Changes in Architecture

At a glance

The theme on the map

13 events in this theme

1. 1200Geungnakjeon Hall, Bongjeongsa, Andong

   The oldest surviving wooden building in Korea. A record of roof repairs in 1363 shows this Goryeo column-head-bracket hall was built well before then.

2. 1308Daeungjeon Hall, Sudeoksa, Yesan

   A Goryeo column-head-bracket hall built in 1308 — the oldest wooden building whose date is certain.

3. 1350Eungjinjeon Hall, Seongbulsa, Hwangju

   A late Goryeo hall in the multi-bracket style. Brought in from Yuan, this style went on to the great palace and temple halls of Joseon.

4. 1376Muryangsujeon Hall, Buseoksa, Yeongju

   A Goryeo column-head-bracket hall rebuilt in 1376, famous for its entasis columns and hipped-and-gabled roof, enshrining a clay seated Amitabha.

5. 1395Gyeongbokgung built

   The main palace, Gyeongbokgung, was completed in the new capital; Jeong Do-jeon named it after a line in the Book of Songs.

6. 1398Sungnyemun Gate, Seoul

   The main gate of the Hanyang city wall (Namdaemun). A multi-bracket gate finished in 1398, it burned in 2008 and was restored in 2013.

7. 1488Janggyeong Panjeon, Haeinsa, Hapcheon

   Early Joseon depositories that hold the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks. Their scientific design for ventilation and humidity made them a World Heritage Site in 1995.

8. 1605 – 1626Palsangjeon Hall, Beopjusa, Boeun

   The only surviving five-storey wooden pagoda in Korea. Burned in the second Japanese invasion, it was rebuilt from 1605 to 1626.

9. 1635Mireukjeon Hall, Geumsansa, Gimje

   A three-storey hall rebuilt in 1635 — three storeys outside, one open space inside for a huge Maitreya Buddha.

10. 1702Gakhwangjeon Hall, Hwaeomsa, Gurye

    A two-storey hall finished in 1702 — two storeys outside, one open space inside, in the multi-bracket style; one of the largest wooden Buddhist halls in Korea.

11. 1794 – 1796Hwaseong Fortress built

    Jeongjo built a new fortress at Suwon, where he had moved his father’s tomb. Jeong Yak-yong helped design it and introduced a crane; the work was recorded in a detailed royal protocol.

12. 1865 – 1868Gyeongbokgung rebuilt

    The Daewongun rebuilt Gyeongbokgung, in ruins since 1592; the forced contributions and debased coins that paid for it caused wide resentment.

13. 1900 – 1910Seokjojeon Hall, Deoksugung

    A Western-style stone building raised in Gyeongungung (Deoksugung) under the Korean Empire — a neoclassical hall begun in 1900 and finished in 1910.

Key people

• 
  Gojong1852 – 1919

  Twenty-sixth king of Joseon and first emperor of the Korean Empire

• 
  Taejo (Yi Seong-gye)1335 – 1408

  Founder and first king of Joseon, formerly a general who fought Japanese pirates and the Red Turbans

• 
  Jeong Do-jeon1342 – 1398

  Neo-Confucian architect of the new dynasty who named the palace and capital gates; killed in the First Strife of Princes

• 
  Seongjong1457 – 1495

  Ninth king of Joseon, who completed the Gyeongguk daejeon code and promoted Sarim scholars

• 
  Sukjong1661 – 1720

  Nineteenth king of Joseon, who used factional reversals to strengthen the throne

• 
  Jeongjo1752 – 1800

  Twenty-second king of Joseon, founder of the Gyujanggak library and builder of Hwaseong Fortress

• 
  Jeong Yak-yong (Dasan)1762 – 1836

  Silhak scholar who helped design Hwaseong; exiled to Gangjin, where he wrote the Mongmin simseo

• 
  Heungseon Daewongun1820 – 1898

  Gojong's father and regent, who rebuilt Gyeongbokgung and rejected Western trade