A (; name in South Korea) or joseonjip (; name in North Korea and for Koreans in Yanbian, China), is a traditional Korean house. were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty.
Korean architecture considers the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. The interior of the house is also planned accordingly. This principle is called baesanimsu (), meaning that the ideal house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front. shapes differ by region. In the cold northern regions of Korea, are built in a square with a courtyard in the middle in order to retain heat better. In the south, are more open and L-shaped.
History
A is a Korean house which was developed in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria.
Early history
Paleolithic people in the Korean peninsula may have occupied caves or made temporary houses. In the Neolithic era, the temporary house developed into a dugout hut. They dug into the ground with a small shovel and built a small house that used rafters and columns. Wood was used for the rafters and columns, and straw was used for roof. In the Bronze Age, there were several columns in the house, so the area of the house was extended relative to early houses. Iron Age had Ondol (, ), and also used giwa (), a kind of roofing tile which was made with fired clay. By using giwa roof tiles, developed a specific shape.
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment saw many foreigners visit the hermit kingdom. For this reason, Protestantism was spread, but it wasn't common. Anglicanism and Catholicism were the more common branches of the Christian faith in Korea at that time. Early churches utilized the style. This church is located in Ganghwa County, Jincheon County, Cheongju.
South Korea
After the devastation of the Korean War there was a need for cheap, suitable housing for people displaced by the war. During the period immediately after the war, several of historical value were demolished. In the larger cities of South Korea, only small clusters of remain. However the value of has been discussed in the early twentieth century, with many comparing them favourably to the more common but less eco-friendly apartments found across South Korea. Today, some train stations are influenced by traditional design (Jeonju Station, for example).
North Korea
In Kaesong, the traditional originally there remain and play a role as a tourist attraction. Giwajip (tile-roofed houses) surround the .
China
can also be found in northeast China, and Koreans have been living for over 100 years in built for themselves. Since 2010, people have been working on a project focused on making a village in Heilongjiang, China.
Origin
The term '' appeared for the first time in a paper about houses on April 23, 1907. In that paper, was used in reference to the specific area along Jeong-dong road from Donuimun to Baejae school. At that time, instead of using , terms like jooga (meaning living houses) and jaetaek (meaning a variety of houses) were more widely used. The word was only used in special circumstances when the latest house was built somewhere.
During the era of Korea under Japanese rule, the ruler used terms such as "jooga" or "Joseon house" when they were talking about house improvement. There is a record of ; however, the specific term "" hasn't been used prevalently.
The specific word "" appeared in the Samsung Korean dictionary in 1975, where it was defined as an antonym of "western house" and as a term meaning Joseon house (Korean-style house). After the 1970s, with urban development, many apartments and terraced houses were built in South Korea, and many were demolished everywhere. From that time on, a was only called a "Korean traditional house".
In a broad sense, "" refers to a house with thatching or to a Neowa-jib (a shingle-roofed house) or a Giwa-jib (tile-roofed house), although the general meaning of refers to only a Giwa-jib in Korea.
Characteristics
The environment-friendly aspects of traditional Korean houses range from the structure's inner layout to the building materials which were used. Another unique feature of traditional houses is their special design for cooling the interior in summer and heating the interior in winter.