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Every new visitor to Seoul will recognize that the teeming
capital city is a fascinating showcase of architectural trends and styles. They
represent not only Korea's indigenous cultural background, but also imported
designs, schemes and techniques from different traditions and ages. The city's
ever-changing skyline speaks for the speed with which Korea has developed in
recent decades, as well as its struggle to accomplish modernization amid the
tides of Western culture and civilization. The city offers a kaleidoscopic view
of the works of innumerable architects and engineers from both ancient and
modern periods. Modern high-rises stand side by side ancient royal palaces,
private houses, temples, shrines and gates.
The impact of Western architecture began to hit Korea during
the last decades of the 19th century when Korea began to sign treaties with
foreign governments. In 1900, a British architect, at the request of the ruling
family of the Choson Dynasty, designed a royal
residence in Renaissance style within Toksugung
palace, which is located in downtown Seoul. The two-story stone edifice, which
was completed in 1909 and later had been used as the National Museum, was one of
many Western-style buildings erected by foreigners in Seoul and major provincial
cities around the turn-of-the-century. Architecture was a segment of Korean life
that underwent the most obvious transformation during this period of political
turmoil, as foreign powers in Korea attempted to build new structures that would
fulfill both a practical and symbolic function. Buildings from that time include
the Gothic-style Myongdong Cathedral (1898), the
Renaissance-style Bank of Korea's headquarters (1912), the Seoul Railroad
Station (1925), the Romanesque-style Seoul Anglican Church (1916) and the Seoul
City Hall (1925).
Seoul Train Station
Western-style buildings continued to emerge in Seoul,
impressing its residents with their novel appearances and unfamiliar
conveniences, until the 1930s. Western architects and engineers built many of
them, especially churches and offices for foreign legations, but the Japanese
gradually took over the construction as their political power increased. The
Japanese put up a number of new buildings for public offices, banks, schools and
commercial buildings, mostly in classical Western styles modified to suit their
taste.
The late 1930s to the 1950s was a dark period in the history
of modern architecture in Korea. Japan was engaged in prolonged warfare and
Koreans were suffering from the extreme economic deprivation and harsh political
control as a result. Architectural activity was virtually stagnant until after
the Korean War.
In the early years of modern architecture's development,
Koreans gained new ideas and skills from Western architects and engineers while
they worked on important construction projects. Some young engineers were
employed by the Japanese government and a few were successful enough to open
their own firms later on. Among these early pioneers were Pak Kil-yong, who
designed the Hwashin Department Store building, and Pak Tong-jin, who designed
the main building of Korea University. These architects, who were active in the
early 1930s, are two of the most significant figures in the history of modern
Korean architecture as they were the first Korean designers of important
structures about whom there is any recorded history. Traditionally, Korean
architecture relied upon the system of apprenticeship. Likewise, carpenters and
masons were trained under master technicians. Formal education in Western
architectural concepts and engineering was first introduced to Korea in 1916.
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H.O.P.E. (non-profit org) (International
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Earth) Any advertisement you view helps save the
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