• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.11-22
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• 2017

A plaza represents the identity of a city, and that reveals a plaza's importance. Gwanghwamun Plaza and Seoul Plaza are two representative plazas where the citizens can freely express their opinions. Many major plazas in the center of Seoul were built under the Japanese occupation. Among these, the plaza of Joseon Bank has different characteristics than Gwanghwamun Plaza and Seoul Plaza. Even though this plaza was built in the center of the commercial, administrational, and cultural district during the Japanese colonial period, the research on this plaza has been limited. This study was conducted to verify the features of this plaza by analyzing its construction and transformation during the Japanese colonial period. The study's results outline how the plaza was constructed by the Japanese administration. The intention of the government is shown by the fact that it purchased land parcels and held a design competition. In the 1910s, the government purchased seven parcels of land during the expansion of roads as the place for the plaza. During the late 1930s, the government accepted a traffic circle to regulate the traffic and eliminate the conflict between crossing movements. In 1939, a fountain was built in the plaza's center, and its design was selected through a design competition. It was planned as a square, but gradually turned into a rotary. Furthermore, the plaza was a landmark and symbol of the power and modernity of Japan. As the main modal point of public transportation, the plaza became surrounded with largescale Western-style buildings, commercial advertising, and neon signs. The plaza became a place where people could experience the modern city. These spectacular displays showed that Japanese imperialism was perceived as a strange and peculiar landscape to the majority of Korean citizens. This study investigates the history and characteristics of the plaza, focusing on its beginning as well as the transformation of its form. As to the limitations of the study, it does not consider political and economic contexts within the transformation of Seoul and in relation to this plaza. Instead, that research remains for a future study.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.80-109
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• 2020

The Sacheonwangsa Temple in Silla is an esoteric temple that was founded provisionally in 670, and was completed in 679. This study attempted to elucidate the planning method of the Sacheonwangsa Temple based on the results of research on excavations and investigations into its construction processes and construction measures thereof. The research results are as follows. (1) In the site construction, assuming the size of one Bang (坊) on the south of Nangsan Mountain, after dividing the north-south width into three equal parts, there is a possibility that two of these parts were set to the flat portion. (2) In the 'Jochang (祖創, 670)', it is estimated that an area of 300 cheoks by 300 cheoks was postulated on the flat surface, and, as an initial conception, the mandala's plane design of the outer square 2 hasta (3 cheoks) and inner square 1 hasta (1.5 cheoks) was originally devised for the setting of 'Mudra (神印)', and an area 100 times greater has been set as the basis in the scale and layout planning of the central block. (3) During 'Gaechang (攺刱, ~679)', it is judged that because of the narrowness of the distance between the Pagoda and Geumdang Hall, which occurs when the center of the Geumdang Hall coincides with the center of 'the first stage of the foundation (先築基壇)', the scale and layout planning were adjusted from the initial conception. (4) The arrangement of the building was determined by dividing the fixed size of the central block (280 cheoks by 320 cheoks). Specifically, the east-west direction is set on the quartile's line of the east-west width of the central block, and in contrast, the north-south direction is based on the structural characteristics of the central block. It is presumed that the position of the transept was determined through the division and adjustment of the column spacing of the east-west corridor, then the Geumdang Hall and Altar were based on this. (5) The scale of the Geumdang Hall and Pagoda is determined by the petition of the division by the unit fraction starting from the quartile's line of the central block's east-west width. This planning is understood to be based on the self-similarity, which is rooted in the mandala's plane design as the model.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2023

This study aimed to analyze the current status of planted trees in Seoul Forest and propose improvement plans to improve the naturalness in the park. A comprehensive survey of the trees in the park was conducted, and the data gathered was used to build a list of planting trees suitable for an urban park. The analysis of the characteristics of landscape trees in Seoul Forest by type was about the presence or absence of leaves, and they were classified into deciduous trees, evergreen trees, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen shrubs, and herbaceous plants such as groundcover plants separately classified. The study found that Seoul Forest had 57 species of native and naturalized trees, with 27 deciduous trees, 35 deciduous shrubs, 15 evergreen trees, and 98 evergreen shrubs. The park also had 472 species of herbaceous plants, totaling 320,000. The majority of planted trees in Seoul Forest were native species, comprising 59% of the total planted trees, while naturalized species made up 41%. Furthermore, the ratio of deciduous trees to evergreen trees was 81% to 19%, with deciduous trees being the dominant species. The evergreen trees showed a similar trend, with a total of 23 species, including 15 native and 8 foreign species, accounting for 65% of native species. In addition, the study identified six common deciduous shrubs, including Forsythia koreana, orbaria sorbifolia var. stellipila, Deutzia parviflora, Rhododendron lateritium, and Spiraea prunifolia var. simpliciflora, which are frequently planted in areas with abundant water. The study also revealed that among the 10 evergreen shrub species, 9 were native and 1 was foreign. The study aimed to classify the species planted in Seoul Forest into native and foreign species and to provide a data-driven plan to encourage the planting of native species. This study offers valuable insights into planting planning and design for urban parks, which is essential for enhancing naturalness, as most studies have primarily focused on usage patterns and satisfaction in urban parks. By promoting the planting of native species, the naturalness of Seoul Forest can be improved.