This study aims to elucidate how different power subjects experimented with and adapted ‘tradition’ by analyzing the architecture of Bakmunsa (1932) and State Guest House (1967), which were located at the Jangchung foothills of Namsan, Seoul. Alth...
This study aims to elucidate how different power subjects experimented with and adapted ‘tradition’ by analyzing the architecture of Bakmunsa (1932) and State Guest House (1967), which were located at the Jangchung foothills of Namsan, Seoul. Although these two structures were constructed on the same site with a time gap and borrowed different traditional styles for distinct political purposes, they are situated within a continuous context of ‘experimentation’ and ‘adaptation’ of tradition through their realization using the modern material of reinforced concrete.
The research site, the former Namsoryeong site in Jangchung-dong, was merely the eastern boundary of Hanyang during the Joseon Dynasty. However, it emerged as a memorial space for the dynastic state with the establishment of Jangchungdan during the Korean Empire period, and transformed into a site of colonial commemoration through park development, road and tram expansion, and the construction of Bakmunsa during the colonial period. Prior to architectural analysis, this study analyzed the locational conditions, confirming the site’s dual characteristic of high accessibility to the city center yet topographical isolation. This allowed Jangchung-dong to secure a unique status, existing in parallel with but distinct from the Chosen Shrine and Keijo Shrine on the Hoehyeon foothills. While the Chosen Shrine directly represented Japanese Imperial authority through the Shinmei-zukuri (神明造) style, Bakmunsa functioned as a variational space promoting ‘Harmony between Japan and Korea (Naisen Yuwa)’ by mixing Korean elements based on the Zenshuyō (禅宗様) style. This structure continued after liberation, evolving into a new pairing: the ‘political symbol’ of the National Assembly Building planned for the Chosen Shrine site and the ‘diplomatic protocol’ of State Guest House built on the Bakmunsa site.
This study reveals how tradition was experimented with and adapted in each building by detailing their layout, plan, elevation, and structure. In the Main Hall of Bakmunsa, architectural elements such as Korean-style windows, plinths, and ceilings were combined with the Zenshuyō style of the Kamakura period, and Joseon royal buildings (Heunghwamun, Seokgojeon, and Seonwonjeon) were relocated as annexes. This was not a simple mixture of styles, but a strategy to emphasize Japanese identity while endowing similarity to traditional Joseon temples through Zenshuyō, which had been redefined in modern Japan as representing ‘Asian spirituality’ or a ‘pure Japanese temple style.’ Notably, unlike the Chosen Shrine which adhered to wood and Shinmei-zukuri even at the expense of practicality, Bakmunsa adopted reinforced concrete to secure ‘permanent monumentality’ along with fire and earthquake resistance.
After liberation, State Guest House was planned as diplomatic architecture to liquidate remnants of Japanese imperialism and internationally demonstrate national legitimacy and ‘Koreanness.’ It visualized Korean identity as a national facility by faithfully imitating the plan and layout of Huijeongdang and Daejojeon at Changdeokgung Palace, as well as palace architectural elements such as brackets (gongpo), dancheong, dragon heads, and japsang. It is noteworthy that while State Guest House marked the starting point of state-led tradition reconstruction projects in the 1960s—such as Gwanghwamun and the National Museum—it emphasized practicality by combining a faithful traditional exterior with Western facilities and modern interiors. In State Guest House, reinforced concrete symbolized the status of an industrialized nation, distinct from its meaning in Bakmunsa.
Technically, Bakmunsa was the first reinforced concrete traditional temple on the Korean Peninsula, reproducing the appearance of traditional wooden structures using a monolithic structure and steel Fink trusses. State Guest House is an early example of traditional reinforced concrete architecture after liberation, and it appears to have adopted the same structural method based on the experience of demolishing Bakmunsa. Crucially, the single material of reinforced concrete carried different meanings depending on the contextual era. In Bakmunsa, it symbolized permanence as a ‘permanent structure commemorating great figures,’ whereas in State Guest House, it represented national industrialization and modernization in conjunction with the development of the cement industry during the post-war reconstruction period.
In conclusion, Bakmunsa and State Guest House demonstrate the process by which the stylistic choice of ‘what to select as tradition’ is closely coupled with the political objectives of power. Tradition was not a fixed entity but a variable product continuously experimented with and adapted according to the power relations and ideologies of the time. Furthermore, new materials like reinforced concrete and steel served not only as the technical basis for realizing the selected tradition but also as means to represent the symbolism (permanence and modernity) aimed for by the ruling power. These findings contribute to understanding the complex aspects where tradition, power, and technology intersect in modern Korean architecture from the colonial period to the post-liberation era.