A Study on the Housing Adjustment in the First Half of Cho-Sun Dynasty - with special perspectives of microsociological approach -

조선전반기 가족의 주거조절에 관한 연구 - 미시사회학적 접근으로 -

  • Hong, Hyung-Ock (Department of Housing and Child Development, KyungHee University)
  • 홍형옥 (경희대학교 가정관리학과)
  • Published : 1993.06.01

Abstract

This study was made to analyze the housing adjustment phenomenon in the first half of Chosun Dynasty by applying Microsociological approach. By reviewing the housing adjustment theory of Morris and Winter, research model for the period was developed in terms of socioeconomic characteristics, normative housing deficit (=cultural norm-housing condition+family norm), constraints, behavioral propensities, and housing adjustment mechanism with the following results : 1. In the first half of Chosun Dynasty the size of the house, the house site and decorating items were specified by law (cultural norm) according to the social status. Although the law was constraints for the housing phenomenon, it was not applied universally. Frequantly the law was violated by the upper class. By the middle of the Dynasty the family norm became more important for the housing phenomenon than the cultural norm. 2. Efforts were made to practice the Confucianism as a cultural norm in the first half of Chosun Dynasty At that time Husband-Living-in-Wife's-House was more popular than Wife-Living-in-Husband's-House. Because the customs were against the Confucianism, the latter was encouraged by law. But it did not change. Instead a compromised system became popular in the middle of the Dynasty. The house shrine was practiced to increase the symbolism of the family, which, in turn, exerted influences in deciding the housing site (cultural norm). These cultural norm was not accepted as the family norm untill the second half of the Dynasty. These trends forced the man and woman use separate areas of the house, and formulated a hierarchic positions within a house. 3. It was shown that the settlement of Confucianism as a family norm was closely related to the popularization of the Ondol system in the house, which functioned as one of the behavioral propensities to encourage diversity of space for many purposes. Though the Ondol system was accepted as a useful heating system earlier, this became more popular in the middle of the Dynasty because the housing pattern with Ondol fitted very well with a large family system with patriarchism. Ondol system for one or two rooms substituted Ondol for all rooms in the second half of the Dynasty. 4. From the beginning of the Dynasty housing adjustment of the family was determined by the social status and by law (cultural norm). Within this cultural norm each family decided its adjustment mechanism according to its economic ability (family norm). Family norm was more important factor than the cultural norm to determine the micro-space pattern in the house. But this period witnessed the formations of new conditions by the ruling class's efforts to implement new ethics for hierarchy and sexual discrimination. According to these conditions the Confucianism overruled the family norm in the later period.

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