The Outline of Villages and Dwellings of the Korean Immigrants in Yen-Pien Area of China

중국(中國) 연변지구(延邊地區) 조선족(朝鮮族)의 마을과 주거

This paper is the result of the researches and the field surveys of the villages and the dwellings of Korean immigrants in Yien-Pien area, north-eastern China. This study aims to persue both of the origin and the process of development of their settlements and dwelling types from late 19C to the present. Their processes are too complex to analysis by single view-point. I have eyes to interprete them from three pionts; 1)correspondences between the dwelling types and the econo-political history of their region, 2)cultural assimilation with the native dwelling types, and 3)the direction of their modernization with the economical development of modern China. Three village types have been pioneered; 1)the villages of indivisual immigration, 2)the villages of planned group immigration, and 3)the villages of socilistic reform villages of 1) were composed of organic village patterns and various shaped dwelling lots on the sloped site; villages both of 2) and 3), gird patterns and uniformed lots on open fields. Historically, villages of 1) were pioneered before 1931; villages of 2), 1936-1945; villages of 3), from 1945. Each of dwelling types had strong relations with the village types to which it belonged. Before 1931, dwellings were built up based on so called "Ham-buk dwelling type" which was dominent in north-eastern Korea. In the era of gruop-immigration, various dwelling types were flew into Yen-Pien from southern Korea. In modern China, their southern types were changed into Yen-Pien type as similar as Ham-book type. After 1945, with the Great leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, as communization of indivisual properties and reorganization of rural communities, each of dwellings became smaller and simpler in aspects of scales as well as functions. There are two types in Yen-Pien dwellings, those are 'single-file' and 'double-file' type. Three sub-types of latter arc 'six-bays', 'eight-bays', and rarely 'ten-bays'. The most common element of all types is Chong-ju-k'an; which is large room with heated floor, openig to kitchen. Now, modern dwellings of Korean immigrants are changing their spatial compositions, materials, and structures. With cultural assimilation as well as modernization, especially in urban areas, they are compelled to accept the elements of Chinese dwellings. But the spatial element of "Chong-ju-k'an", which is the core element of Yen-Pien dwelling type, never fade away nor is changed.