Am I My Hanok's Keeper? Peter E. Bartholomew's Defense and Illustration of Korean Architecture

Like many Westerners appalled by the hanok genocide in Korea, I'm often playing God blaming Cain ("Where's your hanok?" - "I don't know, am I my hanok's keeper?" - "What have you done? Listen! Your cultural heritage’s blood cries out to your lineage from the ground"). Of course, this gallic brat cockily ranting around is not only useless but undermining the cause.

Hopefully, the cause of hanok preservation did progress dramatically, thanks to voices that carried much more than sterile criticism: true love for Korean architecture only actual hanok's keepers could manifest. And "The Guardian of The Hanok" managed to bring change because he could reach both Korean authorities and the general public.

Last Tuesday, Peter E. Bartholomew faced a large and already won-over audience for his lecture organized by the Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch: "Catastrophic Losses of Korea's Architectural Heritage from 1910 and Continuing Today". He could have continued for days and much more this vibrant defense and illustration of Korean architecture.



Peter E. Bartholomew, a.k.a. The Guardian of Hanok


The "Guardian of the Hanok" started his love affair with Korea's traditional architecture in 1968, when he arrived from the States in Gangneung, Gangwon-do. For five years, Bartholomew stayed in Seongyojang, an amazing three-century-old residence which, still today, belongs to a former royal family. Emerging from a sea of lotus, here's the pavillion where a younger (and, judging by his own pictures, a hairier) Peter had his first experience of hanok restoration:

 

Bartholomew illustrated his exciting presentation of the science, aesthetics, philosophy, and poetry of hanok with hundreds of pictures covering all periods, styles, and regions, including from his own hanok in Dongsomun-dong, Seongbuk-gu, where he's been living for more than 30 years.

I will simply add this spectacular view over Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu for three reasons:




- First, it shows a key yet little known element of hanok architecture mentioned by Peter: the reddish layer of dense clay under the roof tiles, which are here about to be rearranged.
- Second, that's the opportunity to say hello to Robert J. Fouser: another great hanok keeper (just finishing his lovely home in Seochon), Robert recently wrote about this most charming but endangered neighborhood in Seoul Magazine (see "Seoul's Hanok Island: Unhyeongung Royal Residence and Ikseon-dong" and Robert Koehler's photographs)
- Third, it exposes at the same time the beauty, the strength, and the fragility of Korean architecture, as it is in the nude. Note the tile 'backbones' marking the roof lines, and the roof at the lower corner of the picture ("georgeous curves", would probably say "The Guardian of the Hanok").

Peter E. Bartholomew painted an impressive census of the 15 to 20,000 architectural treasures directly controlled by Korean administrations in 1910, from royal palaces to local governments or military compounds. He then told the sad story of annihilation. Not even one percent survived after three man-made tragedies: the Japanese occupation, the Korean war, and of course, the architectural and urban genocide that followed and still today continues.

This story became even more personal for him when he had to lead the resistance against the planned destruction of his neighborhood's last traditional houses. Bartholomew showed us the 2004 official document proving how hanoks were specifically targeted to pave the way for a major development across Dongsomun-dong. The group of hanok keepers managed to save the neighborhood - making many speculators unhappy -, and eventually won in court against the Seoul Metropolitan Government (an episode mentioned in "The Empress's Last Bang").

This decision of justice (and the media coverage it caused) was a defining moment in the fight for preservation: being associated to the destruction of hanok clearly became politically incorrect, and really bad PR at the international level, particularly following the global outcry over the mass destruction of hutongs ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics*. Sign of the times: Seoul mayor named the "Guardian of the Hanok" a honorary citizen the year following the battle in court.

If much pedagogy remains to be done to change mindsets, mainstream media are now more and more often documenting cases, serving the cause, and the perceived value of hanok has clearly evolved, even if that's not always a good thing (see "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment" or more recently "Build a hanok and they will come - Marketing impostures and genuine slow urbanism"). Maybe recurrent programs could help: in France, for instance, such TV programs as "Chefs d'oeuvres en peril" (1960s) or "La France defiguree" (1970s) helped raised public awareness. Preservation movements gained momentum, architectural treasures got saved, and ultimately more sustainable policies emerged.

Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration (cha.go.kr) and other organizations are already doing a lot for the architectural heritage, but there's an emergency to save treasures that are neither in protected areas nor under the spotlights.

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* NB: I'm pretty sure similar architectural tragedies are happening across Asia. Keepers of the world, unite?

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ADDENDUM 20130331 - RASKB video of the conference:

The Empress's Last Bang

Korea's last empress, Sunjeong-hyo (순정효황후), clearly didn't leave the same mark as her legendary predecessor Queen Min (Empress Myeongseong), a modern reformer murdered by the Japanese in 1895 because she would have resisted the annexation of Korea much more efficiently than her husband King Gojong.

Empress Sunjeong never actually ruled : Japan officially claimed the country in 1910*, and Syngman Rhee kept her away from the palace during his presidency, probably to make sure Korea was done with monarchy... or at least royalty. She came back to Changdeokgung in 1961, where she died in 1966. No Child Left Behind : her husband was not murdered, but - thank Japanese innovation for small mercies - enjoyed a chemically induced sterility and debility.

To me, Empress Sunjeong perfectly illustrates the way Korean royals vanished during the tragic limbo between the end of the Joseon area and the beginning of democracy, a period she crossed almost like a ghost haunting former symbols of power. Note that the last person who could claim the throne died a few years ago, a poor old man living off songs and charity.

If you visited Namsan Hanok Village, you have seen the reconstitution of the Yun family house where the girl who would become the last empress grew up. At least, you may think, the memory of this one is respected. Uh... not exactly.

The original house lies in 47 Ogin-dong, Jongno-gu, a site signaled among the few remaining landmarks of an area West of Gyeongbokgung recently preserved by Seoul Metropolitan Government - as we saw earlier ("Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment"), over 600 hanoks will be saved from almost certain destruction around Chebu-dong.

But when Hankyoreh journalist Song Chae-gyeong (송채경) visited the old Yun house, he came back with an utterly depressing story**. And what to say of the picture of the ruin inhabited by six survivors of the clan in contrast with that of the pristine reconstitution*** ! Song interviewed the chairman of the cultural heritage committee, who also lamented about the ludicrous contradiction : a lot of money has been spent in a fake and the original abandoned to redevelopement.

I'm sure that exposing this kind of follies will help Seoul city in its recent crusade in favor of the preservation of old Seoul. Beyond the survival of this house, Song's article shall also contribute to a vital pedagogy : when they are not obsessed with short term profit, many hanok owners are simply unaware of the value of traditional houses, not to mention cultural landmarks.

Note that a hanok can be ruined without being destroyed, for instance by owners who just want to make a quick buck because they think old stuff is bad for business. Korean traditional houses can easily be camouflaged : the old tile roof replaced with plastic, the front hidden behind big boards advertising a restaurant or a shop, a red brick wall and voila.

In Seochon, West of the Gyeongbokgung, most of the 600 remaining hanoks don't look like hanoks anymore : actually, I live not far from there, I've passed by every single alley and cul-de-sac, I have maps and aerial pictures of the area, and I'm aware of the way traditional houses can be camouflaged... but last year I've been stunned by the number : I would have estimated it to 200, 300 tops (but there are plenty of more modern yet interesting houses too, like the ultimately cute blue bookstore Daeoseojeom / 대오서점).

OH Se-hoon is right to secure key areas in spite of the anger of owners' associations. He is right to sponsor the restoration of hanoks because maintaining an old house is very demanding, particularly for old owners who can't afford it. Europeans are familiar with the vision of old castles falling apart even if people keep inhabiting them, but in Europe restoration itself is a century-old tradition, there are incentives, associations, and support from local as well as national authorities for important assets. Furthermore, the population sympathizes with people who fight for preservation. In Korea ? You are considered a lunatic when you refuse redevelopment, or if keep a hanok where you can build a 3 story-villa.

Long time Seoulite and hanok-lover Peter E. Bartholomew actually sued Seoul city to stop a redevelopment based on biased reports. He won the case last year and saved from destruction many hanoks in Dongsomun-dong (Seongbuk-gu), only to face the ire of other owners. Other acts of resistance involve financial investment : Arumjigi****, a private association, has been preaching by example for almost a decade, renovating houses across the country, investing in a future richer from the past.

Koreans love history, but to a certain point. Last Friday, the country celebrated the centennial of the death of resistant Ahn Jung-geun. I bet than one hundred years from now, the descendants of Dongsomun-dong hanok owners will celebrate the victory of Bartholomew v. Caterpillar.
Seoul Village 2010

See also : "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment", other Seochon related posts, including "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It".

* 100 years after the annexation of Korea by Japan, both countries are at last discussing about a common vision of history. But for the moment, the Korea-Japan Joint History Research Committee only managed to shoot the myth of Imna Japanese Headquarters (an outrageous invention to justify the annexation : Japan would have ruled over Korean kingdoms during the 4th century !).
** "‘마지막 황후’ 뛰놀던 집 재개발로 헐리나" (Hankyoreh 20100329)
*** photographer : Park Jong-sik (박종식)
**** Arumjigi.org