• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.73-82
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• 2007

A large underground wooden structure of Shilla period which was presumably built in the 5th century A.D. was excavated at Gomo Sanseong Fortress, Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Of 12 wood member samples obtained on the site, 8 hardwoods under family Fagaceae and 4 softwoods under family Pinaceae were separated through light microscopy. Among hardwoods, 5 were found to be Cerris section, 2 Prinus section, and 1 Castanea crenata. On the other hand, 4 softwoods were all identified as Finns densiflora.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.7-29
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• 2010

The form of the Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda site is that of the traditional form of the wooden pagodas constructed during the Baekjae Period. Likewise, it is an important ruin for conducting research on the form and type of the wooden pagodas constructed during the Baekjae Period. In particular, the method used for the installation of the central pillar's cornerstone is a new technique. The purpose of this research is to restore the ruin of the Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda of the Baekjae Period that remains at the Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda site. Until now, research conducted on the wooden pagoda took place mostly centered on the Hwangryongsa Temple's wooden pagoda. Meanwhile, the reality concerning Baekjae's wooden pagoda is one in which there were not many parallel cases pertain to the design for restoration. This research paper wants to conduct academic examination of the Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda to organize the intention of design and design process in a simple manner. This research included review of the Baekjae Period's wooden pagoda related ruins and the review of the existing wooden pagoda ruin to analyze the wooden pagoda construction technique of the era. Then, current status of the Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda site is identified to define the characteristics of the wooden pagoda, and to set up the layout format and the measure to estimate the size of the wooden pagoda in order to design each part. Ultimately, techniques and formats used for the restoration of the wooden pagoda were aligned with the wooden pagoda of the Baekjae Period. Basically, conditions that can be traced from the current status of the Wangheungsa Temple site excavation using the primary standards as the standard. Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda was designed into the wooden pagoda of the Baekjae's prosperity phase. The plane was formed into $3{\times}3$ compartments to design into three tier pagoda. The height was decided by factoring in the distance between the East-West corridors, size of the compartment in the middle, and the view that is visible from above the terrace when entering into the waterway. Basically, the origin of the wooden structure format is based on the Goguryeo style, but also the linkage with China's southern regional styles and Japan's ancient wooden pagoda methods was factored in. As for the format of the central pillar, it looks as if the column that was erected after digging the ground was used when setting up the columns in the beginning. During the actual construction work of the wooden pagoda, central pillar looks as if it was erected by setting up the cornerstone on the ground. The reason that the reclaimed part of pillar that use the underground central cornerstone as the support was not utilized, was because the Eccentric Load of the central pillar's cornerstone was factored in the state of the layers of soil piled up one layer at a time that is repeated with the yellow clay and sandy clay and the yellow clay that were formed separately with the $80cm{\times}80cm$ angle at the upper part of the central pillar's cornerstone was factored in as well. Thus, it was presumed that the central pillar was erected in the actual design using the ground style format. It is possible to presume the cases in which the reclaimed part of pillar were used when constructed for the first time, but in which central pillar was installed later on, after the supplementary materials of the underground column is corroded. In this case, however, technique in which soil is piled up one layer at a time to lay down the foundation of a building structure cannot be the method used in that period, and the reclamation cannot fill up using the $80cm{\times}80cm$ angle. Thus, it was presumed that the layers of soil for building structure's foundation was solidified properly on top of the central pillar's cornerstone when the first wooden pagoda construction work was taking place, and that the ground style central pillar was erected on its upper part by placing the cornerstone once again. Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda is significant from the structure development aspect of the Korean wooden pagodas along with the Hwangryongsa Temple's wooden pagoda. Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda construction technique which was developed during the prosperity phase of the Baekjae Period is presumed to have served as a role model for the construction of the Iksan Mireuksa Temple's wooden pagoda and Hwangryongsa Temple's wooden pagoda. With the plan to complement the work further by excavating more, the basic wooden pagoda model was set up for this research. Wangheungsa Temple's wooden pagoda was constructed as at the Baekjae Kingdom wide initiative, and it was the starting point for the construction of superb pagoda using state of the art construction techniques of the era during the Baekjae's prosperous years, amidst the utmost interest of all the Baekjae populace. Starting out from its inherent nature of enshrining Sakyamuni's ashes, it served as the model that represented the unity of all the Baekjae populace and the spirit of the Baekjae people. It interpreted these in the most mature manner on the Korean peninsula at the time.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.38
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• pp.129-156
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• 2005

Increasing discovery cases of underground storage facilities made of earth, wood, or stone are being reported from the recent excavation survey of the Baekje relics. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the structure and function of the underground storage facilities of Baekje following a classification made by the type and building method as follows: plask shape, wooden box shape, and stone box shape. The plask shape storage is the most representative underground storage of Baekje that has been found in numerous relics more than 600 sets around Hangang(Han River) and Geumgang(Geum River) from the Hansung period to Sabi period in Baekje Dynasty. It is a historical artefact as a part of the unique storage culture of Baekje around Hangang and Geumgang from the 3rd to 7th Century. Considering its structure and the example of Chinese one, it might had been used for a long-term storage of grains and various other items including earth wares. The storage facility in wooden box shape and stone box shape are found mostly in the relics Of Sabi period. Thus it might had taken some functions of the storage in traditional pouch shape which had decreased after the 6th Century. In particular, the wooden box shape and stone box shape storage required enormous labor force to build owing to their structure and building method. Thus, they were considered to had been used for official purposes in province fortress and citadel artefact. The wooden box shape storage facility is classified into flat rectangular type and square type based on the structure, and into Gagu type(架構式) and Juheol type(柱穴式) based on the building method. It might had been decided according to the geography and geological feature of the place where the storage was to be built. Considering the examples of Gwanbuk-ri relics and Weolpyong-dong relics, the wooden box shape storage facility might had been used for various items depending on the needs, including foods such as fruits and essential provisions at the military base. Considering the long-term food storage, the examples in Japan, and the functional characteristics of the underground storage facility, there is a possibility that the wooden and stone box shape storage facilities had been built so as to safely store important items in case of fire. This study is only a rudimentary examination for the storage facility in Baekje. Thus further studies are to be made specifically and comprehensively on the comparison with other regions, distribution pattern, discovered relics and artefacts, and functions.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.31
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• pp.121-130
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• 2010

Wooden structures in Korea are usually damaged by some insects such as termites, wasps, cigarette beetles, powder-post beetles. Especially, the termites inhabiting in Korea are the subterranean termites, Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis Morimoto, that make colonies in underground, therefore it is difficult to predict and control substantial infestations in advance. Accordingly, to enable inspectors to locate the termite infestations before the extensive damage occurs, the pest management industry has begun using several elaborate tools and making the various effect to inspect areas hard to access through a visual inspection. Recently detector dogs were adopted as one of those tools. Detector dogs are useful for locating subterranean termites because they use their acute olfaction rather than vision. We also have used detector dogs to locate termites and investigated 270 buildings from 31 sites since 2007. According to the results, while 144 buildings (53.4%) were in good condition with no damage by termites, 80 buildings (29.6%) were found out to be damaged by termites through visual inspection and detector dog. So it is expected to control termites according to the conservation status if detector dogs are well trained to discriminate live termites from fecal pellets by termites.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2010

The damage from the underground termite cannot be discovered with peculiar appearance of building but hollow phenomenon will occur. But there is no case in Korea as a non-destructive measurement of termite activation. Therefore, this research constructs non-destructive diagnostic techniques for wooden cultural properties using microwave detector (Termatrac, Australia). Result of maximun distance were measured 16cm (Pine tree, sensitivity 5, 6), 17cm (Zelkova and Douglas fir, sensitivity 5, 6). These results are expected that can be applied in the field. Result of field test using microwave detector, 33.8% of the wooden cultural properties were damaged by termites, and until now 7.8% (18 buildings) are being damaged in nationwide (total 231 buildings). Based on the above results, microwave detector will be able to be utilized effectively for detecting termite, preventing intrusion in wooden structure, and making full use of monitoring system periodically. In addition, it could be of great worth in preventing insect and microorganism in wooden structure.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.40
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• pp.105-135
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• 2007

Since now, the study of wooden pagodas in ancient Korea have been proceeded to the site plan, the devices and the goods of sarari containers and the reconstruction. They are based on the result of archaeological excavations and the historical material documents. But the study of the foundations of wooden pagodas have been unsatisfactory. In this paper, the investigations of the wooden pagodas in the Three Kingdoms are proceeded. Through this action, we have checked the method of the foundations, the type and installation of Simchoseok(central base stone) and the erection of Simju(central base pillar). In the result of this study, three types were in the method of the foundations-the construction of the upper on the surface of the earth, the construction of the upper and lower on the surface of the earth. And we know the types of the installation of Simchoseok were the underground-type central base stone and the ground-type central base stoned. The factors of the central base pillars were changed with the rising of central base stones from the lower on the surface of the earth to the surface of the foundation. This change was needed to construct the larger wooden pagodas than the ones of the past. In especially, the large wooden pagodas with the ground-type central base stoned were appeared in the king of Baekje, Muwang(A.D. 600~640). We assume that the method of the construction of larger wooden pagodas like that was forwarded to Silla and Japan.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.769-785
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• 2015

Although timber structures have been extensively used in underground temporary supporting system, their actual performance is poorly understood, resulting in potentially conservative and over-engineered design. In this paper, a novel wireless sensor technology, SmartPlank, is introduced to monitor the field performance of timber structures during underground construction. It consists of a wooden beam equipped with a streamlined wireless sensor node, two thin foil strain gauges and two temperature sensors, which enables to measure the strain and temperature at two sides of the beam, and to transmit this information in real-time over an IPv6 (6LowPan) multi-hop wireless mesh network and Internet. Four SmartPlanks were deployed at the London Underground's Tottenham Court Road (TCR) station redevelopment site during the Stair 14 excavation, together with seven relay nodes and a gateway. The monitoring started from August 2013, and will last for one and a half years until the Central Line possession in 2015. This paper reports both the short-term and long-term performances of the monitored timber structures. The grouting effect on the short-term performance of timber structures is highlighted; the grout injection process creates a large downward pressure on the top surface of the SmartPlank. The short and long term earth pressures applied to the monitored structures are estimated from the measured strains, and the estimated values are compared to the design loads.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.188-197
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• 2020

Termites play an important role as decomposers of the forest ecosystem, while simultaneously causing enormous damage to wooden structures. Currently, two species of subterranean termites have been reported in Korea, and termite damage to historical wooden buildings is occurring nationwide due to climate change, forest fertility, and the locational characteristics of historical wooden buildings. Subterranean termites make their nests underground or inside timber. Termites move underground and access wooden structures through the lower parts of the buildings, adjacent to the ground. Once termites attack the wooden structures, it not only spoils the authenticity of cultural heritage structure, but also hampers structural stability due to the decrease in the strength of the material. Therefore, it is important to prevent termite damage before it occurs. Chemical treatments are mainly used in Korea to control and prevent the damage. In foreign countries, physical barriers are also used to prevent entry to wooden buildings, along with chemical treatments. Physical barriers involve installing nets or particles that termites cannot pass through in the lower part of the building, around the pipes, and between the edges of the building or exterior walls and interior materials. Advantages of a physical barrier are that it is an eco-friendly method, maintains long-term effect after installation, and does not require the use of chemical treatments. Prior to applying physical barriers, studies into the characteristics of termite species must be undertaken. In this study, we evaluated the minimum passage size that each caste of Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis can move through. We found that workers, soldiers, and secondary reproductive termites were able to pass through diameters of 0.7mm, 0.9mm, and 1.1mm respectively. Head height of termites was an important factor in determining the minimum passing size. Results from the current study will be used as a basis to design the mesh size for physical barriers to prevent damage by termites in historical wooden buildings in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.222-251
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• 2017

This paper analyzes the characteristics of the ancient tombs discovered in the Gyeongju site and discusses the direction of the excavation. There are six special features of the wooden chamber tomb covered with stone in Gyeongju. First, confirmation of the above-ground type and the underground type burial mound. Second, confirmation of the construction such as the partition of mound and the pile of stone structure. Third, confirmation of the frontal part structure of the protect stone such as pebble-stone layer, boundary stone. Fourth, confirmation of the relationship before and after the mound. Fifth, the circumference and boundary of the confirmed(before 1990s) burial mounds were discovered, resolving the uncertainty. Sixth confirmation of the crowd unit tombs. By summing up these six features, it is possible to clearly divide the individual units and the crowd units of the Silla tombs. Confirmation of individual units and crowd units can clarify the size and scope of the tombs located by the concatenation and overlap. It is possible to get a glimpse of the formation process through the interrelationships between the two sides. The tombs are located in the upper-and-lower layer structure of the tombs and show selective site selection. When this formative process is rearranged, it is understood that the Gyeongju Silla Cemetery is formed through the course of four stages. It is anticipated that it will be possible to make selective projects in the excavation survey based on the confirmation of the individual unit and the crowd unit of the Silla ancient tombs and the formation process.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2000

A hundred wooden foundation piles were found underground during reconstruction for Heungreamun after removing ex-Chosunchongdokbu (ex-Government General of Chosun) building, which was built in 1916, at Kyungbok Palace in Seoul. It is known that larch piles had been collected from the Yaru area near Mt. Baekdu (Changbai). in North Korea. We examined 15 piles for identification of the species and their tree-ring structure. The species is identified as Larix gmelini by microscopic observation. Average diameter of the piles was 27 cm and average age 103 years. We obtained 151 year tree-ring chronology. However, we could not date the exact cutting years because there was no reference chronology yet. When we can obtain chronologies from living trees near the Yaru area, we could make a absolute and longer chronology for studying past history and environments around Mt. Baekdu.