By Yim Seok-jae

Translated by Lee Jean-young 

(Ewha Womans University Press)

It is easy to be mesmerized by the beauty of hanok, especially its tiled roof and “daecheong,” the wooden floor. What a lot of people don’t notice, however, is the charm of its humble-looking windows and doors, which are in fact strictly designed and built based on Confucian philosophy and values.

Scholar Yim Seok-jae’s English-language book, “Windows and Doors: A Study of Korean Architecture,” offers an interesting overview of the windows and doors of Korea’s traditional houses, and how they reflect and carry the country’s old, forgotten values.

Some of the key elements of hanok windows are lattices and frames. According to Yim, the lattice “serves an ornamental function through its patterns and its decorative quality may be either purely formative or symbolic.” While the typical lattice of Korea’s Buddhist architecture is floral, the Confucian lattice has simple geometric patterns. The windows may look simple, but they represent the interaction between ying and yang and the order of the universe.

“Confucian lattices possess the two opposing qualities of uniformity and variety,” writes Yim in the book.

“The lattice creates various patterns on the white rice paper covering the window of the door. Yet the various patterns are not unruly or chaotic but follow a certain rule; they are composed of rectangles shaped by intersecting lines. In addition to these purely formal characteristics, the lattice of Confucian architecture symbolizes the cosmic principles and the inconstancy of the myriad things in it in an extremely compressed and simplified way.”

Yim claims that while the windows may appear humble and unexciting, they can be also proud and aloof; their beauty stems from the consistency and inherence.

He also dedicates a chapter to hanok doors, which also carry Korea’s traditional philosophy and values. For example, the Sosuldaemun (high main) gate of a hanok well represents the Confucian theory of “social beauty.” In Confucianism, according to Yim, beauty was not considered an individual’s reaction, but was thought to be linked with goodness as collective and common value. Confucians believed humans possess the innate desire to feel “secure” in an hierarchal order, and as long as ethics are served to preserve justice, everyone would benefit from it.

“The gate consists of three doors, and thus three compartments,” writes Yim.

“Three is the number standing for class hierarchy ― two followers and one leader. Sosuldaemun’s structure of a tall middle gate flanked by two shorter gates represents the commanding hierarchical order of the time.”

Though written in a scholarly perspective and style, the book offers an intelligent and fascinating analysis on hanok windows and doors; it would be hard not to gaze at them for awhile during one’s visit to a hanok after reading this book.

The book is complemented with pictures of real Buddhist temples and well known hanok, including Buseoksa Temple in North Gyeongsang Province, Gwibong Family Head House in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, and Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.

Born in 1961 in Seoul, Yim received his Bachelor’s degree in architecture from Seoul National University. He earned his Ph.D. in architecture from University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. He currently teaches at Ewha Womans University.

(dyc@heraldcorp.com)