• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.24-47
• /
• 2013

This study focused on the constructional concepts, landscape design techniques and changes made of the Sandan(山壇) area in the rear garden of Changdeokgung Palace based on the spatial organization of the zone. The results of this study are as below. Constructional layers that have been maintained throughout the centuries from King Injo(仁祖), King Sukjong(肅宗), King Sunjo(純祖), the Japanese colonial period to the present, were found in the Sandan area. The Sandan area, which was developed with the establishment of Chuiseungjeong(取勝亭) during the ruling of King Injo(仁祖), was created as a resting place for the King, and its usage continued until King Sukjong(肅宗) built Nakminjeong(樂民亭). However, the whole area was reorganized to host ritual ceremonies, where ancestral rites were performed for the mountain gods, after Sandan and Baekunsa(白雲社) were built during King Gojong's reign, before the drawing of 'Painting of Eastern Palaces(東闕圖).' The architectural component used then appears to have been designed to serve ancestral ritual formalities for the god of land, or to satisfy the religious desires of the royal family not fulfilled by Confucian courtesy. These are characteristics that define the Sandan area. Meanwhile, the analysis of the ground plan of the Changdeokgung Palace revealed that the Sandan had been maintained until the Japanese colonial era, but was removed sometime after liberation. The area underwent extensive reform in the early 1970s, when the whole area was developed into a tourist destination called Bingcheon(氷泉). Then, a new road that runs through Bingcheon was laid, and the present condition reflects the construction result of the time. An interview with a person who had taken part in the repair work in the 1970s confirmed that the construction work at the time had the goal of establishing two drainage systems for drinking water and copied the Okryuchon(玉流川) well.