Unity of Sentiment and Scene: The Associa- tion of Architecture with Landscape in Korea

1. Case one: Outdoor Pavilions, Study Halls and Confucian Academies

Traditional villages in Korea are divided largely into two types: those inhabited mostly by people with one or two family names and those by people with various family names. The former are clan villages, where the great majority of residents belong to one or two clans and maintain a dominant voice in the community through the generations.

Confucianism had a remarkable influence on the formation and evolution of clan vil- lages in Korea. As it took root as the governing ideology and Confucian daily customs spread throughout Joseon (1392-1910) society, people sharing the same ancestry began organizing clan groups around the head families. In accordance with the Confucian world view which dominated everyday life and rituals across social classes, the clan communi- ties erected facilities necessary to manifest their noble status and maintain hierarchical order within their clans.

Among these facilities, outdoor pavilions (亭子, jeongja), study halls (精舍, jeongsa), and Confucian academies of advanced studies (書院, seowon) are included.
Confucian scholars believed that academic study was inseparable from investigating the principles of nature. This is why traditional clan villages, mostly built around the learned no- bility, have ancient pavilions, study halls and academies where Confucian scholars read and

studied the rules of nature as well as took rest, besides the residences of the head families of leading clans. These facilities were built at scenic places in and out of the village and beauti- fully harmonized into the natural scenery.

Study halls and pavilions provided the Confucian literati of Joseon with ideal spaces to advance their studies and enjoy nature. These facilities are simple buildings, normally consisting of a single open hall, but sometimes containing an enclosed room. These mini- mal structures were designed to extend the limited space of the buildings into nature, or bring nature into their small but dignified spaces in nonchalant harmony.

The Confucian literati of Joseon regarded the study hall as a place to pursue their academic interests and express their views of nature and the world. They believed they could empty their minds and enrich themselves in the humble halls. Hence they are far from being authoritative elite-class architecture.

Pavilions, built at scenic spots, were restful spaces where the literati could contemplate nature and life. Initially intended as private places for elite scholars, during the latter part of the Joseon period they became a kind of public venue where people met for various purposes. They were used for family or clan gatherings, or sometimes local literati meet- ings or parties for seniors.

Pavilions are mostly open structures with no walls, consisting of pillars supporting a roof, so the surrounding scenery can be fully appreciated. They were often built on higher ter- rain to look over the surrounding area, or built on high stone bases, to command a better view.

Pavilions and study halls in a clan village are products of the culture of the local literati. The elite scholars based in rural villages built such structures to enjoy natural landscapes and entertain guests, while seeking the ultimate truth in nature. In other words, the pavil- ions and study halls offered them places to practice the time-old principle of “investigat- ing things and extending knowledge” (格物致知) as well as to take free and leisurely ram- bles and recite poetry. In these unassuming buildings the literati pursued their scholarly ideals and taught students, instilling the values of integrity and modesty in the young generation.

The architectural style of pavilions was also applied to Confucian academies of ad- vanced studies (書院, seowon), private educational institutions run by the provincial literati in their hometowns during the Joseon period. These private academies had two primary functions: teaching students and revering ancient sages.

These private academies were built on scenic estates outside provincial or county ad- ministrative seats, with low mountains at the back and a large stream or sprawling fields

in front. Ideally, they sat on a gentle slope facing a low mountain in the distance across the fields, the buildings laid out in harmony with the surrounding landscape. Generally they are found near places related with the sages they honor.

The academies were built at places of outstanding natural scenery primarily because the Confucian scholars preferred to lead a reclusive life in nature. They tried to cultivate body and mind amid nature to become one with nature and heaven, the supreme state of mind in Confucianism. Therefore, the Confucian scholars built their academies in scenic envi- ronments like a mountain valley with a cool stream, where they could communicate with nature in poetic language.

The elevated pavilion was found to be the most appropriate architectural form for this purpose. Scholars engaged in theoretic debate or held poetry meetings at these pavil- ions, enjoying the surrounding landscape. In this way they found escape from worldly pressures, resting and recharging themselves. The elevated pavilion is usually the main entrance to a Confucian academy, or sometimes a separate building inside the main gate. These academies incorporating the Confucian world view into their architecture in a way appropriate to the mountainous topography provided a new paradigm for Korean archi- tecture.

Among the Confucian Academies in Korea, Byeongsan Seowon (屛山書院, Byeongsan Academy) is one of the representatives. The academy faces south from the foot of a ridge of Mt. Hwasan (華山) with the Nakdong-gang River flowing in front and Mt. Byeongsan (屛山) lying beyond the river, forming a picturesque landscape. A broad sand beach spreads along the river and old gnarled pine trees stand on the adjacent hill

The view from the center of the lecture hall of the academy is truly extraordinary. Mt. Byeongsan and the Nakdong-gang River and the blue sky come into sight altogeth- er, beautifully framed between the pillars of Mandaeru (晩對樓) pavilion like a folding screen. It is an ingenious spatial arrangement that gives the viewer the dramatic feeling of being neither outside nor inside and yet becoming one with nature.

Byeongsan Academy is highly evaluated for its architectural style harmonizing with its beautiful natural environment. Walking amid the ancient buildings or looking at the landscape from the lecture hall or pavilion in front, it is easy to see how architecture can be integrated into the natural surroundings.

2. Case two: Changdeokgung Palace and Rear Garden

From the Three Kingdoms period (37 BCE-668 CE) Korea’s royal palaces were built to be modest but not shabby (儉而不陋), grand but not extravagant (華而不侈). This tradi- tion of Korean palace architecture is best manifested in Changdeokgung (昌德宮) Pal- ace. Of all the ancient palaces of Korea, Changdeokgung is the one whose architecture and gardens best represent the Korean aesthetic and the Korean use of space. The archi- tecture is created to a friendly human scale, with the buildings and gardens following the natural contours of the land.

Changdeokgung Palace is composed of several major areas according to function: the main court of administration where the ministers and officials served the king; the court for government offices where the king and his cabinet looked after politics; the residen- tial court where the king, queen and other members of the royal family slept; and the Rear Garden where the royal family went to rest and cultivate both body and soul.

The architecture and Rear Garden of Changdeokgung Palace are neither large in scale nor overbearing, and do not go against nature. The palace attracts people with the under- lying charm of its sense of quietness and intimacy. It has the power to entrance those who come in search of the beauty of frugality, which is modest and grave at the same time.

Donggwoldo (東闕圖), or “Painting of the Eastern Palace”

The most useful material in gaining an understanding of the overall composition of Changdeokgung Palace is “Donggwoldo (東闕圖),” or “Painting of the Eastern Palace,” which is dated to around 1828. Like an aerial photograph, it gives a clear view over the whole palace area. In the form of a 16-panel folding screen, measuring 576cm long and 273cm high, “Donggwoldo” shows not only every pavilion, hall, gate, and wall of the pal- ace surrounded by mountains and hills, but also building sites, astronomical facilities, streams, bridges, ponds, rock formations, potted plants, crockery terraces, trees, and flow- ers, all of which are realistically and clearly depicted in fine brushwork.

The special beauty of Changdeokgung and the nature of its spaces can be seen in the countless corridors and courtyards that form enclosed spaces, the pavilions in the gardens, and the roofs of the high gates that break up the monotony of stone walls and corridors, as descri bed in “Donggwoldo.” The painting shows how well the architecture harmonizes with the natural environment, how the buildings are set on the land, how the buildings, corridors and walls combine to form courtyards and the boundaries to external spaces, how such courtyards and external spaces are brought together to form bigger areas, and how the structures scattered throughout the Rear Garden complement each other without upsetting nature.

The Rear Garden of Changdeokgung Palace is where the king retreated from the pres- sures of ruling the nation and sought peace in which to study and cultivate the mind and spirit. It also served as a hunting ground at times or a place to practice martial arts. Sometimes the king installed an altar and performed memorial rites to the ancestors in the garden and at other times he held feasts for his courtiers and officials.

The Juhamnu (宙合樓) Pavilion area, which was formed by King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800), is hailed as the part of Changdeokgung displaying the most exemplary use of space. The build- ings in the Juhamnu area show the distinctive features of Korean architecture in terms of layout and the way nature is incorporated into the spaces created. As with much Korean architec- ture, they are designed to frame an attractive view from the inside. The buildings in this part of the palace are so well harmonized with the natural environment that the architec- ture, gardens, and nature are not separate things but form a beautiful whole.

Buyongji Pond (芙蓉池) in front of Juhapru is a square pond with a small round island in the middle bearing a handsome pine tree. It reflects East Asian ancient cosmology under which heaven was considered round and the earth square. Buyongjeong (芙蓉 亭) Pavilion is perched at the side of the pond facing north with its front pillars dipped in the water. Looking out over the surrounding area from this pavilion, which has a cross- shaped plan, the scenery and buildings in the vicinity seem to rush forward into view. To the east of Buyongji is Yeonghwadang (映花堂) Pavilion where the king held banquets for his officials or practiced archery. To the west of the pond is a small pavilion housing a stele erected in 1690 commemorating the construction of four wells during the time of King Sejo.

All the buildings around Buyongji Pond seem to face each other, creating a space that shows the distinctive characteristics of Korean architecture. As with much Korean archi- tecture, the buildings here have been designed to frame an attractive view of the out- side from the inside, using the principle of chagyeong (借景), which means “borrowed scenery,” to bring the outdoors inside. The core of any space in Korean architecture is the principle of following the natural lay of the land to bring the architecture and scenery together as one, as exemplified in the Buyongji area.

The buildings surrounding Buyongji Pond in the Juhamnu area differ in size and func- tion but all look out over the pond. Though each building has a different orientation, the pond serves as an element that ties them all together, creating a unified

whole. On the surface of the pond the sky is reflected, the trees are seen upside down and the roofs of the surrounding buildings float along the water. In this way heaven, nature and architecture are gathered in the pond. Buyongji is thus the core of the nature, space, and architecture of the Juhamnu area; it is the visual focus and the element that elevates the quality of everything around it. It not only enables nature and architecture to show each other off to advantage, but serves to create a gracious space, a space without ten- sion.

Thus, Changdeokgung Palace is more than just a palace to most Koreans. The archi- tecture and spaces created embody the nature of the Korean people, and the ancestors’ attitude to nature. The palace strikes a chord in the hearts of those who visit because of the intimacy of the spatial arrangements and the beautiful harmony between the archi- tecture and the natural setting.

3. Rethinking “Cultural Landscape”

As shown through the cases of one and two, from early on Koreans developed a philosophy of architecture as one with nature, and ultimately one with human beings. Under the Confu- cian system of thought, architecture formed in this way represents the unity of “sentiment” and “scene,” where the subject of the “sentiment,” or aesthetic appreciation, and the object, or the “scene,” are completely in accord with each other.

The unity of sentiment and scene represents movement beyond the state of projecting the individual world view on the object to reach the state of expressing the world view sought by the individual in the projected object. This association of architecture with human virtue leads to the state of unity of heaven and humankind, where the subject and object are one. This is the highest state, which enables architecture and nature to achieve harmony and coexist.

It is mainly maintained that “cultural landscape” is, in general, the artificial landscape made by people who has a certain culture, nonetheless, the nature itself can constitute the part of cultural landscape. For this reason, “cultural landscape” could be changed through time, be- cause it is a part of expression of people’s world view or idea on the land. Cultural landscape is associated with the people of the past, that is, it is not the created landscape at present time. In other words, cultural landscape as a heritage is a sustainable landscape and symbolic, repre- senting the traditional world view of the people from the area.

In sum, Confucian world view of the interaction between humankind and its natural envi- ronment as reflected on the architecture of Korea will embrace the diversity of “cultural land- scape.”