• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.50-66
• /
• 2016

This study attempts to understand and explain how "Directed Attention Restorative Environment (DARE)" is managed and fostered in "Gang-Hak (講學)" and "Yu-Sik (遊息)" spaces both inside and outside of Oksan Seowon Confucian Academy, Gyeongju. Directed Attention is a pivotal element in human information processing so that its restoration is crucial for effective thinking and learning. According to Kaplan & Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory, an environment, in order to be restorative, should have four elements: 'Being Away,' 'Extent,' 'Fascination,' and 'Compatibility.' We could confirm OkSan Seowon Confucian Academy has an inner logic that integrates two basically different spacial concepts of "Jangsu" and "Yusik" and thus fosters the Attention Restorative Environment. Particularly, the Four Mountains and Five Platforms (四山五臺) surrounding the premises provides an excellent learning environment, and is in itself educational in terms of the Neo-Confucian epistemology with "Attaining Knowledge by way of Positioning Things (格物致知)" as its principle precept, and of its aesthetics with "Connectedness with Nature" as its central tenet. This study attempts to recapture the value of Korea's cultural heritage concerning the Human/Nature relationship; and it may provide useful insights and practical guidelines/grounds in designing today's schools and campuses, where the young people's needs for the Directed Attention- and Attention Restorative- Servicescapes seem to be greater than ever.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.16-25
• /
• 2018

Initially from the Taoist scriptures, 'Dongcheon' is a term that can be regarded as a symbolic place in the real world for the enlightened ones who received relief and peace by restoring the human nature taught in the Confucian school. The long for an ideal world apart from the reality embodied as the labeling some places 'Dongcheon,' and the term was used to refer to a scenery where the ideal fairyland is reproduced. Besides, 'Dongcheon' was a term often used by Confucian scholars for various purposes including the attachment to the nearby landscapes, expressing homogeneity and superiority through placeness and the beautification of settlement spaces. This paper is the result of a field study on 'Dongcheon' in the Gyeongsang-Do. The research was conducted from March to August 2018, and we carried out firsthand location surveys on Dongcheons, of which some were lost, others were fairly preserved, and still others could not be located as only their existences were passed down orally. According to the field survey, there were total 111 inscriptions or engravings on the plates in Gyeongsang-Do that include the term 'Dongcheon.' There were 79 'Dongcheon' inscriptions confirmed in the Gyeongsangbuk-Do region: twenty in Yeongju-City, sixteen in Bonghwa-Gun, eleven in Andong-City and seven in Yeongyang-Gun and Ulgin-Gun. Among them, two were in the form of a wooden sign, and six were erected as rock signposts. Fourteen stops reported in the literature were lost or unidentified. Also, among the sixteen signs in Bonghwa-Gun, nine were cursive engravings. Meanwhile, there were 26 Dongcheon inscriptions in the Gyeongsangnam-Do region. Hamyang-Gun and Sancheong-Gun anf Hadong-Gun each housed three inscriptions, and seven places were in the form of rock signposts. 'Hwagaedongcheon' and 'Geumsandongcheon' could not be identified in inscriptions although they appear in Jibong Yuseol and Taengniji with stories of Choi Chiwon. The significance of this study is as a reference for future researches in traditional scenery, epigraphs, or as primary data that helps cultural exploration in the region.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.22-43
• /
• 2019

Mureung Valley was designed as a place of scenic beauty. It was called a utopia because of its unexplored regions. Many people traveled to this place and wrote poetry and prose describing it. It represented a culturally historic site and an example of the changing of cultural spaces. Mureung Valley was one of the nameless valleys in Duta Mountain, but "Mureunggye" was named by Kim Hyon Won, who was a governor of Samcheok.. The valley acquired a reputation for many people's visiting. It was a famous space because local residents liked the place, and famous people also loved the place. This place was adapted into a cultural place with a link to the immortal world and an educational place by people's travel stories. The place maintained a reputation until now and took center stage as a famous travel space. One of the reasons it became a place of famous scenic beauty is travel. People who travel to Mureung Valley created poetry and prose containing their excitement and travel stories. As the poetry and prose had esthetic images of Mureung Valley, people understood the place. The poetry and prose showed the meaning of the place and the changing process. These codified the reputation in the place. Mureung Valley was pointed out in one of the Cheokju-Palkyoungs. However, Mugye-Palkyoung (only for Mureung Valley) was made. It was understood as the most beautiful scenery in the place and it had the meaning of the ethics place which embodied Neo Confucianism. Mureung Valley has a great natural landscape and cultural history background. That is how this place of scenic beauty was created.