Vol :37 Issue No.1 2012 - Open House International

Figure 5. Although contemporary hanoks in Bukchon maintain the tripartite wall composition described in the design guidel
ine, they are far from the imagined lifestyle of restraint and simplicity. Source: Author.
fortress-like structures with a hint of traditional form
such as tiled roofs. To a certain extent, such unconventional
treatment of façade is due to the cramped
urban condition which does not allow enough
space for a courtyard. Others note that urban
hanoks are fundamentally different from hanoks in
the earlier period since the prototype continues to
adapt to the process of urbanization and industrialization.
While this observation supports a more flexible
interpretation of tradition, it alone cannot
account for the stylistic uniformity in Bukchon.
Notwithstanding the fact Bukchon was a popular
residential district for upper class literati, there was
no strict segregation according to class which
means that diverse house types co-existed. In fact,
even during the Chosun Dynasty, numerous distinct
vernacular dwelling types such as log cabins,
thatched roof houses, and shingle-roofed houses
were common.
L OC AL U RB AN CONDITIONS
Despite relatively slower urban growth of historical
part of Seoul, the area near Bukchon has seen
many commercial developments. For instance, fifteen-story-high
Hyundai Building, constructed in
1986, abuts the edge of Bukchon (Fig. 6). Another
large structure is the Constitutional Court, also constructed
in the 1980s causing demolition of old
hanoks in the area. Establishment of large commercial
and governmental agencies prompted
development of small businesses such as restaurants
and cafes. Recent designation of the area as
a historical cultural district, where reconstruction of
more than four stories is forbidden, has resulted in
a series of legal battles between corporations and
the city government. Spatial experience of the village
is compounded by commercial development
of Insadong, area south to the village famous for
traditional antique shops and art galleries. Spillover
developments from Insadong, another special
cultural district of Seoul, have permeated into the
formerly quiet residential area. Surrounded by sites
of cultural heritage, the village is vulnerable to
speculation and gentrification.
What is noteworthy is that in this process of constructing
upper class dwellings with full amenities,
conflicts between neighbors escalate. Although the
use of tiled roofs and wooden columns seems to
show attempts to blend into the neighborhood, it is
clear that such gesture stops short of tokenism when
massive wall and broadened road disrupt the traditional
relationship between hanok and streets. The
unconventional construction method produced friction
between the existing residents who suffered
from the high level of noise coming from the construction
sites. Others observed the process of gentrification
when previous residents in Samchungdong
part of the village sold their houses to the rich
outsiders after the sharp rise in land price (Lee
2008). In addition, division between NGOs after
the beginning of the regeneration project is pointed
out as contributing to the process of community’s
disintegration (Lee 2006). Ironically, the effort to
revitalize vernacular house form has resulted in perverse
transformation of hanok. At the same time,
the dream of cultivating idyllic communitarian
neighborhood proved premature when construction
of fortress-like hanok contributed to the conflicts
among residents.
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open house international Vol.37 No.1, March 2012 Remodelling Of The Vernacular In Bukchon Hanoks Jieheerah Yun