The Beauty of Hanok [Photo Essay Contest]
The Korea JoongAng Daily hosted its first photo essay contest for elementary, middle and high school students on the theme: “Promote the beauty of Korea to foreign countries." The contest ran from October to November. Photos containing scenes of traditional culture, family love, places to see and tasty treats in Korea were submitted for the contest.
Jimin Kang from Korea International School Jeju Campus won the silver prize in the middle school category for this photo essay.
Hanok, the remarkable fusion of nature's raw beauty and architecture, refers to houses built in the traditional Korean architectural style. Its history began in Korea's prehistoric era and continued to evolve until the late Joseon period. Hanok's appearance varies slightly depending on its region and purpose. However, regardless of their style and purpose the Hanok all possess the beauty of nature and create a wonderful harmony with their surrounding environment.
Hanok is made with natural materials like wood, earth, and stone, with minimal manufacturing involved. Hanok is a direct product of nature, and it is why we can find the beauty of nature inside Hanok. The pillars of Hanok are made from tree trunks that only had their barks removed. Therefore, we can clearly see the natural splits and texture of the trees. Moreover, the pillar supporting the roof resembles the tree trunk supporting the branches and leaves. Also, the lattice and window frames are made of wood as well. Right after construction, the wood of Hanok is light and soft. But as time goes by, it gets darker and rough. Hanok changes and ages naturally just as the things in nature do. Its beauty isn’t artificial and static but rather natural and lively. Hanok stands on foundation stones and isn’t in direct contact with the ground. The foundation stones are not grinded and are used almost as the state it is found. Similar stones are also often used for walls as well. This adds on to the raw beauty of nature of Hanok.
Hanok’s harmony with its surroundings is what makes it more appealing. Hanok is made with nature itself. Therefore, it doesn’t stand out, and becomes a part of the surroundings. Furthermore, Hanok is constructed while taking the surrounding environment into consideration. Hanok is generally built with mountains on the back because of Korea’s mountainous terrain and its positive effects on geomancy. The roof of Hanok resembles the shape of the mountain, and its height is adjusted so that it doesn’t excessively obscure mountain. The height of the walls is also kept as low as possible so that it doesn’t interfere with the scenery or isolate the Hanok from the surroundings. Moreover, the Changhoji which is a traditional paper window covering. It protects people from the cold wind while letting in warm sunlight. Due to the Changhoji, the inside and outside of Hanok is connected even when all doors are closed. Hanok and its surroundings have great synergy, enhancing each other’s beauty.
Unfortunately, Hanok have become relatively rare in urban settings, as they are giving out their places to tall skyscrapers. However, there are still places to interact with Hanok. There are famous, accessible attractions like Gyeongbokgung and Hanok hotels to Hanok in rural villages. I hope that these places will continue to inspire people to appreciate the beauty and value of Hanok and that, in the near future, we will be able to find the beautiful features of Hanok in modern buildings as well.
By Jimin Kang, Korea International School Jeju Campus
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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