively adopt the new technologies of the modern era. This study begins with the premise that the Gwanghwamun reconstruction project of 1968 represents the application of new technological thinking to Korea's architectural style, and has two objectives. The first is to summarize the reconstruction process and method using the records and drawings from the 1968 project, which was then under the leadership of architect Kang Bong-jin. The second is to analyze the characteristics of the architectural style and structure of the reconstructed Gwanghwamun so as to reinterpret the relationship between Korean tradition and modern technology.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.281-304
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• 2022

Heungdeokjeon was the first pavilion built on the site of Sueocheong during the expansion of Gyeongungung. In this study, we tried to clarify the specific construction process of Heungdeokjeon, which was used for various purposes such as the copy location for Portraits of ancestors, temporary enshrinement site, and the funeral building for the rest of the body, which is Binjeon. In addition, we tried to confirm the historical value based on the characteristics derived by the history of the building and the rituals performed. Heungdeokjeon began to be built in the second half of 1899, and is estimated to have been completed between mid-February and mid-March 1900. It was a ritual facility equipped with waiting rooms for the emperor and royal ladies as an annex. The relocation work was planned in April 1901 and began in earnest after June, and it was closely linked to the construction of attached buildings of Seonwonjeon. In addition, comparing the records on the construction and relocation cost of Heungdeokjeon with those related to the reconstruction of Seonwonjeon, it was confirmed that annex buildings of Heungdeokjeon were relocated and used as annex buildings of Seonwonjeon. The characteristics identified in the process of Heungdeokjeon used as a place to copy portraits are as follows. First, it was used as a place to copy portraits twice in a short period of time. Second, it was the place where the first unprecedented works were carried out in relation to the copying of portraits. Third, the pavilion, which was specially built for imperial rituals, was used as a place to copy portraits. Since then, it has been used as a funeral building for the rest of the body, and features different from those of the previous period are identified. It was the building dedicated to rituals for use as Binjeon, and was also a multipurpose building for copying portraits. In other words, Heungdeokjeon, along with Gyeongbokgung Taewonjeon, is the building that shows the changes in the operation of Binjeon in the late Joseon Dynasty. Characteristics are also confirmed in portrait-related rituals performed at Heungdeokjeon. The first is that Jakheonlye was practiced frequently in a short period of time. The second is that the ancestral rites of Sokjeolje and Bunhyang in Sakmangil, which are mainly held in the provincial Jinjeon, were identified. This is a very rare case in Jinjeon of the palace. The last is that Jeonbae, jeonal, and Bongsim were implemented mutiple times. In conclusion, Heungdeokjeon can be said to be a very symbolic building that shows the intention of Gojong, who valued imperial rituals, and the characteristics of the reconstruction process of Gyeongungung.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.40
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• pp.207-241
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• 2007

This paper investigates the royal collection of paintings and calligraphy during King Gojong's (高宗) reign (1897~1907) based on the function of the Jipgyeong-dang Hall (緝敬堂), situated at "sleeping realm (寢殿)," Gyeongbok Palace. Using the surviving palace records and art works this study argues that the date of building the hall is approximately confined to the year of 1890. Not being matched with the general opinion that the Jipgyeong-dang Hall was used for the official meeting with envoys, this hall functioned as the main place for royal audience and the storehouse for archives. The role of Gojong as collector and patron was essential not only to the maintenance of the collection but also to the strengthening of royal authority just before the Japanese annexation in 1910. The specific titles of the collection at this hall can be verified through the Catalogue of the Books, Paintings, and Calligraphy Exposed to the Sun at Jipgyeong-dang Hall (緝敬堂曝曬書目) dating to the nineteenth century. The records of the catalogue inform us that more than 1,000 paintings and pieces of calligraphy, inkrubbings from old steles, manuals for painting, and encyclopedia concerning art theories from Korea, China, and Japan were preserved there. The collection of Jipgyeong-dang Hall resulted from Gojong's policy to foster the collection of contemporary Chinese and Japanese art works and various catalogues. Standing behind the Gyeongbok Palace, the Jibok-jae Hall (集玉齋) also preserved the diverse sources of practical learning, as did the Jipgyong-dang Hall for Gojong. The enormous royal collections by Gojong might have been constructed in accordance with the royal artistic taste and the artistic milieu of the late Joseon period. The surviving royal catalogues confirm this assumption as documentary evidence.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2000

A hundred wooden foundation piles were found underground during reconstruction for Heungreamun after removing ex-Chosunchongdokbu (ex-Government General of Chosun) building, which was built in 1916, at Kyungbok Palace in Seoul. It is known that larch piles had been collected from the Yaru area near Mt. Baekdu (Changbai). in North Korea. We examined 15 piles for identification of the species and their tree-ring structure. The species is identified as Larix gmelini by microscopic observation. Average diameter of the piles was 27 cm and average age 103 years. We obtained 151 year tree-ring chronology. However, we could not date the exact cutting years because there was no reference chronology yet. When we can obtain chronologies from living trees near the Yaru area, we could make a absolute and longer chronology for studying past history and environments around Mt. Baekdu.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.491-504
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• 2021

Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace was dismantled and relocated during the Japanese colonial period, destroyed during the Korean War, reconstructed with reinforced concrete in 1968, and finally erected at its present location in 2010. A pair of Haechi statues located in front of Gwanghwamun was dismantled and relocated several times, and the statues have yet to be returned precisely to their original positions. This study assesses the historical accuracy of their current placement under the Gwanghwamun Square Restructuring Project of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Cultural Heritage Administration based on archival photos from the early 1900s, and proposes a method to estimate the original positions of the Haechi through image analysis of contemporary photographs and recent digital camera photos. We estimated the original position of the Haechi before the Japanese colonial period by identifying the shooting location of the archival photo and reproducing contemporary photographs by calculating the angle and distance to the Haechi from the shooting location. The leftmost and rightmost Haechi were originally located about 9.6 m to the east and 7.4 m to the north and about 1.9 m to the west and 8.0 m to the north, respectively, of their current location indicators. As the first attempt to determine the original location of a building and its accessories using archival photos, this study launches a new scientific methodology for the restoration of cultural properties.