• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.85-98
• /
• 2021

In accordance with planning to construct culture park on Songhyeon-dong (district) near Gyeongbokgung Palace, This study analyzed literature and drawings from the early Joseon Dynasty to today for the district, known as 'Songhyeon (pine hill)' to identify historical and cultural landscapes during essential times. The following are the results; First, the owners of significant lots were identified, and land use and landscape components were extracted for a diachronic examination of the landscape of the whole area of Songhyeon-dong. Songhyeon district had been regarded as the 'Inner Blue Dragon (Spot) of Gyeongbokgung Palace' in terms of geomancy since the foundation of Joseon in 1392 in that the government created and managed a 'pine forest' in the district. A state warehouse called 'bungam' was constructed, and small fruit stores, 'ujeon,' opened due to the complete reformation and urban planning led by King Taejong in 1410. From the 19th century, mansions of the upper class, such as 'Gaseonggak', 'Changnyeongwuigung' and 'Byeoksugeosajeong' were in the district. A prominent official residential complex called 'Sigeun Sataek' was constructed in 1919 after Chosen Siksan Bank purchased the site. Later, it was transferred to America in 1948 and used as the 'US Embassy Staff Quarters'. Second, the changes in the site view, associated with the aspects of society by the times, were examined by estimating the location and the time the landscape components lasted in each period extracted and identifying the physical entity. The pine forest, regarded as the 'Inner Blue Dragon' that guards the left side of the palace within the geomantic world view, was located in the highlands in the west of the site. In the same period, the flat area in the east was regarded as the 'commoner's district', the streets adjacent to various government facilities and the market, packed with people from different walks of life. From the 19th century, the gardens of the aristocrats of the capital city were created in the pine forest, turning the place into the forest in the middle of the city. The whole area of Songhyeon-dong, which existed as a large lot in the city center for a long time, was developed by Japanese imperialists in the 20th century based on the concept of 'Ideal Healthy Land,' which interrupted the placeness of Songhyeon-dong that had adhered to the traditional geomatic view of the Joseon Dynasty.