Adoption of Modern Knowledge of Housing in the Journals of the Academic Associations in Korea from 1896 to 1910

Abstract

New knowledge about housing appeared in the journals of the academic associations published in Korea from 1896 to 1910, most of which is related to hygiene. At that time, hygienic management in residences and in the environment was a major social issue to prevent epidemics which had occurred frequently and which had resulted in a big population loss. Also, the government and many scholars considered that better housing conditions, including hygiene, were essential for improving Korean society. The journals mainly focused on introducing the methods to satisfy four hygienic conditions: Ventilation, solar lighting, moisture prevention and cleanliness. The housing articles found in these journals are divided into the methods of ‘Housing Management’ and ‘Housing Design.’ Simple planning methods including selection of the housing site, number of stories, structure, openings, interior environment of the house, etc. were presented, which shows that simple but modern knowledge of housing design was introduced. Meanwhile, the descriptions of housing management and design focused on hygiene in the journals and were mostly based on physical and scientific information about the air and water, physiological information on human physiological functions, and germ and miasma theories. In such a situation, updated scientific knowledge included in the journals was effective for educating the public. However, the housing-related knowledge in the journals was mainly included in the studies of hygiene, education, home economics, etc. rather than in studies of architecture, therefore, they were fragmentary and too general. However, in this situation, since architecture was not known as one of the modern academic areas, and there was no modern architectural education system, the housing-related studies which focused on hygiene in the journals is meaningful as a part of the early discussions about modern residences in Korea. © 2006, Architectural Institute of Japan. All rights reserved.