Architecture and Urbanism in Modern Korea

Chapter 3 Architecture and the Introduction of New Materials

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, architecture rose in esteem as one of the principal spatial embodiments of modern life. Yet it failed to deliver meaningful outcomes. There were several reasons for this. First, there were no architects who could generate forms in a convincing modern idiom. Colonial architecture in Korea aspired to the condition of modernity but executed it without any real subjectivity. Mostly reliant on eclectic styles imported from the West, colonial buildings never attempted to come to terms with the sociocultural context in which they were embedded. Local needs were ignored because there were no educational institutions that could train architects to address them. Architects did not even discuss whether their buildings were consistent with a regional identity. When a new generation of Korean architects began to emerge in the 1930s, they turned their backs on Korea’s long architectural tradition and embraced modernism as their top priority. At that time, colonial intellectuals were overwhelmed by what they could see of the Western way of life, so it is hardly surprising that few of the buildings from this period have retained any generative potential. They are merely relics, unlike the urban hanok that still inspire Korean architects today. Most of the colonial buildings from this period followed the Beaux-Arts style. Although some young architects from Japan had gone to Europe to study modern architecture at the feet of masters like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier,1 colonial architects did not pursue any radical departures from the prevailing historicist style. Beaux-Arts architecture was severely criticized by modern architects for three reasons: first, the availability of new materials had made it imperative that architects seek to exploit the properties and tectonic nature of those materials, prompting the invention of abstract and geometrical forms to replace decorative forms. Second, with the introduction of new structural methods, architects were able to freely design interior space, creating continuous and open spaces. This was a complete departure from the architecture of the past, which used load-bearing walls to create enclosures. Third, to contribute to the urbanization of the great cities of the world, modern architecture had to be designed not only for efficiency but for mass production. If these characteristics are the hallmark of modern architecture, one can search in vain for buildings that encompass all of them in colonial Korea. Although formal imitation of modernism was tried in a few cases, those attempts lacked something essential. The subjection of Korea to a Japanese colonial regime caused opportunities for direct contact with modern architecture to be missed. Only in the 1960s did Korea directly encounter the postmodern architecture already underway in the West. Ironically, it was a resurgence of Beaux-Arts architecture that inspired many Western architects in the postwar era. Postmodern architects and theorists, in particular, have led the reevaluation of the Beaux-Arts style, turning a spotlight on its modern aspects as well as its antimodern prejudices. Where did the colonial architecture of Korea fit in this reevaluation? Since the 1960s, many Korean architects have sought to explore the historicity of their country’s architecture, but they have turned not to the Beaux-Arts style of the colonial period for inspiration, but to their own traditional architecture. This can only be because the historical meaning of colonial architecture is inextricably tied to the statelessness of its time, and this meant that it no longer possessed any generative potential. Despite this limitation, it should be noted that the architecture of the colonial period brought new materials and construction methods to Korea, and these changes led to the dissolution of traditional formal systems. Furthermore, new structural systems made it possible for builders to acquire large spaces and eventually to house modern functions, which led to the formation of a new spatial order. But these developments could not be implemented simultaneously. For this reason, the availability of new construction methods led to the imitation of nineteenth-century building types that had flourished in the West,2 including the Architecture and the Introduction of New Materials Chapter 3 Architecture and the Introduction of New Materials 37 adoption of eclectic ornamentation used to camouflage new materials. Although Beaux-Arts architecture was widely accepted as modern architecture in Korea, there is no doubt that it was the new technologies more than particular stylistic tenets that played the decisive role in forming Korea’s new built environment. Colonial Architects The most prolific architects during the colonial period were technocrats working in the Japanese colonial government...