• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.24-41
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• 2013

This study aims to investigate the complex planning processes and design ideas of the Gwanghwamun Plaza which was opened in 2009. The opening of the plaza was significant as it was built in order to restore the symbolic meaning of axis in the historical Joseon Dynasty that was distorted during the Japanese Imperialism. The plaza itself attracts many citizens and tourists by providing the empty ground carrying historical ambiences around. In this paper, the story of the Gwanghwamun plaza will be summarized. Particularly, the background of promoting the project will be discussed and the whole planning process will be dealt with. The plaza was realized through several stages. First, the planning stage will be reviewed. The planning stage had been a quite long process since the initial idea was discussed. Since the early 90s, the political decision of making the plaza was made through the change of people's understanding toward public space. At this stage, the city government worked together with diverse citizens and professionals to share the vision and to realize the right decision in making the plaza. Second, the design stage will be elaborated in detail. This is the second design stage. The former was the idea competition and the latter was the turn-key base. The final design scheme emphasized the restoration of symbolic axis and the forgotten Yukjo Street. The scheme consists of four zones such as history restoration zone, prospect and history representation zone, culture zone, and the urban zone. Through the whole design process, the original idea remained as it was. The design concept was "a place of memory and prospect." It emphasizes the history representation, view corridor, cultural activities platform as well as the emptiness and flexibility of the basic premise of the plaza. Finally, the construction stage will be discussed. There were some additions and omissions in the construction process. The design chances in the construction stage will be reviewed in detail. After the opening of the plaza, there were some changes in the detail design. We will discuss how and why these modifications were made. In the end, the social and cultural implication of the plaza will be discussed. The storytelling of the Gwanghwamun Plaza will contribute to the clear understanding of planning and design process of pubic places. Based on this reflection, we are able to think about some suggestions of public projects for the future.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.187-194
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• 2023

This study identified how users of Gwanghwamun Square perceive the space and derived the spatial attributes of Gwanghwamun Square. There are four spatial attributes of Gwanghwamun Square: preservation of the historical environment, beauty of the surrounding landscape, suitability as a resting place, and activation of recreation. The first attribute, preservation of the historical environment, refers to the spaces that reflect the unique characteristics of Gwanghwamun Square and resonate with culture, including the Blue House, Bukaksan Mountain, Gyeongbok Palace, Yukjo Street, King Sejong, and Yi Sun-sin. The second attribute, beauty of the surrounding landscape, is related to the provision of abundant greenery and natural environment without disturbing the surrounding landscape, and includes landscape, sky, and greenery. The third attribute, suitability as a resting place, refers to various landscape facilities and services to enhance visitor comfort, including tables, chairs, shade, planters, rest areas, and fountains. Finally, recreational activation. This is the provision of various experiences, including exhibitions, performances, experiences, and sightseeing. Utilizing the attributes of Gwanghwamun Plaza derived from this study, it will provide important implications for the reconstruction of Gwanghwamun Plaza if future studies on valuation and estimation of Gwanghwamun Plaza are conducted to verify the differences in preferences by type.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.42-59
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• 2014

Han Pilgyo (1807~1878) was a scholar-official in the later period of the Joseon Dynasty. The research results on spatial structure and landscape techniques of the central government office reviewed through the Sukcheonjeado(宿踐諸衙圖) album collection edited by Han Pilgyo are as follows. First, Sukcheonjeado(宿踐諸衙圖) using Sabangjeondomyobeob(四方顚倒描法, a Korean traditional drawing type) is uniquely proven historical data which helps to understand the spatial structure of the center and local government offices and the characteristics of cultural landscape. Secondly, the central government office located in Yookcho(六曹) Street which is the outside Gwanghwamun(光化門) of the Main Palace(Gyeongbokgung, 景福宮) of the Joseon Dynasty has a center facility(Dangsangdaecheong, 堂上大廳) and attached buildings which are distributed from high to low or from left to right, according to its order of presidency in square-shaped portion of land. The main building was located facing south and by considering the administrative convenience, the environmental effect and the practice of Confucian norms this structure reflects a hierarchical landuse system. Thirdly, the main buildings such as Dangsangdaecheong and Hyangcheong(鄕廳), which are the working place for government officials had large square front yards for constructing a practical patio garden. The back garden was tended to reflect the meaning landscape, with such as pond and pavilion. A particular point was the repeated crossing of active space and passive space(movement and stillness, building and yard, yard and garden), which implements the Yin-Yang principle. Fourth, the characteristics that can be extracted from the central government office landscapes are (1) expandability of outdoor space, connects of front gardens, emphasizes the characteristic of serviceable gardens and back gardens, which in turn emphasizes scenic sides, (2) introduction of water features(square-shaped ponds) that can be used as fire-water and considers environmental-amenity and landscape characteristics, (3) introduction of pavilions for relaxation, mental and physical discipline, and the development of back gardens, (4) significance of Jeongsimsoo(庭心樹) in such things as selection of concise landscape plants like lotus, willow, pine, zelkova and so on, and limited plant introduction, (5) environmental design techniques which set importance on not only aesthetics and ideality but also practical value. Thus, these aspects of the government office landscape can be said to be the universality and particularity of Korean traditional landscape technique and can be extracted similarly in the palaces, temples, lecture halls, and houses of the upper class of the Joseon Dynasty.