• Journal of architectural history
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.83-98
• /
• 2012

The starting point of this study is the concerning of simple behavioral pattern that whoever enters the inner space with taking off his shoes should go out from the position where he laid his shoes. The using of Ondol (floor heating room) and Maru (lifted wood floor) had changed the architectural space from chair-sitting to floor-sitting space, and it also made the behavior of taking off the shoes at the entrance of building and stepping on the lifted floor. This simple behavior has possibility to make lots of changes to the culture of architectural design. With this noticeable point, this paper is talking about the cultural feature of Korean traditional architecture, especially about the influence of tanking off and putting on shoes. The matter of shoes has changed diverse aspects of building and layout planning. It maximized the difference between front and rear part of building and characterized the lateral extension of Korean traditional house. The ritual space also had evolved from chair-sitting to floor-sitting space according to the type of ritual behavioral pattern. The change on the single building level had influenced on the layout planning of architectural complex. For examples, the parallel layout of ChangDeok-gung palace and the long sequential process to the main pavilion of Buddhist temple are the result of the matter of shoes. And NuGak(樓閣), the double-storied pavilion, on the axis of entering sequence's node is one of the unique planning elements that makes possible to go through the building without taking off the shoes and also makes upper level space for staying. In short, Korean traditional architecture that has the chair-sitting spatial origin of the East Asian cultural sphere has pursued new architectural issues and planning methods according to evolution to the floor-sitting culture.