• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.134-147
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• 2014

Pleasure grounds, which were introduced during the Japanese colonial era, were places for organizing new amusement activities, and developed into a large-scale private spaces and a new type of public space at the same time. This study explores the scenery and accommodations of pleasure grounds and the changes of the amusement culture through the Wolmido Pleasure Grounds, which was a typical pleasure grounds of the time. At that time, Wolmido became a comprehensive amusement/entertainment place with many elements of both Western and Japanese pleasure grounds such as exotic buildings harmonized with trees, a beach, a seaside school, public playing field, and zoo constructed on the Island. Wolmido Pleasure Ground, which was connected with Kyungsung by Kyungin railroad during the Japanese colonial era, is a good example showing the process of the popularization and commercialization of the amusement culture. The process of popularization of amusement shows the spreading of the enjoyment of leisure time with amusement activities through appreciating the beautiful scenery of the pleasure grounds among various social classes. The caste system was broken and anyone could use the pleasure grounds by paying the fee, of which there were many kinds, so the distinction between genders and the different classes, such as the Chosun people and Japanese, regarding amusement in pleasure grounds disappeared gradually. Also, pleasure grounds were a place for Western hobby-sports activities and were the means to generalize collective and dynamic activities through summer school and various sport games. At the same time, there were places for deviation from the existing social norms when it was combined with entertainment facilities. The commercialization of amusement took place in the form of an artificial entertainment culture within an artificial environment. First, the scenery was artificially constructed and this scenery created the image of paradise such as 'captivating summer vacation spot' and 'water kingdom'. This was the result of the combined intentions of the colonial authority, the railroad company and the amusement corporation to produce economic profits and encourage development in the area. Second, an artificial spectacle was constructed using nature as the backdrop. Buildings of various styles created a modernized and exotic image when they were combined with each other. Artifacts such as breakwaters and arcades created new attractions for people that enabled them to view both nature and the crowds from a whole different perspective. Third, pleasure grounds contributed to the advent of passive users who would just follow the given use and instructions. In this way, one can find the prototype of popular entertainment places of today such as sightseeing complexes, amusement parks, and theme parks through the construction of amusement grounds as a place for providing dynamic activities.