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HELLO from KOREA

Hello-Eng(3.3) - Korea.net

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was dominant during the Three Kingdoms period. Three pagodas stand in<br />

a line going east to west, each with its own hall, therefore called the onehall<br />

per-pagoda style. There were also two-pagoda and three-pagoda<br />

structures. Bulguksa is one of the most beautiful of the temples built in<br />

the Unified Silla period.<br />

The woodwork of these temples was often painted in patterns of flaming<br />

colors, called dancheong, a technique still practiced today. Used in<br />

traditional motifs and symbols, each color is supposed to have its own<br />

meaning: blue=spring, red=summer, white=autumn, black=winter, yellow=the<br />

changing of seasons, and reddish brown=harmony.<br />

Of course, people didn't live in these temples, and the typical house<br />

that Korean farmers lived in, dating back to the Joseon Dynasty, was<br />

quite different. Always single story, these farmers' homes had thatched<br />

roofs and clay walls, and were usually built in an L- or U-shape around<br />

an open courtyard.<br />

53 _ Culture<br />

Did You Know?<br />

Traditional Korean<br />

houses have long had central<br />

heating. The kitchen stove<br />

was connected to vents<br />

underneath the floor of the<br />

main room (or rooms),<br />

which radiated heat up<br />

through the floor. This<br />

made it comfortable to sleep<br />

and sit on cushions or mattresses<br />

on the floor. Heated<br />

floors, or ondol, are still the<br />

way in which Korean homes<br />

are heated, although now<br />

they use water pipes heated by gas<br />

or electricity, instead of firewood.

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